Stories by Roy Black

While Christians were celebrating the birth of Christ, millions worldwide were mourning the passing of Dean Martin, James Brown, Eartha Kitt and George Michael on Christmas Day in 1995, 2006, 2008 and 2016, respectively. On each occasion, the...

Slackness – a colloquial term referring to vulgarity, corruption, or questionable behaviour – has been dominating the Jamaican headlines in recent times. The Petrojam scandal and irregularities at the Ministry of Education are just two of the cases...

The Church was the main cornerstone of the foundation on which the careers of several successful recording artistes in early popular music was built. Among the standouts was Sam Cooke, rated by many as the most talented vocalist ever. He grew up...

The 1972 release of I’ll Take You There remains one of the most popular recordings ever to emerge from the American Recording Industry. Performed by the soul-gospel family band, The Staple Singers for Stax Records, and done in the R...

Jamaica’s earliest music pioneers on the international circuit were Owen Gray, Laurel Aitken, Wilfred ‘Jackie’ Edwards, Millie Small, and the calypsonian, Lord Flea. The name ‘Millie Small’ may perhaps be the best known owing to the immense...

Excelsior High School, situated along Mountain View Avenue in St Andrew, stands tall as the alma mater of iconic Jamaican folklorist, actress and author, the Honourable Louise Bennett-Coverley. It was at that institution, in 1939, that Louise...

The eighty-first birth anniversary of the late iconic Jamaican singer Alton Ellis, which occurred last Sunday, revives memories of a man whose contribution to Jamaica’s popular music remains unmatched. One of the memories that has often been...

Bob Marley and The Wailers came to real international prominence in the early 1970s through the release of eight albums – Catch a Fire, Burning, Natty Dread, Rastaman Vibration, Exodus, Kaya, Survival, and Uprising – produced by music mogul Chris...

Kingston High School, situated at 172 King Street in Kingston, was once a fertile breeding ground for a myriad outstanding Jamaican vocalists in popular music, many of whom went on to achieve international acclaim. The hitherto unexplained...

The month of July is littered with the birthdates of outstanding Jamaican entertainers who have made invaluable contributions to the development of early Jamaican popular music. One such is Roy Shirley, who was born in Kingston on July 18, 1944....

Dennis Brown was just 12, going on 13, when he emerged on the entertainment scene in a most unusual way. He grew up with his father, Arthur, a scriptwriter and actor who took young Dennis along with him to many of his performances. The influence of...

Between 1960 and 1967, Prince Buster tread a musical path that many may find difficult to follow. He announced his intention to dominate the recording and sound system businesses in Jamaica from as early as 1961, when he warned in the recording...