View Chapters

Book: The Ultimate Guide to Great Reggae

Chapter: Barrington Levy and the birth of dancehall

DOI: 10.1558/equinox.25488

Blurb:

Barrington Levy was born in 1964 in Kingston, but grew up in Clarendon Parish. A
youthful music fan, he was especially fond of Dennis Brown, The Jackson Five and
Michael Jackson. He first made a record around 1975 in a short-lived group called
the Mighty Multitude that included a cousin of his. A year later, as a grizzled veteran
of two sides, at fourteen years of age he decided to go solo. He initially found success
as a sound system performer. He then recorded a handful of undistinguished
singles for various producers, sounding like the youth singer he was. Things took an
abrupt change for the better when he began recording for Henry “Junjo” Lawes.

Chapter Contributors

  • Michael Garnice (mike@mentomusic.com - book-auth-760) 'Writer'