Burning Spear

Burning Spear ( born March 1, 1948 in Saint Ann 's Bay, Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica; actually Winston Rodney ) is a Jamaican reggae musician. The Grammy winner has been one of the 1970s of the main exponents of roots reggae. Initially, Burning Spear was the name of the band, Winston Rodney had founded with Rupert Willington and Delroy Hinds, later used the name Rodney also for themselves

Career

The first recordings of Winston Rodney dating back to 1969. This year he took Door Peep at the legendary Studio One in Kingston. The contact with the studio owners had made ​​Bob Marley. Even before the release of the single Rodney took the stage name Burning Spear, which goes back to a quote by Jomo Kenyatta, the African freedom fighter and later president of Kenya. The work of Burning Spear is also very heavily influenced by the liberation movement of Marcus Garvey.

In 1975, the album Marcus Garvey first appeared only in Jamaica. As a studio musician some of the most renowned musicians of reggae were involved, including parts of the Wailers, the band of Bob Marley. After the great success in his native Iceland Burning Spear Records signed her and released the album internationally in 1976 new. Without consultation with Burning Spear, the record company mixed this album from new, to adapt it to the international market and angered the musician that. As compensation a Dubversion the album was released the same year under the title Garvey 's Ghost, on the instrumental dub versions of the original pieces are included and the one of the first successful dub albums ever was. In the following period appeared to many Burning Spear albums the corresponding dub albums.

Marcus Garvey was the first international success of Burning Spear. Other successful albums followed, first with the help of producer Jack Ruby. From the late 70s produced Rodney the plates themselves also

Beginning of the eighties was Burning Spear at EMI artist and produced for this label three LPs to switch mid-80s to the label Slash. From 1990, Burning Spear was back in Iceland under contract, but moved in 1993 to Heartbeat Music, where he had a short interlude in 1979. In 2002, the step in the complete artistic independence with the establishment of their own record label, Burning Spear Records.

For the album Calling Rastafari by Burning Spear in 1999 was awarded in 2000 the Grammy for Best Reggae Album. Overall, he was eleven times nominated for this category.

Burning Spear has recorded in the past more than 30 years, approximately 20 original albums, plus nearly a dozen derived therefrom dub albums and several other live LPs as well as numerous compilations. The labels Iceland and EMI have released from the images of the respective contract period mid-80s for the first time Greatest Hit compilations, the other labels have followed successively, so that many such compilations on the market, but usually only contract material each contain a record company, and therefore can only provide an insufficient overview.

The sound of the classic Burning Spear recordings is characterized by restrained instrumentation and of characteristic horn sections - and, of course, Winston Rodney's charismatic voice.

In August 2008, the first science - faction album will be released, on which he has also cooperated.

Discography

• Burning Spear (1973 )
• Rocking time ( 1974)
• Marcus Garvey (1975 )
• Garvey 's Ghost (1976 )
• Man in the Hills (1976 )
• Dry & Heavy ( 1977)
• Live (1977 )
• Social Living ( 1978)
• Living Dub Vol 1 (1979 )
• Harder Than the Best ( 1979)
• Hail H.I.M (1980 )
• Living Dub Vol 2 (1980)
• Farover (1982)
• The Fittest of the Fittest (1983 )
• Reggae Greats: Best of Iceland years 1975-1978 (1984 )
• Resistance (1986)
• People Of The World ( 1986)
• 100th Anniversary: Marcus Garvey / Garvey ' s Ghost (1987 )
• The Fittest Selection: Greatest hits of 1980-1983 (1987 )
• Mistress Music ( 1988)
• Live In Paris (1989 )
• We Dweet MEK (1990)
• The Original (1992 )
• The World Should Know (1993 )
• Love and Peace: Burning Spear Live! (1994)
• Rasta Business (1995 )
• Dub living Vol 3 (1996)
• Chant Down Babylon: The Iceland Anthology (1996 )
• Best of Burning Spear (1996 )
• Appointment With His Majesty (1997)
• (A) live In Concert 97 ( 1998)
• Dub living Vol 4 (1999)
• Calling Rastafari (1999)
• Live in Montreaux (2001)
• Ultimate Collection: Best of Collection ( 2001)
• Burning Spear: Best of the non- album releases ( 2001)
• Best of the Fittest: Best of Collection ( 2001)
• Rare and Unreleased (2001)
• 20th Century Masters: The Best of Burning Spear Best of the Iceland years (2002)
• Free Man (2003)
• Living Dub Vol 6 (2004)
• Creation Rebel (2004)
• Sounds from the Burning Spear (2004)
• Live In South Africa 2000 (2004)
• Our Music (2005)

Evidence

• B. Graves, S. Schmidt -Joos: The New Rock Encyclopedia, Vol 1, p 125, ISBN 978-3-499-16320-3
• Jo -Ann Greene: Review of the album Marcus Garvey on allmusic.com, online