Winston Francis

Last updated

Winston Francis
Also known asKing Cool
Born1943 (age 7980)
Origin Kingston, Jamaica
Genres Rocksteady, Reggae
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1965–present
Website http://www.winstonfrancis.com/

Winston Francis (born 1943) aka Mr Fix It is a Jamaican singer whose career began in the 1960s.

Contents

Biography

Born in Kingston in 1943, Francis served an apprentice as a printer before relocating to Miami at the age of 16. [1] He attended music school, and his teacher Chuck Bird arranged for him to perform with the Jackie Gleason Orchestra in front of Spiro Agnew in 1965. [1] He then joined Carlos Malcolm's Afro Jamaicans band, with whom he toured the US and the Caribbean. He was also a member of The Sheridans (with Pat Kelly) In the late 1960s he recorded as a solo artist for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's Studio One label, with his debut album Mr. Fix-It released in 1969. [2] This was followed by a second album, California Dreaming in 1971, with the title track released as a single and chosen as 'Hit Pick of the Week' for two weeks running by Tony Blackburn on his BBC Radio 1 show. [3] The single's B-side, "Too Experienced", featured backing vocals from Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer. [1] He relocated to the UK that year. He toured the UK club circuit and recorded for EMI in the 1970s. [1]

In 1972, Francis recorded "Blue Moon". The song peaked at number 34 in Australia in February 1973. [4]

After a period of inactivity, Francis returned to recording in the early 1980s, releases including the Roy Cousins-produced Just Once. After a break from music when he worked as a youth worker and social worker, he returned in 1987 as a backing vocalist for The Melodians and began working with Trevor Star and the Skaticians. [1] He continued to record in the 1990s, working with Dennis Bovell under the name King Cool, and releasing Ragga Love and Sweet Rock Steady, and guested on Kelly's 1995 album Butterflies. [2] His version of Ben E King's "Stand by Me" was a hit in France, selling over 90,000 copies, leading to work with Sly & Robbie and John Kpiaye. [1] In 2003 he teamed up with fellow veteran AJ Franklin to record the album Stand Firm. In 2004 he released the medley album Feel Good All Over. [5]

Discography

Compilations

as King Cool

Francis & Franklin

DVD

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burning Spear</span> Musical artist

Winston Rodney OD, better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian and one of the most influential and long-standing roots artists to emerge from the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugar Minott</span> Jamaican reggae singer (1956–2010)

Lincoln Barrington "Sugar" Minott was a Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer, producer and sound-system operator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horace Andy</span> Jamaican singer (born 1951)

Horace Andy is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", as well as "Angel", "Spying Glass", and "Five Man Army" with English trip hop group Massive Attack. He is also famous for a cover version of "Ain't No Sunshine". Andy is often described as one of the most respected and influential singers in Jamaica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alton Ellis</span> Jamaican singer-songwriter

Alton Nehemiah Ellis was a Jamaican singer-songwriter. One of the innovators of rocksteady, he was given the informal title "Godfather of Rocksteady". In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.

Studio One is one of Jamaica's most renowned record labels and recording studios; it has been described as the Motown of Jamaica. The record label was involved with most of the major music movements in Jamaica during the 1960s and 1970s, including ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub and dancehall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Ranglin</span> Jamaican guitarist and composer

Ernest Ranglin is a Jamaican guitarist and composer who established his career while working as a session guitarist and music director for various Jamaican record labels including Studio One and Island Records. Ranglin played guitar on many early ska recordings and helped create the rhythmic guitar style that defined the form. Ranglin has worked with Theophilus Beckford, Jimmy Cliff, Monty Alexander, Prince Buster, the Skatalites, Bob Marley and the Eric Deans Orchestra. He is noted for a chordal and rhythmic approach that blends jazz, mento and reggae with percussive guitar solos incorporating rhythm 'n' blues and jazz inflections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Marley and the Wailers</span> Jamaican reggae 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.

Delroy George Wilson CD was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer. Wilson is often regarded as Jamaica's first child star, having first found success as a teenager. His youngest son, Karl "Konan" Wilson, has found success as part of British duo Krept and Konan.

Donat Roy Mittoo, better known as Jackie Mittoo, was a Jamaican-Canadian keyboardist, songwriter and musical director. He was a member of The Skatalites and musical director of the Studio One record label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Boothe</span> Jamaican singer (born 1948)

Kenneth George Boothe OD is a Jamaican vocalist known for his distinctive vibrato and timbre. Boothe achieved an international reputation as one of Jamaica's finest vocalists through a series of crossover hits that appealed to both reggae fans and mainstream audiences.

Dr Alimantado, also known as The Ital Surgeon, is a Jamaican reggae singer, deejay, and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Upsetters</span>

The Upsetters was the name given to the house band for Jamaican reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. The name of the band comes from Perry's nickname of Upsetter, after his song "I Am the Upsetter", a musical dismissal of his former boss Coxsone Dodd.

Clancy Eccles was a Jamaican ska and reggae singer, songwriter, arranger, promoter, record producer and talent scout. Known mostly for his early reggae works, he brought a political dimension to this music. His house band was known as The Dynamites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Gladiators (band)</span> Jamaican roots reggae band

The Gladiators are a Jamaican roots reggae band, most popular during the 1970s. The core was Albert Griffiths, Clinton Fearon and Gallimore Sutherland. Their two most famous albums are Trenchtown Mix Up (1976) and Proverbial Reggae (1978) with songs such as "Hearsay", "Jah Works", "Dreadlocks the Time is Now". "Mix Up", "Music Makers from Jamaica", and "Soul Rebel" – a song written by The Wailers. Gladiators also cooperated with the toaster U-Roy.

Me and You are a Jamaican reggae trio.

The Pioneers are a Jamaican reggae and soul vocal trio, whose main period of success was in the 1960s. The trio has had different line-ups, and still occasionally performs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Wailing Souls</span>

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.

Captain Sinbad was the deejay alter ego of Jamaican record producer Carl Dwyer.

<i>Mr Soul of Jamaica</i> 1974 studio album by Alton Ellis

Mr Soul of Jamaica is an album by Jamaican rocksteady singer Alton Ellis. It contains twelve tracks recorded between 1967 and 1970 at Duke Reid's Treasure Isle Recording Studios in Kingston, Jamaica and was produced by Reid and released on his Treasure Isle label in 1974. Although this was his only album for the label, Ellis had already been a star musician in Jamaica from the early 1960s onwards, having recorded for Coxsone Dodd's Studio One label before moving to Treasure Isle, and the album is a compilation of some of his Treasure Isle singles, although some of his biggest hits including "Rock Steady", "Girl I've Got a Date" and "Cry Tough" were left off it.

Winston Lara, better known by his stage name Gene Rondo, was a Jamaican reggae singer. After first recording as part of the duo Gene & Roy in Jamaica, he relocated to London where he continued to record until the 1980s, including several album releases in the 1970s, both solo and as a member of The Undivided. He was sometimes credited as Gene Laro or Winston Laro.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Larkin, Colin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae, Virgin Books, ISBN   0-7535-0242-9, p. 102-3
  2. 1 2 Prato, Greg "Winston Francis Biography", AllMusic, retrieved 2010-12-26
  3. "Winston Francis", LKJ Records, retrieved 2010-12-26
  4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 117. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  5. Leggett, Steve "Feel Good All Over Review", AllMusic, retrieved 2010-12-26