By Howard Campbell—  Antonio “Chips” Richards and Lloyd “King Jammy’s” James.— IN early 1974, Antonio “Chips” Richards was a marketing man at Trojan Records. The British independent company, formed in 1968, was desperate for a hit song. Richards thought Everything I Own, a mellow ballad by Ken Boothe, could break the drought. He was right. Boothe’s reggae take on American group Bread’s 1972 hit topped the British national chart for three straight weeks in October 1974. Richards, who is visiting Jamaica, said it was a game-changer. “Getting in the charts took a lot of strategy. First, we serviced it to the 360 record stores across the UK and then we got into the local radio stations,” he recalled. “You’ve got to remember, reggae didn’t have a mainstream audience.” Richards started working with Trojan in early 1973. The … Read entire article »