Biography
The Gaylads, a celebrated rocksteady vocal harmony group, came together in Kingston during 1963 when vocalists Harris "B.B." Seaton and Winston Delano Stewart, who had previously achieved several successes as Winston & Bibby under Coxsone Dodd's production with tracks such as "Joybells," "I'll Be There," and "Lover Man," joined forces. Local singer Maurice Roberts came aboard shortly afterward, and the trio headed back to Dodd's Studio One to record their earliest successes, turning out well-regarded sides that included "Whap Whap," "There'll Come a Day," and "What Is Wrong with Me." Seaton's simultaneous involvement with another Kingston ensemble, the Astronauts, brought the Gaylads to a temporary standstill, yet the group resurfaced powerfully in 1966 with the releases "Lady with the Red Dress," "Stop Making Love," and "Don't Say No," while also serving as frequent backing vocalists on other Dodd sessions for artists including Slim Smith and Ken Boothe, the latter receiving the Seaton-penned classic "The Girl I Left Behind."
The transition from ska into the slower rocksteady rhythm prompted a marked evolution in the Gaylads' style; freed from uptempo constraints, they began exploring richer and more intricate harmonies, which yielded several 1967 successes such as "Love Me with All Your Heart," "How Can I Go On," and "I Am Free," all later featured on the group's debut album, The Soul Beat. After finishing the follow-up LP Sunshine Is Golden, the trio ended their association with Dodd and moved to producer Sonia Pottinger, for whom they delivered the strong single "It's Hard to Confess." Their subsequent work for Pottinger maintained a high standard, with recordings like "A.B.C. Rocksteady" and "Over the Rainbow's End" standing among the ensemble's finest efforts. Late in 1968, however, Stewart departed to pursue a solo path, leaving Seaton and Roberts to continue as a duo; during 1969 they worked with various producers, most prominently Lee "Scratch" Perry, scoring hits with "Room for Rent" and "I Wear My Slanders."
As the 1960s ended, the Gaylads aligned with producer Leslie Kong and promptly scored the major success "There's a Fire." Under Kong the group, now featuring either ex-Paragon Howard Barrett or Ricky Grant in place of Stewart, entered one of its most productive phases, interpreting material ranging from Tommy Edwards' "It's All in the Game" to Nina Simone's "Young, Gifted and Black," while a version of James Taylor's "Fire and Rain" supplied the title track for their third album. The year 1971 opened strongly with the hits "My Jamaican Girl" and "People Crying," yet Kong's fatal heart attack that August prompted the Gaylads to enlist producer Rupie Edwards for their next success, "Can't Hide the Feeling." By this period Seaton was also active with the Conscious Minds alongside Ken Boothe, and together with Lloyd Charmers and Pete Weston he helped establish the Splash and Soul Beat labels; these commitments increasingly distanced him from the Gaylads, and after a handful of final recordings including "The Guy Next Door," "You Can't Get Away," and "Seven in One," he exited the group.
Roberts, now the sole remaining original member, recruited brothers Randell and Hopeton Thaxter to sustain the Gaylads name, yet the revised lineup failed to replicate earlier achievements. After issuing the album Love and Understanding under the Gaylads banner, Roberts abandoned the name entirely and rebranded the trio the Psalms, which went on to serve as backing vocalists for Bunny Wailer. Seaton and Stewart reunited for the first time in more than two decades at the 1991 Studio One concert, and Roberts joined them two years later for a performance at Kingston's Rocksteady Reunion. Seaton, whose solo career had begun in 1973 with the album Thin Line Between Love and Hate and continued successfully in subsequent years, later moved to London to oversee his reactivated Soul Beat imprint.
The transition from ska into the slower rocksteady rhythm prompted a marked evolution in the Gaylads' style; freed from uptempo constraints, they began exploring richer and more intricate harmonies, which yielded several 1967 successes such as "Love Me with All Your Heart," "How Can I Go On," and "I Am Free," all later featured on the group's debut album, The Soul Beat. After finishing the follow-up LP Sunshine Is Golden, the trio ended their association with Dodd and moved to producer Sonia Pottinger, for whom they delivered the strong single "It's Hard to Confess." Their subsequent work for Pottinger maintained a high standard, with recordings like "A.B.C. Rocksteady" and "Over the Rainbow's End" standing among the ensemble's finest efforts. Late in 1968, however, Stewart departed to pursue a solo path, leaving Seaton and Roberts to continue as a duo; during 1969 they worked with various producers, most prominently Lee "Scratch" Perry, scoring hits with "Room for Rent" and "I Wear My Slanders."
As the 1960s ended, the Gaylads aligned with producer Leslie Kong and promptly scored the major success "There's a Fire." Under Kong the group, now featuring either ex-Paragon Howard Barrett or Ricky Grant in place of Stewart, entered one of its most productive phases, interpreting material ranging from Tommy Edwards' "It's All in the Game" to Nina Simone's "Young, Gifted and Black," while a version of James Taylor's "Fire and Rain" supplied the title track for their third album. The year 1971 opened strongly with the hits "My Jamaican Girl" and "People Crying," yet Kong's fatal heart attack that August prompted the Gaylads to enlist producer Rupie Edwards for their next success, "Can't Hide the Feeling." By this period Seaton was also active with the Conscious Minds alongside Ken Boothe, and together with Lloyd Charmers and Pete Weston he helped establish the Splash and Soul Beat labels; these commitments increasingly distanced him from the Gaylads, and after a handful of final recordings including "The Guy Next Door," "You Can't Get Away," and "Seven in One," he exited the group.
Roberts, now the sole remaining original member, recruited brothers Randell and Hopeton Thaxter to sustain the Gaylads name, yet the revised lineup failed to replicate earlier achievements. After issuing the album Love and Understanding under the Gaylads banner, Roberts abandoned the name entirely and rebranded the trio the Psalms, which went on to serve as backing vocalists for Bunny Wailer. Seaton and Stewart reunited for the first time in more than two decades at the 1991 Studio One concert, and Roberts joined them two years later for a performance at Kingston's Rocksteady Reunion. Seaton, whose solo career had begun in 1973 with the album Thin Line Between Love and Hate and continued successfully in subsequent years, later moved to London to oversee his reactivated Soul Beat imprint.
Albums
