Triston Palma | |
---|---|
Born | 1962 (age 61–62) |
Origin | Kingston, Jamaica |
Genres | Reggae |
Instrument | Vocals |
Years active | 1970-present |
Triston Palma (born 1962) is a Jamaican reggae singer/deejay. He has been active since the mid-1970s.
Palma was born in 1961 and grew up in the Waltham Park area of Kingston, and decided from an early age that he wanted to be a singer. [1] [2] He began by singing to the accompaniment of Soul Syndicate guitarist Tony Chin. His first recording was "Love Is A Message" for producer Bunny Lee when he was eight years old, which was followed by "A-Class Girl" for the Black Solidarity label, which was co-run by Palma and Ossie Thomas. [2] [3] [4]
Palma made a major breakthrough with his performance in 1979 at the General Penitentiary Memorial Concert for Claudie Massop, which also featured Bob Marley. [5] At one point in the early 1980s, Palma had nine songs in Jamaica's Top 40. [5] They included his biggest career hit, the dancehall influenced "Entertainment" produced by Nkrumah Jah Thomas and using a reworking of the rhythm from Vin Gordon's "Heavenless". [4] Palma became a popular artist in the "singjay" style in the early 1980s. [1] enjoying further successes with Jah Thomas including: "Water Bubbling", "Spliff Tail", "Raving", "Touch Me, Take Me" and "Run Around Woman".
Palma has worked with Linval Thompson, who produced his Joker Lover and Settle Down Girl albums, and also George Phang, Tony Robinson, Sugar Minott, Bunny Gemini, and Castro Brown.
In the mid-1980s, Palma became involved in the famine-relief charity project Music is Life, along with Freddie McGregor, Mutabaruka, Gregory Isaacs, Third World, Edi Fitzroy, and Steel Pulse, contributing to the charity single "Land of Africa". [2] His popularity continued through the 1980s with dancehall hits that included "Lick Shot", a track that utilized rhythms by Robbie Shakespeare and Sly Dunbar, [4] and in the 1990s he recorded the Three Against War song and album with Dennis Brown and Beenie Man. [1]
Palma has worked as a producer himself, working with artists such as Phillip Frazer, Josey Wales, and Robert Ffrench, and has provided backing vocals for singers such as Sugar Minott, Tony Tuff, and Freddie McGregor. [6] He also built his own Star Creation studio. [3]
Moses Anthony Davis OD, professionally known as Beenie Man, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay.
Lincoln Barrington "Sugar" Minott was a Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer, record producer and sound-system operator.
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.
Lloyd Woodrowe James, better known as Prince Jammy or King Jammy, is a Jamaican dub mixer, sound system owner and record producer. He began his musical career as a dub master at King Tubby's recording studio. His dubs are known for their clear sound and use of effects.
The Wailing Souls are a Jamaican reggae vocal group whose origins date back to the 1960s. The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years with Winston "Pipe" Matthews and Lloyd "Bread" McDonald the only constant members. They have been nominated for Grammy Awards three times.
Roy Anthony Johnson, better known simply as Anthony Johnson, is a Jamaican reggae musician who was a member of the group Mystic I and is known for the 1980s hit song "Gunshot".
Papa Kojak, also known as Kojak or Nigger Kojak, was a Jamaican reggae deejay and singer.
Nkrumah "Jah" Thomas is a reggae deejay and record producer who first came to prominence in the 1970s, later setting up his own Midnight Rock and Nura labels.
Toyan aka Ranking Toyan was a Jamaican reggae deejay active since the mid-1970s and best known for his early 1980s recordings.
Lacksley Castell, sometimes misspelled Laxley, Lacksly, Lasky or Locksley Castel was a Jamaican reggae singer best known for his work in the early 1980s.
Black Roots is a 1979 album by Sugar Minott. It was the first to appear on Minott's Black Roots label, and was described in the book Reggae: 100 Essential CDs – The Rough Guide as a "classic, which catches the singer on the cusp of the roots and dancehall phases, and with total control over his music." The album includes contributions from some of Jamaica's top session musicians including Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, Noel "Scully" Simms, Eric "Bingy Bunny" Lamont, Gladstone Anderson, Larry 'Professor Bassie' Silvera and Ansell Collins, with harmony vocals provided by Don Carlos, Lacksley Castell and Ashanti Waugh. Two of the tracks on the album had previously been issued as singles – "Hard Time Pressure" and "River Jordan". The album was described by Dave Thompson in his book Reggae & Caribbean Music as a "deeply dread collection...time has bestowed a stately uniqueness to it". Alex Henderson, writing for AllMusic, said of the album: "If you combined Stax's raw production style with the type of sweetness that characterized a lot of Chicago, Detroit and Philadelphia soul and added a reggae beat, the outcome might sound something like Black Roots."
The African Brothers were a Jamaican reggae vocal trio formed by three Kingston teenagers - Lincoln "Sugar" Minott, Winston "Tony Tuff" Morris, and Derrick "Bubbles" Howard.
Winston Anthony Morris, known professionally as Tony Tuff, was a Jamaican conscious roots reggae singer and a member of The African Brothers in the late 1960s and 1970s before embarking on a solo career.
Dennis Anthony Thomas, better known as King Kong, is a Jamaican deejay/singer best known for his work in the 1980s.
Paul Love, better known as Jah Screw is a Jamaican singer and record producer best known for his work in the 1980s and 1990s with artists such as Barrington Levy, Barry Brown, and Ranking Joe
Michael Palmer, also known as Palma Dog, is a Jamaican reggae musician who released several albums in the 1980s.
John McMorris, better known as Little John, is a Jamaican dancehall musician best known for his 1980s recordings.
Black Scorpio is a Jamaican sound system and record label run by Maurice "Jack Scorpio" Johnson.
Andrew Phillip Gregory, better known as Sluggy Ranks, was a Jamaican dancehall singer who was a major part of the New York dancehall scene.
Maxwell Grant, better known as Ranking Trevor and sometimes as Ranking Superstar, was a Jamaican reggae deejay.