Newslex Point News in Uganda, Uganda news
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, the wildly influential Jamaican singer and producer who pushed the boundaries of reggae and shepherded dub, died on Sunday. He died at the age of 85.
The Jamaican Prime Minister, in a statement said the visionary died in the Noel Holnes hospital in Lucea. However, he never mentioned what caused the legend’s death.
‘Today Jamaica has lost the rhythm and soul of a prolific music icon who has inspired many. Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry was truly one of the most important and creative figures to have come out of Jamaica,’ Holnes said.
Perry produced for a variety of artistes including Bob Marley. His mastery traversed time and genre. His impact evident from hip hop to post-punk, from The Beastie Boys to The Clash.
Born March 20, 1936 in the rural Jamaican town of Kendal, Rainford Hugh ‘Lee’ Perry left school at age 15, moving to Kingston in the 1960s.
‘My father worked on the road, my mother in the fields. We were very poor. I went to school… I learned nothing at all. Everything I have learned has come from nature,’ Perry told the British music outlet NME in 1984.
Further, he said he did not have much to do after leaving school apart from field work, and hard, hard labor. He did not fancy that so he decided to start playing dominoes. Through this, he practices his mind and learned to read others’ minds.
In the late 1950s, he begun to sell records for Clement Coxsone Dodd’s sound system. During this same time, he cultivated his own recording career.
He later on parted ways with Dodd due to personal and financial issues.
He formed his own label in 1968 and named it Upsetter Records. His first major single, ‘People Funny Boy’ — a jibe at Gibbs — received praises for its innovative use of a crying baby recording, an early use of a sample.
He gained fame both in Jamaica and abroad, especially in Britain, drawing acclaim for his inventive production, studio wizardry and eccentric persona.
In 1973, Perry built a backyard studio in Kingston, naming it the ‘Black Ark,’ which would birth countless reggae and dub classics.
Check Also;
- Nigerian Televangelist Prophet TB Joshua Dies Few Days To His 58th Birthday
- Miss World Jamaica, Toni-Ann Singh Has Been Crowned The 69th Miss World
- Here’s How much Usain Bolt Is worth, And Where His Money Comes From!
Please use the button below to contribute to Newslex Point, Inc. using a credit card or via PayPal.
