Freddie McGregor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Little Freddie |
| Born | 27 June 1956 Clarendon, Jamaica |
| Genres | Reggae, lovers rock, ska, rocksteady, roots reggae |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, record producer, drummer |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Labels | VP, Greensleeves, Studio One, Polydor, RAS, various |
Fredrick "Freddie" McGregor (born 27 June 1956, in Clarendon, Jamaica) [1] is a Jamaican singer, musician and record producer. His music career began when he was seven years old. [1]
In 1963 he joined with Ernest Wilson and Peter Austin to form The Clarendonians, and began to record for the Studio One label. He was only seven years old at the time and was known as 'Little Freddie'. [2] [3] He was also a member of the Generation Gap. [4]
McGregor converted to Rastafari in 1975. [1] He is a member of the Twelve Tribes organization .
McGregor worked with producer Niney the Observer during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and in the same period was part of the resurgence of Studio One. [4] His popularity soared in the early 1980s with the release of "Bobby Babylon". Other popular hits of McGregor's include "Big Ship", "Push Comes to Shove", "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely" (a top ten hit in the UK), [3] [4] and "I Was Born a Winner"; as well as cover versions of many early reggae standards. He has also worked with producers Junjo Lawes, Linval Thompson, and Gussie Clarke. McGregor has also recorded as a drummer with artists such as Sugar Minott and Judy Mowatt. [4]
McGregor has also toured extensively for many years. He secured a licensing agreement with RAS Records in US and released Come on Over in 1983.
McGregor's albums in the 2000s were Signature and Anything for You, which received a Grammy nomination. [1] [4]
He established the Big Ship label in 1983, and has produced many artists including Papa San, Lieutenant Stitchie, Tiger, Luciano and Mikey Spice. [4]
In a 2011 interview, he expressed concern that many veteran artists, including himself, struggled for local radio play of their newer material, which he felt may be "lost" over time as a result. [5]
His album Di Captain, released in August 2012, featured Etana and Gappy Ranks. [2]
In 2013, he received a Marcus Garvey Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute of Caribbean Studies. [6]
One of McGregor's three sons, Stephen "Di Genius" McGregor, is a dancehall record producer. More recently, he had signed a deal with Warner Chappell Music. [7]
The following were hits on the UK Singles Chart:
| Year | Song | UK [8] [9] |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "Push Comes to Shove" | 89 |
| 1987 | "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely" | 9 |
| "That Girl (Groovy Situation)" | 47 | |
| 1988 | "Come to Me" | 91 |
Rodney Basil Price OD(born 12 June 1972), known as Bounty Killer, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. AllMusic describes him as "one of the most aggressive dancehall stars of the '90s, a street-tough rude boy with an unrepentant flair for gun talk". He is considered one of the best dancehall lyricists of all time.
Lincoln Barrington "Sugar" Minott was a Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer, record producer and sound-system operator.
Gregory Anthony Isaacs OD was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in The New York Times, described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae".
Keith Blair, better known by the stage name Anthony B, is a Jamaican DJ and member of the Rastafari movement.
Colvin George Scott, better known as Cocoa Tea, is a Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter.
Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lovers rock, a subgenre of reggae. Bob Marley cited Brown as his favourite singer, dubbing him "The Crown Prince of Reggae", and Brown would prove influential on future generations of reggae singers.
Greensleeves Records & Publishing, shortened to Greensleeves Records, is a record label specializing in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick. Based in Britain, Greensleeves Records started as a small record store in West Ealing, London, in November 1975. The record label was founded in 1977, with early releases including albums by Augustus Pablo and Barrington Levy.
Allan Hope CD, better known as Mutabaruka, is a Jamaican Rastafari dub poet, musician, actor, educator, and talk-show host, who developed two of Jamaica's most popular radio programmes, The Cutting Edge and Steppin' Razor. His name comes from the Rwandan language and translates as "one who is always victorious". His themes include politics, culture, Black liberation, social oppression, discrimination, poverty, racism, sexism, and religion.
VP Records is an independent Caribbean-owned record label in Queens, New York. The label is known for releasing music by notable artists in reggae, dancehall and soca. VP Records has offices in New York City, Miami, London, Kingston, Tokyo, Johannesburg and Rio de Janeiro. Additionally, the label has established a presence in Toronto, Australia and New Zealand.
Michigan and Smiley are a Jamaican reggae/dancehall duo consisting of Papa Michigan and General Smiley. They rose to popularity during the first wave of dancehall music in the late 1970s.
Clive Bright, better known as Tenor Saw, was a Jamaican dancehall singjay in the 1980s, considered one of the most influential singers of the early digital reggae era. His best-known song was the 1985 hit "Ring the Alarm" on the "Stalag" riddim.
Paul Blake, better known as Frankie Paul, was a Jamaican dancehall reggae artist. Born blind, he has been dubbed by some 'The Jamaican Stevie Wonder'.
Clifford Smith, better known as Mr. Vegas, is a Jamaican dancehall singjay.
Augustus "Gussie" Clarke is a roots reggae and dub producer who worked with some of the top Jamaican reggae artists in the 1970s and later set up his own Music Works studio.
Yasus Afari is a Jamaican dub poet.
Damion Darrel Warren, best known as Teacha Dee, is a Jamaican reggae singer and former educator. He is best known for his hit singles "Smoke and Fly", "Reggae Souljahs" and "Smuggling Weed". He was a full-time employee for the Ministry of Education Youth and Culture in Jamaica when he recorded all three songs. His stage name was derived from the Jamaican creole for "teacher" and a shortening of his childhood nickname "Demus".
Andre Johnson, better known by his stage name Jah Mason, also known as Fire Mason, is a reggae singer/deejay from Jamaica, active as a recording artist since 1991.
Kemar McGregor, also known by his nicknames, DJ Flava and Flava McGregor, is a Jamaican-American pop reggae producer. He has recorded and produced music for the most renowned artists in the music industry, including Sinéad O'Connor, Musiq Soulchild, Syleena Johnson, Snoop Dogg/Snoop Lion, Jon Secada, Maxi Priest, Sizzla, Marcia Griffiths, Beenie Man, Wayne Wonder, Buju Banton, Capleton, Sanchez, Freddie McGregor, Luciano, Sugar Minott, Barrington Levy, Gregory Isaacs, Morgan Heritage, Half Pint, Tanya Stephens, Gyptian, Cas Haley, Beres Hammond, Glen Washington, Etana and Cocoa Tea, among many others. McGregor is the owner and chief executive officer of FM Records.
Byiome Muir, better known by his stage name I-Octane, is a Jamaican reggae dancehall recording artist from Clarendon Parish, Jamaica. He is known for integrating positive and socially conscious subject matter into his music, drawing inspiration from personal experiences and Rastafarian teachings.
Stephen McGregor, known professionally as Di Genius, is a Jamaican record producer, singer, and songwriter. Di Genius comes from a musical family—his father is legendary veteran reggae artist Freddie McGregor and his siblings, Daniel "Chino" McGregor and Yeshemabeth "Shema" McGregor, are also singers. While Di Genius was primarily known for producing riddims out of his "Big Ship" recording studio, he has gone on to produce and write songs for international artists such as Sean Paul, Drake, Nelly Furtado, Lianne La Havas, Shakira, John Legend among others. The New York Times named him a "Reggae Veteran At The Age of 18."
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