Biography
The Versatiles vocal trio came together in 1967 when Keith Byles joined forces with Louis Davis and Earl Dudley. The singers began cutting tracks for Joe Gibbs shortly after he launched his Amalgamated label. Their first single, “Just Can’t Win,” appeared as the third release on the producer’s British outlet and brought the group’s distinctive rocksteady harmonies to listeners overseas. The name proved fitting, since Byles’s lead vocals echoed those of the Pioneers, Desmond Dekker and Ken Boothe. Their follow-up, “Trust The Book,” was placed on the reverse of the Mellowtones’ “Fat Girl In Red.”
In 1968 the trio entered the Jamaican Song Festival with “The Time Has Come.” Following festival tradition, they toured the island to promote the entry, which advanced to the finals yet failed to claim the top prize. Their runners-up placing landed them once more on a b-side, this time backing the Pioneers’ “Tickle Me For Days.” The next year the Soul Sisters issued the risqué “Wreck A Buddy,” which became a club hit in the UK and again paired the Versatiles on the flip side with the equally kitsch “Push It In.” Additional Gibbs productions included “Let Me Through (Mr Gateman),” “Wareika Hill,” “Teardrops Falling” and “Long Long Time.”
With “Lulu Bell” the group finally occupied both sides of a single, underscoring their growing stature, yet the record also marked Byles’s exit; he launched a solo career first as King Chubby and later as Junior Byles. Davis and Dudley kept the Versatiles name alive, working quietly at first for Willie Williams’ Soul Sounds label. The three members reunited in 1974 to record a version of Peter Tosh’s “Stepping Razor” with Lee Perry, issued in Britain on Pama Records. By the mid-1970s the Versatiles had ceased performing together, though they remain acknowledged as underrated pioneers of Jamaican music.
In 1968 the trio entered the Jamaican Song Festival with “The Time Has Come.” Following festival tradition, they toured the island to promote the entry, which advanced to the finals yet failed to claim the top prize. Their runners-up placing landed them once more on a b-side, this time backing the Pioneers’ “Tickle Me For Days.” The next year the Soul Sisters issued the risqué “Wreck A Buddy,” which became a club hit in the UK and again paired the Versatiles on the flip side with the equally kitsch “Push It In.” Additional Gibbs productions included “Let Me Through (Mr Gateman),” “Wareika Hill,” “Teardrops Falling” and “Long Long Time.”
With “Lulu Bell” the group finally occupied both sides of a single, underscoring their growing stature, yet the record also marked Byles’s exit; he launched a solo career first as King Chubby and later as Junior Byles. Davis and Dudley kept the Versatiles name alive, working quietly at first for Willie Williams’ Soul Sounds label. The three members reunited in 1974 to record a version of Peter Tosh’s “Stepping Razor” with Lee Perry, issued in Britain on Pama Records. By the mid-1970s the Versatiles had ceased performing together, though they remain acknowledged as underrated pioneers of Jamaican music.
Albums
Singles
