The In Crowd (Jamaican band)

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The In Crowd
Origin Kingston, Jamaica
Genres Reggae
Years activeEarly 1970s–1980s, 2014–present
LabelsCactus/Creole, Island
MembersFil Callender
Errol Walker
Clevie Browne
Richard Anthony Johnson
Barry Bailey
Patrick Fabregas
Past membersTony Lewis
Freddie Butler
Wigmore Francis
Robbie Lyn
Mikey 'Boo' Richards

The In Crowd are a popular Jamaican reggae showband who had their commercial peak in the late 1970s, best known for the singles "We Play Reggae" and "Back a Yard". They split up in the 1980s but reformed in 2014 to record a new album.

Jamaica Country in the Caribbean

Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the fourth-largest island country in the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola.

Reggae music genre from Jamaica

Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the word "reggae," effectively naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience. While sometimes used in a broad sense to refer to most types of popular Jamaican dance music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that was strongly influenced by traditional mento as well as American jazz and rhythm and blues, especially the New Orleans R&B practiced by Fats Domino and Allen Toussaint, and evolved out of the earlier genres ska and rocksteady. Reggae usually relates news, social gossip, and political comment. Reggae spread into a commercialized jazz field, being known first as ‘Rudie Blues’, then ‘Ska’, later ‘Blue Beat’, and ‘Rock Steady’. It is instantly recognizable from the counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat, and the offbeat rhythm section. The immediate origins of reggae were in ska and rocksteady; from the latter, reggae took over the use of the bass as a percussion instrument.

Contents

History

Led by Filberto "Fil" Callender (vocals and lead guitar), the band also included Errol Walker (lead vocals), Clevie Browne (drums, vocals), Tony Lewis (bass guitar, vocals), Freddie Butler (keyboards), and Wigmore Francis (guitar). The band also featured a horn section of Egbert Evans and Barry Bailey. [1] Browne had previously been a member of The Browne Bunch.

The band were best known for two hit records, "We Play Reggae" and "Back a Yard", but also had reggae hits with "His Majesty Is Coming" and "Born In Ethiopia". [2] They recorded two albums during their lifetime, His Majesty Is Coming and Man From New Guinea, the latter released on Island Records.

Island Records British international record label of Jamaican origin; imprint of Island Records Ltd.

Island Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another label recently acquired by PolyGram, were both at the time the largest independent record labels in history, with Island in particular having exerted a major influence on the progressive music scene in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s.

After The In Crowd, Browne became half of one of Jamaica's pre-eminent rhythm sections and production teams, Steely & Clevie. [1] Errol Walker now works on the 7th floor of the Financial Services Authority as an events planner and social coordinator in the Diversity team.[ citation needed ]

Steely & Clevie was a Jamaican dancehall reggae production duo that was composed of members Wycliffe Johnson and Cleveland Browne. The duo worked with artists such as the Specials, Gregory Peck, Bounty Killer, Elephant Man, and No Doubt.

The group reformed in 2014 to record a new album. [3]

Fil Callender

Callender was born in Panama and moved with his family to Jamaica in the 1950s. [4] He grew up in the Molynes Road area of Kingston. [4]

Panama republic in Central America

Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Central America, bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital and largest city is Panama City, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly half the country's 4 million people.

Kingston, Jamaica Capital city in Surrey, Jamaica

Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island. In the Americas, Kingston is the largest predominantly English-speaking city south of the United States.

After attending rehearsals at the home of pianist Aubrey Adams he met Eric Frater who recruited him as drummer to his band The Virtues. [4] Through Frater he got the job of drummer in the Studio One house band, of which he was a member for three years. [4] While at Studio One he played drums on The Abyssinians' "Satta Massagana", and on hit singles by The Heptones among others, and guitar on The Slickers' "Johnny Too Bad". [4]

After The In Crowd he went on to a solo career. [1] [4] In 1980 he became a committed Christian and since then has played mainly in church bands. [4]

In 2013, Callender was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government in recognition of his contribution to Jamaican music. [5]

Albums

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Larkin, Colin:"The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", 1998, Virgin Books, ISBN   0-7535-0242-9
  2. ↑ Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter:"The Rough Guide to Reggae 3rd edn.", 2004, Rough Guides, ISBN   1-84353-329-4
  3. ↑ Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2014) "Return of the In Crowd", The Jamaica Observer , 13 April 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Campbell, Howard (2013) "Callender Beats – Drummer gets recognition", The Jamaica Observer , 14 August 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2013
  5. ↑ Campbell, Howard (2013) "Honours in Order", The Jamaica Observer , 7 August 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2013
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