Biography
At the dawn of the 1960s Chuck Josephs and Dobby Dobson, working as a duo, poured out a series of Jamaican hit singles that helped establish the emerging ska sound. Little is known of Josephs’ origins, yet Dobson reached the pair through the island’s talent-show circuit. They joined forces in 1960 and cut their first single, “Cool School,” for Duke Reid; the track scored an immediate success and was followed by the popular “Til the End of Time,” then by the 1961 smashes “Oh Fanny” and “Running Around.” Blue Beat licensed all four titles for British release. The duo next recorded “I Was Wrong” with Prince Buster and, for Coxsone Dodd, the sizable hits “I Love My Teacher” and the exuberant “Du Du Wap.” In the same year future Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga supervised another batch of successful singles, the biggest being “Sweeter Than Honey,” alongside “Lovey Dovey,” “Sitting Square,” and “Sad Over You.” Blue Beat continued to issue Chuck & Dobby material in the U.K., although the Seaga productions appeared on the Starlite label. Further 45s followed until, in 1964, Duke Reid released the final pairing, “Tell Me Pretty Baby” and “I’m Going Home.” The partnership then ended. Dobson embarked on a thriving solo career while Josephs joined Joe White for a run of Sonia Pottinger-produced hits in the mid-’60s. In 1970 he resurfaced under the alias Chuck Berry, Jr., with three Lee Perry–produced sides that the British Spinning Wheel label issued; the singer thereafter vanished from the musical landscape.