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Judy Mowatt | |
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![]() Mowatt in 1980 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Judith Veronica Mowatt |
Born | 1952 (age 71–72) Gordon Town, Jamaica |
Genres | Reggae Roots Reggae Gospel |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Years active | 1967 – present |
Labels | Tuff Gong, Shanachie Records |
Judith Veronica Mowatt, OD (born 1952) is a Jamaican reggae artist. As well as being a solo artist, from 1974 she was also a member of the I Threes, the trio of backing vocalists for Bob Marley & The Wailers.
Mowatt was born in Gordon Town, St. Andrew Parish, Jamaica. At the age of 13, she became a member of a dance troupe which toured Jamaica and other islands in the Caribbean. Her initial ambition was to become a registered nurse. Her earliest musical influences were Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Curtis Mayfield, Dionne Warwick, Bob Marley, Marcia Griffiths, The Staple Singers and The Soulettes. A coincidental meeting with two teenage girls who were earlier in her dance troupe led to the formation of the Gaylettes, in 1967.
In 1974, Mowatt got her big break by joining Bob Marley's backing vocal trio the "I Threes". [1]
Her Black Woman album (Ashandan, 1979) came out the same year as I Three member Marcia Griffiths's album At Studio One. It is considered by many critics to be the greatest reggae album by a female artist. [2] It was also the first reggae album recorded by a woman acting as her own producer. [3]
She became the first female singer nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of reggae music when her Working Wonders album was nominated in 1985.[ citation needed ]
Formerly a member of the Rastafari movement, in the late 1990s she converted to Christianity and now sings Gospel music. [2]
In 1999 the Jamaican government made her an Officer of the Order of Distinction for "services to music".
Some sources wrongfully assumed Judy Mowatt to be identical to Jean Watt (the longtime wife of Bunny Livingston/Wailer). [4] This mixup possibly originated from Mowatt using several different stage names, for legal reasons, in the early 1970’s: Julianne, Julie-Ann, and Jean. Bunny Wailer credited his wife, Jean Watt, for writing some of the tracks recorded during sessions for the album Burnin' (1973): "Hallelujah Time", “Pass It On" and "Reincarnated Soul”. The latter song first appeared on a single as B Side to “Concrete Jungle” and later - with the name changed to "Reincarnated Souls" – on Bunny Wailer's first solo album Blackheart Man (1976).
Natty Dread is the seventh album by Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in 1974. Previously Marley had recorded with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer as the Wailers, and this was his first record without them.
Exodus is the ninth studio album by Jamaican reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers, first released in June 1977 through Island Records, following Rastaman Vibration (1976). The album's production has been characterized as laid-back with pulsating bass beats and an emphasis on piano, trumpet and guitar. Unlike previous albums from the band, Exodus thematically moves away from cryptic story-telling; instead it revolves around themes of change, religious politics, and sexuality. The album is split into two halves: the first half revolves around religious politics, while the second half is focused on themes of making love and keeping faith.
Catch a Fire is the fifth studio album by the reggae band The Wailers, released in April 1973. It was their first album released by Island Records. After finishing a UK tour with Johnny Nash, they had started laying down tracks for JAD Records when a disputed CBS contract with Danny Sims created tensions. The band did not have enough money to return to Jamaica, so their road manager Brent Clarke approached producer Chris Blackwell, who agreed to advance The Wailers money for an album. They instead used this money to pay their fares back home, where they completed the recordings that constitute Catch a Fire. The album has nine songs, two of which were written and composed by Peter Tosh; the remaining seven were by Bob Marley. While Bunny Wailer is not credited as a writer, the group's writing style was a collective process. For the immediate follow-up album, Burnin', also released in 1973, he contributed four songs. After Marley returned with the tapes to London, Blackwell reworked the tracks at Island Studios, with contributions by Muscle Shoals session musician Wayne Perkins, who played guitar on three overdubbed tracks. The album had a limited original release under the name The Wailers in a sleeve depicting a Zippo lighter, designed by graphic artists Rod Dyer and Bob Weiner; subsequent releases had an alternative cover designed by John Bonis, featuring an Esther Anderson portrait of Marley smoking a "spliff", and crediting the band as Bob Marley and the Wailers.
Kaya is the tenth studio album by the Jamaican band Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in 1978. The album consists of tracks recorded alongside those released on the Exodus album. It was produced by the band.
Bob Marley and the Wailers were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer.
Joseph Benjamin Higgs was a reggae musician from Jamaica. In the late 1950s and 1960s he was part of the duo Higgs and Wilson together with Roy Wilson. He was a popular artist in Jamaica for four decades and is also known for his work tutoring younger musicians including Bob Marley and the Wailers and Jimmy Cliff.
Alfarita Constantia "Rita" Marley is a Cuban-born Jamaican singer-songwriter and entrepreneur. She is the widow of reggae legend Bob Marley. Along with Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, Marley was a member of the reggae vocal group the I Threes, the backing vocalists for Bob Marley and the Wailers.
Live at the Roxy is a two-disc live album by The Wailers, released in 2003. The album contains a complete concert, recorded on 26 May 1976 at The Roxy in West Hollywood California, during the Rastaman Vibration tour.
Marcia Llyneth Griffiths is a Jamaican singer. One reviewer described her by noting "she is known primarily for her strong, smooth-as-mousse love songs and captivating live performances".
Robert Nesta Marley was a Jamaican reggae singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of the genre, Marley fused elements of reggae, ska, and rocksteady in his music and was renowned for his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Marley's contribution to music increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide and made him a global figure in popular culture. Over the course of his career, Marley became known as a Rastafarian icon, and he infused his music with a sense of spirituality. He is also considered a global symbol of Jamaican music and culture and identity, and was controversial in his outspoken support for democratic social reforms. He also supported legalisation of cannabis, and advocated for Pan-Africanism. In 1976, Marley survived an assassination attempt in his home, which was believed to be politically motivated.
Errol Brown is a Jamaican audio engineer and record producer.
Andrew Tosh is a Jamaican reggae singer and the son of Peter Tosh. He is the nephew of reggae singer Bunny Wailer, also an original member of the Wailers. Andrew has a strong vocal resemblance to his late father and like his father, rides the unicycle.
Time Will Tell: A Tribute to Bob Marley is an album by Bunny Wailer, released through Shanachie Records in 1990. In 1991, the album won Wailer the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Recording.
Marley is a 2012 documentary-biographical film directed by Kevin Macdonald documenting the life of Bob Marley.
William Alexander Anthony "Bunny Rugs" Clarke, OD, also known as Bunny Scott, was the lead singer of Jamaican reggae band Third World as well as a solo artist. He began his career in the mid-1960s, and was also at one time a member of Inner Circle and half of the duo Bunny & Ricky.
Neville O'Riley Livingston, known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he is considered one of the longtime standard-bearers of reggae music. He was also known as Jah B, Bunny O'Riley, and Bunny Livingston.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Bob Marley:
"Guava Jelly" is a song recorded by the Jamaican group Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was released as a 7" vinyl single through Tuff Gong and Green Door Records. It was issued commercially with B-side track "Redder Then Red", which was misspelled on its initial printing, in 1971. It was written and produced by Marley and features uncredited lyrical contributions from Bunny Livingston. A reggae composition like the majority of Marley's works, "Guava Jelly" contains a rocksteady and island-like production with lyrics loosely based around sexual intercourse. His use of the term "guava jelly" was likely referring to a specific type of sexual lubricant. It was favorably viewed by several reviewers, with many of them finding the composition to be sexual and about love. The group placed "Guava Jelly" on several compilation albums, including Africa Unite: The Singles Collection in 2005, and Owen Gray and Herbie Mann created their own versions in 1974 and 1975, respectively.
Easy Skanking in Boston '78 is the fifth live album by Jamaican reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was released on February 3, 2015, by Island Records and Tuff Gong. It was recorded at the Boston Music Hall on June 8, 1978, as part of the band's Kaya Tour in support of their 10th studio album, Kaya.