Left us on this day (Nov. 14) in 1984: Jamaican reggae musician, singer, songwriter & producer Keith Hudson (lung cancer, age 38); he helped usher in the practice of dub & was known as The Dark Prince of Reggae; he began as a disciple of legendary Jamaican producer Coxsone Dodd, with his first production hits coming in the late-’60s; he began making his own records in the ’70s that experimented with dub (manipulating & reshaping an existing recording by removing the vocals & emphasizing the drum & bass parts, adding extensive echo, reverb and/or panoramic delay); these albums were critical hits in Jamaica & his 1974 Pick A Dub is considered a masterpiece, widely regarded as the very first deliberately thematic dub album; he moved to New York City in 1976, first signing to Virgin Records, then starting a label of his own; his Rasta Communication (1978) from this period is considered another roots reggae classic; his final recording was the 1982 Steaming Jungle…
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 21:12:57 +0000