Eric Donaldson

Born on June 11, 1947, in Kent Village, Jamaica, reggae performer Eric Donaldson began recording in 1964 with a series of Studio One sessions in Kingston that never saw release. He soon assembled the vocal group the West Indians alongside Leslie Burke and Hector Brooks, and producer J.J. Johnson steered them to their first chart success with the 1968 single “Right on Time.” The following year the trio cut material for Lee Perry, after which they adopted the new name the Killowatts; despite that rebranding, further singles such as “Slot Machine” and “Real Cool Operator” failed to gain traction, and the lineup dissolved. Donaldson then entered his original composition “Cherry Oh Baby” in the 1971 Festival Song Competition, where it claimed first place, appeared as a single, and became a domestic favorite. The track later reached international listeners through covers by the Rolling Stones on their 1976 album Black and Blue and by UB40 on 1983’s Labour of Love. Over the ensuing decades he continued releasing albums, among them Miserable Woman in 1972, What a Festival in 1973, and Freedom Street in 1977, and he secured additional victories in the Festival Song Competition in 1977, 1978, 1984, and 1993. Today he operates the Cherry Oh Baby Go-Go Bar in his native Kent Village.