Biography
Desmond Dekker ranks foremost among Jamaican performers in bringing worldwide recognition to his native land, aside from Bob Marley, though Dekker achieved prominence ahead of him. Audiences around the globe first encountered Jamaica's distinctive rhythmic style through the artist's succession of chart successes, above all the recordings "Israelites" and "0.0.7. (Shanty Town)." His stature within Jamaica, however, proved even more commanding.
Born Desmond Dacres in Kingston, Jamaica, on July 16, 1942, the future performer lost both parents during his teenage years. Forced to support himself, he trained as a welder. Colleagues at the workshop first recognized his vocal ability when the youth sang during work hours. Encouraged by those coworkers, Dacres auditioned in 1961 for Coxsone Dodd at Studio One and for Duke Reid at Treasure Isle. Neither producer detected special promise in the aspiring singer and turned him away. Undeterred, he next approached Leslie Kong of the Beverley's label. Dacres performed for the label's leading artist, Derrick Morgan, who immediately recognized his talent. Kong nevertheless waited two full years before scheduling a session, insisting the young man first write material worthy of release.
In 1963 Dacres offered Kong the composition "Honour Your Father and Mother," which the producer judged worth the delay. Issued under the new professional name Desmond Dekker, the single's sincere message reached number one on the Jamaican charts. Dekker followed with the well-received "Sinners Come Home" and "Labour for Learning." The subsequent release "King of Ska," backed by the Cherrypies—also known as the Maytals—secured his reputation. The exuberant celebration of the ska sound quickly attained classic status. Before year's end Dekker assembled his permanent backing quartet, the Aces, comprising brothers Carl, Clive, Barry, and Patrick Howard, previously called the Four Aces. The five musicians then recorded numerous successful ska singles, among them the celebratory "Get Up Edina," the advisory "Parents," the buoyant romantic tribute "This Woman," and "Mount Zion," all of which became major domestic hits.
Dekker initially projected the image of a courteous young artist, evident in many early titles. That image shifted in 1967. Derrick Morgan paved the way with a series of rudeboy-courtroom songs beginning with "Tougher Than Tough," on which Dekker and his brother George supplied backing vocals. Dekker himself avoided the ensuing legal-themed cycle and instead scored a Jamaican hit with "0.0.7. (Shanty Town)." Driven by a solid rocksteady rhythm, the track emerged as a defining rudeboy anthem and cemented Dekker's status as a rudeboy figurehead. In Britain, following the mod movement, the Jamaican vocalist was embraced by that subculture. The single climbed to the U.K. Top 15, prompting Dekker's first trip to England, where enthusiastic mods followed him closely. Additional rudeboy-oriented successes followed, including the soulful "Rudy Got Soul" and "Rude Boy Train." Other 1967 releases returned to earlier thematic concerns: the spiritually inclined "Wise Man," "Hey Grandma," the cautionary "Mother's Young Girl," the romantic "Sabotage," the lively "It's a Shame," and the uplifting "Unity," which placed second in Jamaica's Festival Song Competition. Among the year's most memorable pieces was the repatriation-themed "Pretty Africa," whose evocative beauty and longing ensured lasting popularity. The hit "It Pays" showcased the Aces' intricate falsetto harmonies at their finest. Although none of these singles matched the commercial reach of "0.0.7.," Dekker retained strong followings in both Britain and Jamaica. Many tracks from this period appeared on his debut album, titled after "0.0.7. (Shanty Town)."
In 1968 Dekker introduced the sufferers' lament "Israelites" to international audiences. The song spent six months ascending the U.K. charts before reaching number one in March. In the United States it climbed to the Top Ten three months later. Dekker thereby became the first Jamaican artist to achieve a major American breakthrough with an unadulterated Jamaican recording. While subsequent U.S. singles never replicated that peak, his career continued successfully at home and in Britain. The poignant "Beautiful and Dangerous," the lively "Shing a Ling," and the infectious "Music Like Dirt" all scored hits. The spiritually focused "Writing on the Wall" also succeeded, as did the more provocative "Bongo Girl." Beverley's later compiled the year's singles into the collection Action!.
The 1969 single "Problems" resonated strongly with Jamaican listeners. The year nevertheless centered on "It Mek," a narrative of a girl's comeuppance that Dekker wrote about his spirited younger sister. The original pressing met modest reaction, but a re-recorded version gained greater force, entering the Jamaican charts and then the U.K. Top Ten. "Pickney Gal" fared well domestically yet less strongly in Britain. Beverley's again assembled the year's hits into the album Israelites. In Britain, Trojan issued This Is Desmond Dekker, drawing material from the three Beverley's albums.
By the start of the 1970s Dekker had moved to Britain and toured extensively, yet he continued issuing singles backed by the Beverley's All Stars and the Aces. His next hit arrived via an outside composition. Leslie Kong persuaded Dekker to record Jimmy Cliff's "You Can Get It If You Really Want," ultimately delivering a timeless success on both sides of the Atlantic. Trojan titled a 1970 compilation after the song. Kong's death from a heart attack in August 1971, at age thirty-eight, deeply affected Dekker, who had recorded exclusively under the producer's guidance throughout his career. The definitive anthology of their partnership remains Trojan's Original Reggae Hitsound of Desmond Dekker and the Aces.
After Kong's passing, Dekker eventually resumed releasing singles, though none charted in Britain. Seeking renewed British success, he collaborated in 1974 with producers Bruce Anthony and Bruce White. The resulting tracks "Everybody Join Hands" and "Busted Lad," issued on Rhino, made little impact. A third song from those sessions, "Sing a Little Song," reached the U.K. Top 20 in 1975. The lushly produced single diverged markedly from his earlier Kong-era work. An album also titled Israelites appeared that year. After these releases Dekker remained largely absent from British charts for the next five years, though he issued occasional recordings in Jamaica.
The late-1970s 2-Tone movement revived interest in Dekker's music. He signed with Stiff Records and released the 1980 album Black & Dekker, containing new versions of earlier hits backed by the Rumour, Graham Parker's band. Singles included a re-recording of "Israelites," which nearly reached the Belgian Top Ten, followed by "Please Don't Bend" and a cover of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross." The strong "Book of Rules," produced by Will Birch, also appeared. The 1981 album Compass Point, largely comprising new material and produced by Robert Palmer, and its single "Hot City" met limited commercial response. Dekker remained popular in live performance, still accompanied by the Rumour. As the 2-Tone scene faded, so did this career resurgence. In 1984 Dekker declared bankruptcy, a consequence primarily of earlier management difficulties.
He remained largely out of the public eye for the remainder of the decade, aside from Trojan's 1987 live album Officially Live and Rare, captured during a London club performance. A new recording of "Israelites" featured in a Maxell commercial returned him to visibility in 1990. The following year he issued King of Ska, another set of re-recordings. Two years later he collaborated with the Specials on the album King of Kings, which interpreted songs by his personal influences, including Derrick Morgan. The 1996 release Moving On proved less distinguished. Trojan, however, maintained a steady flow of reissues, among them Double Dekker (1974), Sweet 16 Hits (1978), The Original Reggae Hitsound (1985), and Music Like Dirt (1992). Additional labels contributed further compilations spanning his career. Dekker's extensive body of work, which helped shape the ska, rocksteady, and reggae periods, secured a legacy seldom matched. He died at his London home on May 25, 2006, at age 64.
Born Desmond Dacres in Kingston, Jamaica, on July 16, 1942, the future performer lost both parents during his teenage years. Forced to support himself, he trained as a welder. Colleagues at the workshop first recognized his vocal ability when the youth sang during work hours. Encouraged by those coworkers, Dacres auditioned in 1961 for Coxsone Dodd at Studio One and for Duke Reid at Treasure Isle. Neither producer detected special promise in the aspiring singer and turned him away. Undeterred, he next approached Leslie Kong of the Beverley's label. Dacres performed for the label's leading artist, Derrick Morgan, who immediately recognized his talent. Kong nevertheless waited two full years before scheduling a session, insisting the young man first write material worthy of release.
In 1963 Dacres offered Kong the composition "Honour Your Father and Mother," which the producer judged worth the delay. Issued under the new professional name Desmond Dekker, the single's sincere message reached number one on the Jamaican charts. Dekker followed with the well-received "Sinners Come Home" and "Labour for Learning." The subsequent release "King of Ska," backed by the Cherrypies—also known as the Maytals—secured his reputation. The exuberant celebration of the ska sound quickly attained classic status. Before year's end Dekker assembled his permanent backing quartet, the Aces, comprising brothers Carl, Clive, Barry, and Patrick Howard, previously called the Four Aces. The five musicians then recorded numerous successful ska singles, among them the celebratory "Get Up Edina," the advisory "Parents," the buoyant romantic tribute "This Woman," and "Mount Zion," all of which became major domestic hits.
Dekker initially projected the image of a courteous young artist, evident in many early titles. That image shifted in 1967. Derrick Morgan paved the way with a series of rudeboy-courtroom songs beginning with "Tougher Than Tough," on which Dekker and his brother George supplied backing vocals. Dekker himself avoided the ensuing legal-themed cycle and instead scored a Jamaican hit with "0.0.7. (Shanty Town)." Driven by a solid rocksteady rhythm, the track emerged as a defining rudeboy anthem and cemented Dekker's status as a rudeboy figurehead. In Britain, following the mod movement, the Jamaican vocalist was embraced by that subculture. The single climbed to the U.K. Top 15, prompting Dekker's first trip to England, where enthusiastic mods followed him closely. Additional rudeboy-oriented successes followed, including the soulful "Rudy Got Soul" and "Rude Boy Train." Other 1967 releases returned to earlier thematic concerns: the spiritually inclined "Wise Man," "Hey Grandma," the cautionary "Mother's Young Girl," the romantic "Sabotage," the lively "It's a Shame," and the uplifting "Unity," which placed second in Jamaica's Festival Song Competition. Among the year's most memorable pieces was the repatriation-themed "Pretty Africa," whose evocative beauty and longing ensured lasting popularity. The hit "It Pays" showcased the Aces' intricate falsetto harmonies at their finest. Although none of these singles matched the commercial reach of "0.0.7.," Dekker retained strong followings in both Britain and Jamaica. Many tracks from this period appeared on his debut album, titled after "0.0.7. (Shanty Town)."
In 1968 Dekker introduced the sufferers' lament "Israelites" to international audiences. The song spent six months ascending the U.K. charts before reaching number one in March. In the United States it climbed to the Top Ten three months later. Dekker thereby became the first Jamaican artist to achieve a major American breakthrough with an unadulterated Jamaican recording. While subsequent U.S. singles never replicated that peak, his career continued successfully at home and in Britain. The poignant "Beautiful and Dangerous," the lively "Shing a Ling," and the infectious "Music Like Dirt" all scored hits. The spiritually focused "Writing on the Wall" also succeeded, as did the more provocative "Bongo Girl." Beverley's later compiled the year's singles into the collection Action!.
The 1969 single "Problems" resonated strongly with Jamaican listeners. The year nevertheless centered on "It Mek," a narrative of a girl's comeuppance that Dekker wrote about his spirited younger sister. The original pressing met modest reaction, but a re-recorded version gained greater force, entering the Jamaican charts and then the U.K. Top Ten. "Pickney Gal" fared well domestically yet less strongly in Britain. Beverley's again assembled the year's hits into the album Israelites. In Britain, Trojan issued This Is Desmond Dekker, drawing material from the three Beverley's albums.
By the start of the 1970s Dekker had moved to Britain and toured extensively, yet he continued issuing singles backed by the Beverley's All Stars and the Aces. His next hit arrived via an outside composition. Leslie Kong persuaded Dekker to record Jimmy Cliff's "You Can Get It If You Really Want," ultimately delivering a timeless success on both sides of the Atlantic. Trojan titled a 1970 compilation after the song. Kong's death from a heart attack in August 1971, at age thirty-eight, deeply affected Dekker, who had recorded exclusively under the producer's guidance throughout his career. The definitive anthology of their partnership remains Trojan's Original Reggae Hitsound of Desmond Dekker and the Aces.
After Kong's passing, Dekker eventually resumed releasing singles, though none charted in Britain. Seeking renewed British success, he collaborated in 1974 with producers Bruce Anthony and Bruce White. The resulting tracks "Everybody Join Hands" and "Busted Lad," issued on Rhino, made little impact. A third song from those sessions, "Sing a Little Song," reached the U.K. Top 20 in 1975. The lushly produced single diverged markedly from his earlier Kong-era work. An album also titled Israelites appeared that year. After these releases Dekker remained largely absent from British charts for the next five years, though he issued occasional recordings in Jamaica.
The late-1970s 2-Tone movement revived interest in Dekker's music. He signed with Stiff Records and released the 1980 album Black & Dekker, containing new versions of earlier hits backed by the Rumour, Graham Parker's band. Singles included a re-recording of "Israelites," which nearly reached the Belgian Top Ten, followed by "Please Don't Bend" and a cover of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross." The strong "Book of Rules," produced by Will Birch, also appeared. The 1981 album Compass Point, largely comprising new material and produced by Robert Palmer, and its single "Hot City" met limited commercial response. Dekker remained popular in live performance, still accompanied by the Rumour. As the 2-Tone scene faded, so did this career resurgence. In 1984 Dekker declared bankruptcy, a consequence primarily of earlier management difficulties.
He remained largely out of the public eye for the remainder of the decade, aside from Trojan's 1987 live album Officially Live and Rare, captured during a London club performance. A new recording of "Israelites" featured in a Maxell commercial returned him to visibility in 1990. The following year he issued King of Ska, another set of re-recordings. Two years later he collaborated with the Specials on the album King of Kings, which interpreted songs by his personal influences, including Derrick Morgan. The 1996 release Moving On proved less distinguished. Trojan, however, maintained a steady flow of reissues, among them Double Dekker (1974), Sweet 16 Hits (1978), The Original Reggae Hitsound (1985), and Music Like Dirt (1992). Additional labels contributed further compilations spanning his career. Dekker's extensive body of work, which helped shape the ska, rocksteady, and reggae periods, secured a legacy seldom matched. He died at his London home on May 25, 2006, at age 64.
Albums
