reggae star Desmond Dekker dies in England

Believe it or not, I went to The Jamaica Gleaner (founded 1834) for a fuller local obituary, and there was nothing about Desmond Dekker there. If somebody can explain to me why The Gleaner doesn't know who Desmond Dekker was, I'd really appreciate it. Maybe they don't like Reggae.

The Jamaica Observer, however, is alert and at our service.

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Reuters
Friday 26 May 2006

Reggae star Desmond Dekker
dies of a heart attack

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Jamaican reggae pioneer Desmond Dekker, famed for the genre's first worldwide hit with "Israelites," has died of a heart attack at his home in England, the Jamaica Observer reported on Friday. He was 64.

The newspaper said the singer/songwriter, whose 1960s fame was eclipsed the following decade by Bob Marley, died on Wednesday.

Although his recording career had been on the wane for decades, Dekker remained a popular concert draw in Europe. He gave his last performance at Leeds University in England on May 11.

Dekker, born Desmond Dacres in the Jamaican capital of Kingston on July 16, 1941, was raised on a diet of such 1950s crooners as Nat "King" Cole and Jackie Wilson.

After working initially as a welder, alongside Marley, he began composing songs. He signed with Chinese-Jamaican music label owner Leslie Kong, and scored an immediate hit in 1963 with "Honor Your Mother and Father."

By 1966, he was a big star in his homeland, and he had his first taste of success in Britain with "0.0.7. (Shanty Town)," which was inspired by student riots in Jamaica. It eventually peaked at No. 14 on the U.K. charts, and was featured on the soundtrack of the 1972 film "The Harder They Come."

In 1969, he enjoyed his biggest success with the propulsive reggae classic "Israelites," four years before Marley truly brought reggae into the mainstream. The song's hard-luck lyrics -- "Get up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir" -- delivered in Dekker's mellifluous voice, resonated around the world. It topped the charts in the U.K. and many other countries, and reached the top 10 in the United States.

"It's about how hard things were for a lot of people in Jamaica -- downtrodden, like the Israelites that led Moses to the Promised Land," Dekker said in the liner notes for the 2005 career retrospective "You Can Get It If You Really Want."

"I was really saying, don't give up, things will get better if you just hold out long enough."

Many of Dekker's hits, including "Rude Boy Train," were about rude culture, which grew out of the Jamaica slums in the early 1960s. The term "rude," as in "rude boy," referred to someone who was cool or hip.

Dekker also enjoyed a U.K. hit in 1970 with a cover of Jimmy Cliff's "You Can Get It If You Really Want," which he recorded only at the behest of Kong. He settled in England about this time, but his chart success was largely over.

He recorded sporadically, and mounted a short-lived comeback attempt in 1980 on the heels of a major ska revival. Four years later, he was declared bankrupt.

Dekker was divorced with a son and a daughter.

© Reuters 2006. All rights reserved. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

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Harder They Come Soundtrack Lyrics

Artist: Desmond Dekker & The Aces

The Israelites

Get up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir,
so that every mouth can be fed.
Poor me, the Israelite. Aah.

Get up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir,
So that every mouth can be fed.
Poor me, the Israelite. Aah.

My wife and my kids, they are packed up and leave me.
Darling, she said, I was yours to be seen.
Poor me, the Israelite. Aah.

Shirt them a-tear up, trousers are gone.
I don't want to end up like Bonnie and Clyde.
Poor me, the Israelite. Aah.

After a storm there must be a calm.
They catch me in the farm. You sound the alarm.
Poor me, the Israelite. Aah.

Poor me, the Israelite.
I wonder who I'm working for.
Poor me, Israelite,
I look a-down and out, sir.

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Desmond Dekker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born: 16 July 1941, Kingston, Jamaica
Died: 24 May 2006, Surrey, England
Occupation: Singer and songwriter
Website: http://www.desmonddekker.com/

Desmond Dekker was a Jamaican ska and reggae singer and songwriter. Together with his backing group, The Aces (consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard), he had the first international Jamaican hit with "Israelites." Other hits include "007 (Shanty Town)" (1967) and "It Mek" (1968). Before the ascent of Bob Marley, Dekker was the best-known Jamaican musician outside of his country, and one of the most popular within it.

Early days

He was born Desmond Adolphus Dacres in Kingston and was orphaned as a teenager. Dekker began working as a welder, singing around his workplace while his co-workers encouraged him. In 1961 he auditioned for Coxsone Dodd (Studio One) and Duke Reid (Treasure Isle). Neither were impressed by his talents and the young man moved on to Leslie Kong's Beverley record label where he auditioned before Derrick Morgan, then the label's biggest star.

Early recording career

With Morgan's support, Dekker was signed but did not record until 1963 because Leslie Kong wanted to wait for the perfect song, which "Honour Your Father and Mother" was felt to be.

"Honour Your Father and Mother" was a hit and was followed by "Sinners Come Home" and "Labour for Learning." as well as a name change (from Desmond Dacres to Desmond Dekker). His fourth hit, however, made him into one of the island's biggest stars. It was "King of Ska," a rowdy and jubilant song on which Dekker was backed by The Cherrypies (also known as The Maytals). The song remains well known among ska fans. Dekker then recruited four brothers, Carl, Patrick, Clive and Barry Howard, who became his backing band, The Four Aces.

Dekker and the Howards recorded a number of hits including "Parents," "Get Up Edina," "This Woman," and "Mount Zion." Until 1967 Dekker's songs were polite and conveyed respectable, mainstream messages. In that year, however, he appeared on Derrick Morgan's "Tougher Than Tough," which helped begin a trend of popular songs glamourizing the violent rude boy culture.

Dekker's own songs did not go to the extremes of many other popular tunes though he did introduce lyrics which resonated with the rude boys starting with one of his best-known songs, "007 (Shanty Town)." The song established Dekker as a rude boy icon and also became an established hero in the United Kingdom's mod scene. "007 (Shanty Town)" was a Top 15 hit in the UK, and he toured that country with a posse of mods following him.

Dekker continued with songs in the same vein such as "Rude Boy Train" and "Rudie Got Soul," as well as continuing with his previous themes of religion and morality in songs like "It's a Shame," "Wise Man," "Hey Grandma," "Unity," "It Pays," "Mother's Young Girl" and "Sabotage." His "Pretty Africa" is a long-standing favourite among his fans and may be the earliest popular song promoting repatriation. Many of the hits from this era came from his debut album, 007 (Shanty Town).

In 1968 Dekker's "Israelites" was released, appearing on both the U.S. and UK singles chart, and eventually topping the latter and peaking in the Top Ten of the former. He was the first Jamaican performer to enter U.S. markets with pure Jamaican music, though he never repeated the feat. Equally, the track became the first reggae song to top the UK chart. That same year saw the release of "Beautiful and Dangerous," "Writing on the Wall," "Music Like Dirt," "Bongo Girl," and "Shing a Ling." In the same year, Dekker was mentioned as "Desmond" by his friend Paul McCartney in The Beatles' song "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", when it was released on 'The White Album.'

1969 saw the release of "It Mek," which first saw only lukewarm success but was re-recorded and became a hit both in Jamaica and the UK. He also released "Problems" and "Pickney Gal," both of which were popular in Jamaica but saw only limited success elsewhere.

Mid career (the 1970s)

In the 1970s Dekker spent most of his time touring and moved to the UK, where he continued to record. Among his best known releases of this period was "You Can Get It If You Really Want," written by Jimmy Cliff, which Dekker had not wanted to record but was convinced to do so by Leslie Kong. Kong, whose production had been an instrumental part of both Dekker's and Cliff's careers, died in 1971 and both his protegés lost direction for a period before returning to music.

Dekker continued recording, but with only limited success until he began working with the production duo Bruce Anthony in 1974. His first hit with the pair was 1975's "Sing a Little Song" which climbed in to the British Top Ten. Dekker was unable to follow its success, however, and did not chart in the UK for some time (except for the Top Ten re-charting of "Israelites" in 1975). Dekker also found only a limited audience in Jamaica.

At the end of the 1970s Dekker signed with Stiff Records, a punk label linked with the Two-Tone movement, a fusion of punk and ska. He recorded an album called Black & Dekker which featured his previous hits backed by The Rumour, Graham Parker's backing band. His first single was "Israelites," a Top Ten Belgian hit, and was followed by "Please Don't Bend," Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross" and "Book of Rules." His next album was Compass Point, produced by Robert Palmer. Though Compass Point did not sell well, Dekker was still a popular live performer and he toured with The Rumour.

Later life

In the early 1980s, as the Two Tone movement died out, he saw his fortunes dwindle and he was declared bankrupt in 1984. Only a single live album was released in the late 80s, but a new version of "Israelites" reawakened public interest in 1990, following its use in a Maxell advertisement. He re-recorded some old singles, and worked with The Specials for 1992's King of Kings, which used hits from Dekker's musical heroes, including Derrick Morgan.

He also collaborated on a remix version of his classic "Israelites" with reggae artist Apache Indian.

Desmond Dekker died of a heart attack at his home in Surrey, England, aged 64.

Trivia

* He is referenced in the Rancid song "Roots Radical" in the lyric

"The radio was playing
Desmond Dekker was singing
On the 43 bus as we climb up the hill."

* He is also mentioned in the Common Rider song "Classics of Love" in the lyric

"Midnight Marauder spinning on my stereo
Mr. Desmond Dekker has a crown made of gold
The kids are alright a what a what I hear."

External links

* Jamaica Observer reports death, retrieved May 26, 2006.

* This page was last modified 22:13, 26 May 2006.

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