Frankie Paul

Often likened to Jamaica's Stevie Wonder, Frankie Paul earned the nickname for reasons beyond his visual impairment; he matched the American icon as a gifted multi-instrumentalist boasting an exceptional vocal range. His output proved staggering even by reggae standards, placing him among the earliest dancehall wave. He launched his professional recording career in the early '80s and proceeded to release countless singles plus well over thirty albums. The resulting flood of material made comprehensive tracking difficult save for the most dedicated followers, yet it kept him consistently visible on a rapidly evolving reggae landscape.

Paul entered the world as Paul Blake in 1965. Blind from birth, he gained limited sight through an operation performed on a hospital ship and later traveled to New York for high-powered glasses that improved his vision further. At a Salvation Army school for the blind he discovered singing. Stevie Wonder's visit prompted the young student to perform, and the impressed visitor urged him to pursue music professionally. While still in school Paul mastered piano, drums, and guitar; as a vocalist he drew his strongest early influence from Dennis Brown. Credited as Frankie Paul, he cut his first single, "African Princess," in 1980 at age fifteen. Two volumes of Channel One's Showdown series showcased him in 1983, one alongside Sugar Minott and the other with Little John. The Sugar Minott set contained his first major hit, Henry "Junjo" Lawes-produced "Worries in the Dance," which aligned him firmly with the emerging dancehall sound. Lawes also produced 1984's Pass the Tu-Sheng-Peng, whose title track—an ode to ganja—became a massive, star-making success in Jamaica.

Paul entered his artistic prime during the mid-'80s, delivering strong albums such as the George Phang-produced Tidal Wave (1985), Alesha (1987), and the Philip "Fatis" Burrell-produced Warning (1987). His hit singles encompassed "Tidal Wave," "Alesha," "Casanova," "Sara," "Fire Deh a Mus Mus Tail," "Slow Down," and many more. He maintained a steady recording schedule for assorted labels throughout the '90s, with highlights including 1991's Should I and 1994's Hard Work. Sustaining such volume required frequent reliance on covers, whether reggae classics or contemporary American R&B songs. Into the new millennium he remained an energetic figure on the reggae scene. In later years, however, diabetes and kidney complications necessitating expensive dialysis took a toll. After living in Gambia he returned to Jamaica, where he still performed as late as 2016—the same year surgeons removed a portion of his right leg. He died in Kingston during May 2017 at the age of fifty-one.