Born in Jamaica in 1945, Cornel Campbell earned his chief renown from the "Gorgon rock" series he made alongside producer Bunny Lee. As a youngster he cut his earliest sides at Studio One, delivering ska material both alone and in a duo with Alan Martin. Between 1964 and 1967 he withdrew entirely from recording before returning as part of the brief rocksteady trio the Uniques. Late in the decade he fronted the Eternals and notched several Studio One successes with "Queen of the Minstrels" and "Stars." The 1971 reunion with Lee launched a fresh solo phase that highlighted his striking falsetto. Though a self-titled Trojan album drew praise two years later, Campbell turned in 1975 to openly Rastafarian statements on "Natty Dread in a Greenwich Farm" and "Natural Fact," both major hits at the time. Later that same year he and Lee unveiled the boastful smash "The Gorgon," which soon generated a run of sequels. The 1977 lovers-rock single "The Investigator" restored commercial momentum, yet his chart strength soon faded and the partnership with Lee ended in 1980. Later work with Winston Riley, Niney the Observer, and King Tubby never matched the impact of those earlier sessions. In 2005 Campbell reemerged on the German techno-dub outfit Rhythm & Sound's "King in My Empire." Four years afterward he joined London dub group Soothsayers for the 2013 Strut release Nothing Can Stop Us, part of the Inspiration Information series.
