I-Roy | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Roy Samuel Reid |
| Born | (1944-06-28)28 June 1944 St. Thomas, Jamaica |
| Died | 27 November 1999(1999-11-27) (aged 55) Spanish Town, Jamaica |
| Genres | Reggae, ConsciousRoots Reggae, MC Toaster, Dub,Dancehall |
| Years active | 1968–1990s |
| Labels | Trojan Records, Front Line, Virgin |
Roy Samuel Reid (28 June 1944 – 27 November 1999), better known asI-Roy, was aJamaicandeejay who had a very prolific career during the 1970s.
Born in 1944 inSaint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, Reid graduated from Dinthill Technical College before starting his musical career via his Soul Bunnysound system in 1968, running it on Victoria Pier on Wednesday afternoons, while working during the day as a governmentaccountant.[1][2][3] He went on to work on theSpanish Town-based Son's Junior sound system, where he was spotted by producerHarry Mudie, who renamed him 'I-Roy'.[1]
Deriving his name, and to some extent, his style fromU-Roy, Reid was also heavily influenced in his early career byDennis Alcapone. In 1971 he recorded four tracks for Mudie, all releases as singles, "The Drifter" and "Heart Don't Leap" (both in combination withDennis Walks), "Let Me Tell You Boy" (over the Ebony Sisters' recording), and "Musical Pleasure".[1][2] Reid and Mudie fell out over the details of a proposed European tour, and he went on to work on sound systems such asKing Tubby's Home Town Hi-Fi, and recorded more material with many of the Island's top producers including Lloyd Campbell,Bunny Lee,Derrick Harriott,Lee "Scratch" Perry,Glen Brown,Rupie Edwards,Byron Lee, andKeith Hudson.[1][2] One of I-Roy's hits was "Sidewalk Killer" (1972), a take onTommy McCook's original "Sidewalk Doctor", produced by Ruddy Redwood.[4] One of his most productive partnerships was withGussie Clarke, who produced most of the tracks on his debut album,Presenting I Roy (1973), containing several hit singles recorded for the producer.[1]
I-Roy's lyrics were often humorous, incorporating elements of songs and nursery rhymes.[5]
Hit singles with "Buck and the Preacher" and "Monkey Fashion" were followed by a second album, the mainly self-producedHell and Sorrow, which was sufficiently popular in the UK that Reid relocated there to promote his third album,The Many Moods of I-Roy (1974), performing regularly at the Roaring 20s club with Sir Coxsone's sound system, and playing live shows backed byMatumbi.[1][6] He returned to Jamaica, where, with the popularity of DJ records waning, he worked as house producer atChannel One Studios, although his work was generally credited to the studio owners.[1]
In 1975, he returned with severalChannel One-produced singles, before working again withBunny Lee in what would be one of the most successful periods of his career.[1] For several years from 1975, I-Roy engaged in an on-record slanging match with fellow DJPrince Jazzbo, the two trading insults on successivesingles, starting with I-Roy's "Straight to Jazzbo's Head", although in reality they were good friends.[2] In 1976, I-Roy signed toVirgin Records with whom he released five albums.[7] Later in 1975 he released theTruth & Rights album, compiling many of his hits from that year.[1]
In 1976, he was signed byVirgin Records, who went on to release eight albums via various subsidiary labels, mainly utilising backing tracks played bythe Revolutionaries.[1][6] He also released other material in Jamaica, including theAlvin Ranglin-producedBest of I-Roy album in 1977.[1]
Reggae's move to thedancehall era in the 1980s saw I-Roy's popularity decline, along with the quality of his output.[1][3] This decline in popularity and recurring health problems led to financial problems and periods of homelessness during the later period of his life.[7] In the early 1990s he started building his own studio in Spanish Town, but it was never completed.[6]
In October 1999, one of his two sons was killed in prison.[1] On 27 November 1999 Reid died fromheart failure in a Spanish Town hospital, at the age of 55.[1][2][3]
Dub poetLinton Kwesi Johnson referred to I-Roy as "the mighty poet" in the track "Street 66" on the 1980albumBass Culture.[8]
He gained renewed attention when the song "Sidewalk Killer" was used in the 2004 video gameGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas in the radio station called K-Jah West Radio.
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