Song:How Could I Live
Album:Studio One Lovers
Dwight Pinkney is a veteran of the Jamaican music business best known for his work with the 70s group Zap Pow. But before that he was a member of the Studio One backup group The Sharks. This was their only single but How Could I Live would become a Jamaican music standard. Pinkney was born 1945 in Manchester Parish, Jamaica. He formed The Sharks with Trevor Lopez, Danny McFarlane and Alfred Crossley. Like a lot of Jamaican bands of that era, The Sharks played Caribbean hotels. The Sharks also were a backup band at Coxsone Dodd's Studio One. They backed up The Wailers, Ken Boothe and The Gaylads among others. Pinkney says he wrote How Could I Live while The Sharks were performing at the Lucayan Beach Hotel in Freeport, Grand Bahamas in 1967. When they came home to Jamaica for a holiday, The Sharks recorded How Could I Live at Studio One. Pinkney shared lead vocals with Lloyd Robinson. The record was not a hit and it was The Sharks' only single. You can get it on this various artists comp from the British label Soul Jazz. But How Could I Live was a hit for reggae legend Dennis Brown as How Could I Leave. The only problem was they didn't give Pinkney a songwriting credit and he took legal action. The song has been covered by many artists. Pinkney went on to form the band Zap Pow in 1969 and they had success in the early 70s. Pinkney was also a member of the 80s band Roots Radics and was a session guitarist. Dwight Pinkney still performs today and released his first solo CD in 1999. His latest CD was released last year. Here's a video for How Could I Live by The Sharks. Thanks to a Jamaican Gleaner interview with Dwight Pinkney for the info about The Sharks.
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