Jackie Edwards | |
|---|---|
| Born | Wilfred Gerald Edwards 1938 Jamaica |
| Died | 15 August 1992(1992-08-15) (aged 53–54) |
| Genres | Reggae |
| Occupation(s) | Musician,songwriter,record producer |
| Years active | 1950–1992 |
| Labels | Island |
Wilfred Gerald "Jackie" Edwards (1938 – 15 August 1992),[1] was a Jamaicanmusician,songwriter andrecord producer whose career took inska,R&B,soul,rocksteady,reggae, and ballads.[2]
Edwards was born inJamaica in 1938 and grew up there with fourteen siblings. Strongly influenced byNat King Cole, he began performing at the age of 14.[3] Edwards came to the attention ofChris Blackwell in 1959. Edwards had four number one singles in Jamaica between 1960 and 1961, all self-written ballads with Latin-influenced music.[3]
When Blackwell set upIsland Records inLondon in 1962, Edwards traveled with him.[1] Edwards worked as a singer and songwriter for Island, recording as a solo artist and also duets withMillie Small as well as performing duties such as delivering records.[2][3] He wrote both "Keep On Running" and "Somebody Help Me", which became number one singles in theUnited Kingdom forThe Spencer Davis Group.[1][2] He continued to work as a recording artist himself, with regular album releases through the mid-1980s. Much of his later work wasproduced byBunny Lee. Edwards also worked withThe Aggrovators; one of his most renowned songs he produced with that band was the roots sound systems favorite, a recut ofBurning Spear'sInvasion (Wadada).[1]Dionne Bromfield covered his song "Oh Henry" on her albumIntroducing Dionne Bromfield in 2009.
Edwards worked as a producer, co-producing the 1977 albumMove Up Starsky byThe Mexicano.[4] The majority of his catalog is published through Fairwood Music (UK) Ltd.
He died in August 1992 from aheart attack.[1]
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