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Glen Adams

January 21, 2023

For the South African cricketer, see Glen Adams (cricketer).

Glen Adams (27 November 1945 – 17 December 2010)[1] was a Jamaican musician, composer, arranger, engineer, producer, based since the mid-1970s in Brooklyn, New York City.

Glen Adams
Glen Adams performing with The Slackers in 2002
Background information
Born(1945-11-27)27 November 1945
OriginJones Town, Kingston, Jamaica
Died17 December 2010(2010-12-17) (aged 65)
GenresSka, Rocksteady, Reggae
Occupation(s)Record producer, instrumentalist
Instrument(s)Keyboard
Years active1960s–2010

Career

Adams' mother was from Kingston and his father from St. Vincent; the two met while working in Curaçao.[2] Adams' first break in the music business came as a teenager, when he appeared as a singer in a vocal group on Radio Jamaica's Opportunity Knocks show hosted by Vere Johns. Later performing on the same show as a solo singer which led to appearances on cabaret shows and performances in Kingston and St. Andrews at weekends.[2][3] Adams' older sister Yvonne was also a popular singer and he was spotted by Clement "Coxsone" Dodd while rehearsing a song that she had written called "Wonder Thirst". Coxsone took him into the Federal Recording Studio to record the track in 1960.[2] Although not officially released as a single at the time, the song became a popular dub plate on sound systems,[2] and the title of the song became his nickname.[3]

Adams formed a duo, Ken and Glen, with Ken Boothe and they came second place in the 1966 Festival Song Competition with "I Remember".[2] The duo also backed Stranger Cole on his number one single "Uno Dos Tres".[2] He co-founded The Heptones before moving on to The Pioneers, appearing on the latter's "Shake It Up" and "Good Nanny".[2][3] While continuing to earn a living as a tailor, he moved on to work with Duke Reid's Treasure Isle set-up as an informal musical director, introducing singers such as Joe White to Reid.[2]

Adams also worked with Bunny Lee from around 1967 as a solo singer, backing singer and A&R man, in exchange for studio time.[2][3] At a recording session in October 1968, when several musicians failed to turn up due to a dispute about payment for a previous session, Adams was asked to play piano, despite not being proficient on the instrument. Unhappy with the results, he switched instruments with organist Lloyd Charmers (although he had never played the organ before). He played organ on eight tracks in that session, which included Lester Sterling's "Bangarang" and Slim Smith's "Everybody Needs Love" and he has stuck with the instrument ever since, becoming a regular session player.[2][3] Along with other musicians such as the Barrett brothers (Aston and Carlton), he performed in sessions for a range of producers under a variety of group names notably The Hippy Boys for Bunny Lee, where Adams did some of his most memorable work accompanying Slim Smith, The Reggae Boys and The Upsetters for Lee "Scratch" Perry.[3] Adams also worked for Herman Chin Loy, where he was one of a number of keyboard players to record under the name Augustus Pablo, before Horace Swaby adopted that identity.[4]

Perry and The Upsetters toured the United Kingdom to capitalise on the success of Perry's hit "Return of Django" (and the less successful follow-up, "Live Injection");[5] returning to Jamaica in 1970. As part of The Upsetters, Adams backed The Wailers during their spell with Perry and Adams did much of the arranging and composed the song "Mr. Brown".[2][3] The lyrics were inspired by a local tale about a duppy who was supposedly seen speeding around on a three-wheeled coffin with two "John Crows" (buzzards) on top, one of which would ask for "Mr. Brown".[2] Adams was due to record the track himself but Perry suggested that the Wailers record it, with Peter Tosh and Adams adding spooky organ riffs.[2] Adams regularly introduced this song at his concerts with the statement: "I wrote this song for Bob Marley". When The Wailers parted company with Perry in 1971 taking The Upsetter's rhythm section with them, Adams remained with Perry. During this period he had also started to split his time between Jamaica and the United States. In the United States he set up his own Capo record label[5] and put together a new band, the Blue Grass Experience. He eventually moved to Brooklyn permanently in 1975, where he became more involved in producing and also worked for Brad Osbourne's Clocktower and Lloyd Barnes' Bullwackie labels[5] and played with The Realistics band.[3]

In the late 1970s, Adams expanded into R&B and Rap production, working with hip hop artist T Ski Valley.[3][6] He also worked with Shaggy and remixed and re-voiced an album of partly Upsetters material in 1996, released by Heartbeat Records as Upsetters a Go Go.[6]

After many years in the studio, Adams returned to live performance in the 2000s, touring the USA and Europe with The Slackers[3] and also playing occasional NYC shows with the Jammyland All-Stars.

Adams owned his own recording studio and in his later years produced artists such as Susan Cadogan and Keith Rowe,[3] half of the vocal duo Keith & Tex from Jamaica.

Glen Adams died on 17 December 2010 at the University Hospital of the West Indies after feeling ill while visiting Jamaica.[7]

Discography

Singles (non-comprehensive)

  • "Far Away", 1967
  • "Grab A Girl", 1968
  • "Hey There Lonely Girl", 1968
  • "Hold Down Miss Winey"
  • "I Can't Help It", 1968
  • "I Remember", 1967
  • "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", 1968
  • "My Argument", 1968
  • "Run Come Dance", 1968
  • "I'm Shocking, I'm Electric (She)", 1967
  • "She's So Fine (I've Got A Girl)", 1968
  • "Silent Lover", 1967
  • "Taking Over Orange Street", 1968

Albums

References

  1. ^ . Trojanrecords.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m David Katz (2000). People funny boy. Canongate Books Ltd. ISBN 978-0-86241-854-0.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k . 5 June 2008. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008.
  4. ^ . Reggae-vibes.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  5. ^ a b c Colin Larkin (1998). Reggae. Virgin Pub. ISBN 978-0-7535-0242-6.
  6. ^ a b Dave Thompson (1 March 2002). Reggae & Caribbean Music: Third Ear – The Essential Listening Companion. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-655-7.
  7. ^ "Jamaica Gleaner News – Reggae-music pioneer leaves a legacy of greatness – Entertainment – Monday | December 20, 2010". Jamaica-gleaner.com. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2011.

External links

  • at the Wayback Machine (archived 14 November 2007) – Nov 2007 archived version of Official Homepage
  • PUNKCAST#222 live vid w/ The Slackers, Knitting Factory NYC, 22 December 2002 (RealPlayer)
  • PUNKCAST#631 live vid w/ Jammyland All Stars, Club Seho NYC, 3 December 2004 (RealPlayer) (mp4)
  • Roots Archive

January 21, 2023
glen, adams, south, african, cricketer, cricketer, november, 1945, december, 2010, jamaican, musician, composer, arranger, engineer, producer, based, since, 1970s, brooklyn, york, city, performing, with, slackers, 2002background, informationborn, 1945, novembe. For the South African cricketer see Glen Adams cricketer Glen Adams 27 November 1945 17 December 2010 1 was a Jamaican musician composer arranger engineer producer based since the mid 1970s in Brooklyn New York City Glen AdamsGlen Adams performing with The Slackers in 2002Background informationBorn 1945 11 27 27 November 1945OriginJones Town Kingston JamaicaDied17 December 2010 2010 12 17 aged 65 GenresSka Rocksteady ReggaeOccupation s Record producer instrumentalistInstrument s KeyboardYears active1960s 2010 Contents 1 Career 2 Discography 2 1 Singles non comprehensive 2 2 Albums 3 References 4 External linksCareer EditAdams mother was from Kingston and his father from St Vincent the two met while working in Curacao 2 Adams first break in the music business came as a teenager when he appeared as a singer in a vocal group on Radio Jamaica s Opportunity Knocks show hosted by Vere Johns Later performing on the same show as a solo singer which led to appearances on cabaret shows and performances in Kingston and St Andrews at weekends 2 3 Adams older sister Yvonne was also a popular singer and he was spotted by Clement Coxsone Dodd while rehearsing a song that she had written called Wonder Thirst Coxsone took him into the Federal Recording Studio to record the track in 1960 2 Although not officially released as a single at the time the song became a popular dub plate on sound systems 2 and the title of the song became his nickname 3 Adams formed a duo Ken and Glen with Ken Boothe and they came second place in the 1966 Festival Song Competition with I Remember 2 The duo also backed Stranger Cole on his number one single Uno Dos Tres 2 He co founded The Heptones before moving on to The Pioneers appearing on the latter s Shake It Up and Good Nanny 2 3 While continuing to earn a living as a tailor he moved on to work with Duke Reid s Treasure Isle set up as an informal musical director introducing singers such as Joe White to Reid 2 Adams also worked with Bunny Lee from around 1967 as a solo singer backing singer and A amp R man in exchange for studio time 2 3 At a recording session in October 1968 when several musicians failed to turn up due to a dispute about payment for a previous session Adams was asked to play piano despite not being proficient on the instrument Unhappy with the results he switched instruments with organist Lloyd Charmers although he had never played the organ before He played organ on eight tracks in that session which included Lester Sterling s Bangarang and Slim Smith s Everybody Needs Love and he has stuck with the instrument ever since becoming a regular session player 2 3 Along with other musicians such as the Barrett brothers Aston and Carlton he performed in sessions for a range of producers under a variety of group names notably The Hippy Boys for Bunny Lee where Adams did some of his most memorable work accompanying Slim Smith The Reggae Boys and The Upsetters for Lee Scratch Perry 3 Adams also worked for Herman Chin Loy where he was one of a number of keyboard players to record under the name Augustus Pablo before Horace Swaby adopted that identity 4 Perry and The Upsetters toured the United Kingdom to capitalise on the success of Perry s hit Return of Django and the less successful follow up Live Injection 5 returning to Jamaica in 1970 As part of The Upsetters Adams backed The Wailers during their spell with Perry and Adams did much of the arranging and composed the song Mr Brown 2 3 The lyrics were inspired by a local tale about a duppy who was supposedly seen speeding around on a three wheeled coffin with two John Crows buzzards on top one of which would ask for Mr Brown 2 Adams was due to record the track himself but Perry suggested that the Wailers record it with Peter Tosh and Adams adding spooky organ riffs 2 Adams regularly introduced this song at his concerts with the statement I wrote this song for Bob Marley When The Wailers parted company with Perry in 1971 taking The Upsetter s rhythm section with them Adams remained with Perry During this period he had also started to split his time between Jamaica and the United States In the United States he set up his own Capo record label 5 and put together a new band the Blue Grass Experience He eventually moved to Brooklyn permanently in 1975 where he became more involved in producing and also worked for Brad Osbourne s Clocktower and Lloyd Barnes Bullwackie labels 5 and played with The Realistics band 3 In the late 1970s Adams expanded into R amp B and Rap production working with hip hop artist T Ski Valley 3 6 He also worked with Shaggy and remixed and re voiced an album of partly Upsetters material in 1996 released by Heartbeat Records as Upsetters a Go Go 6 After many years in the studio Adams returned to live performance in the 2000s touring the USA and Europe with The Slackers 3 and also playing occasional NYC shows with the Jammyland All Stars Adams owned his own recording studio and in his later years produced artists such as Susan Cadogan and Keith Rowe 3 half of the vocal duo Keith amp Tex from Jamaica Glen Adams died on 17 December 2010 at the University Hospital of the West Indies after feeling ill while visiting Jamaica 7 Discography EditSingles non comprehensive Edit Far Away 1967 Grab A Girl 1968 Hey There Lonely Girl 1968 Hold Down Miss Winey I Can t Help It 1968 I Remember 1967 I Wanna Hold Your Hand 1968 My Argument 1968 Run Come Dance 1968 I m Shocking I m Electric She 1967 She s So Fine I ve Got A Girl 1968 Silent Lover 1967 Taking Over Orange Street 1968Albums Edit Upsetters Blackboard Jungle Dub Glen Adams Wonderthirst 1963 73 LP LandmarkReferences Edit Glen Adams Trojan Trojanrecords com Archived from the original on 28 September 2011 Retrieved 30 July 2011 a b c d e f g h i j k l m David Katz 2000 People funny boy Canongate Books Ltd ISBN 978 0 86241 854 0 a b c d e f g h i j k CAPO LANDMARK CORNER 5 June 2008 Archived from the original on 5 June 2008 Article In memory of Augustus Pablo Reggae vibes com Archived from the original on 21 June 2013 Retrieved 30 July 2011 a b c Colin Larkin 1998 Reggae Virgin Pub ISBN 978 0 7535 0242 6 a b Dave Thompson 1 March 2002 Reggae amp Caribbean Music Third Ear The Essential Listening Companion Backbeat Books ISBN 978 0 87930 655 7 Jamaica Gleaner News Reggae music pioneer leaves a legacy of greatness Entertainment Monday December 20 2010 Jamaica gleaner com 20 December 2010 Retrieved 30 July 2011 External links EditGlen Adams Landmark Corner at the Wayback Machine archived 14 November 2007 Nov 2007 archived version of Official Homepage PUNKCAST 222 live vid w The Slackers Knitting Factory NYC 22 December 2002 RealPlayer PUNKCAST 631 live vid w Jammyland All Stars Club Seho NYC 3 December 2004 RealPlayer mp4 Roots Archive Glen Adams Discography Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Glen Adams amp oldid 1038495687, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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