Biography
Born on 9 June 1946 in Jamaica, West Indies, Isaacs first attracted widespread notice through the 1966 release “I’d Rather Be Lonely.” Produced by Ronnie Nasralla, the track brought the singer’s approach to local listeners and reached the Top 10. He sustained regular visibility until 1968, when he began working with Lee Perry at the start of Perry’s independent production phase. That association yielded early recordings involving the Untouchables, the Inspirations, and Isaacs himself. Together they cut a version of Stevie Wonder’s “Place In The Sun,” which became a domestic success and reached listeners abroad. Isaacs stayed with Perry until the middle of the 1970s, during which time they issued reworkings of the Chi-Lites’ “We Are Neighbors” and the track “Just Enough To Keep Me Hanging On.” Their partnership concluded with a strong-selling treatment of Acker Bilk’s “Stranger On The Shore,” an outing that also marked the final occasion on which Perry licensed material from his Upsetter label—matrix US400—to Trojan Records in the UK.
Isaacs kept releasing material that found favor, including “Love And Devotion,” “Just Like A Song,” and “More Love.” In the mid-1980s he became a member of the Itals alongside Ronnie Davis and Keith Porter, stepping in for original vocalist Lloyd Ricketts after Ricketts departed for personal reasons. The group issued several well-received albums, among them the Grammy-nominated Rasta Philosophy. Isaacs continued performing with the Itals into the following decade, appearing with Keith Porter and his daughter Kada once Ronnie Davis elected to work instead with Roy Smith and Robert Doctor under the name Ronnie Davis And Idren. A 1998 Trojan compilation titled The Upsetter Singles gathered a substantial portion of Isaacs’ earlier recordings.
Isaacs kept releasing material that found favor, including “Love And Devotion,” “Just Like A Song,” and “More Love.” In the mid-1980s he became a member of the Itals alongside Ronnie Davis and Keith Porter, stepping in for original vocalist Lloyd Ricketts after Ricketts departed for personal reasons. The group issued several well-received albums, among them the Grammy-nominated Rasta Philosophy. Isaacs continued performing with the Itals into the following decade, appearing with Keith Porter and his daughter Kada once Ronnie Davis elected to work instead with Roy Smith and Robert Doctor under the name Ronnie Davis And Idren. A 1998 Trojan compilation titled The Upsetter Singles gathered a substantial portion of Isaacs’ earlier recordings.
Albums
