Song:My One Desire
Album:Independent Jamaica: Songs Of Freedom From The Treasure Isle
This various artists comp from Trojan looks at music from 1962, the year Jamaica declared independence. I've featured it previously and it's a very interesting collection. Owen Gray is a pioneer of Jamaican music. He was born 1939 in Kingston and grew up in Trench Town singing in church. By the late 50s, calypso music had become very popular. So there was an international interest in developing more music from the Caribbean. A key figure in this was British record producer Chris Blackwell. He would go on to found Island Records. Owen Gray's recording debut with The Caribs called Please Don't Let Me Go was produced by Blackwell in 1960 and became a hit in Jamaica and England. It also made Gray very popular with Jamaican record producers and eventually he would get together with Coxsone Dodd and record his first album in 1961. My One Desire was one of his early hits in 1962. Gray sweet singing style made him very popular in England and he moved there in 1962. Gray signed with the fledgling Island Records and he continued to be very popular in Europe. Owen Gray has recorded periodically over the years and still tours today. Though some may classify him as reggae because he's Jamaican, his style is probably closer to R & B and he's also recorded gospel albums. This comp is a good sampling of Jamaican music pioneers. Here's Owen Gray performing at a ReggaeFest in Brazil.
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