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SONNY ROBERTS – A PIONEER OF JAMAICAN MUSIC IN ENGLAND GETS HIS DUE RECOGNITION!

By Howard Campbell—   Top: Sonny Roberts Bottom: Millie Small, Chris Blackwell and Wilfred Jackie Edwards– OF the many Jamaicans who made their mark in the British music industry during the 1960’s and 1970’s, Sonny Roberts may be the most unheralded. Roberts finally gets his due this evening at the 18th Tribute To The Greats show at the Chinese Benevolent Association in St Andrew. Dubbed ‘The British Connection’, it honours a number of Jamaicans who helped put Caribbean music on the map in the United Kingdom. Roberts, who moved to the UK in the late 1950s, was the first Jamaican to open a recording studio in that country. Though he rubbed shoulders in those early days with other pioneers including Island Records founder Chris Blackwell and Trojan Records founder Lee Gopthal, Roberts’ trailblazing feats is not as … Read entire article »

Filed under: GUEST RUNDOWNS

JAMAICAN MUSIC ON THE WORLD’S STAGE: MILLIE SMALL, THE WOMAN WHO STARTED IT ALL!

JAMAICAN MUSIC ON THE WORLD’S STAGE: MILLIE SMALL, THE WOMAN WHO STARTED IT ALL!

Millie Small— Millie Small kick-starts Jamaican music’s popularity around the world Millie Small was reported to be 15 years old when Island Records boss, Chris Blackwell, recruited her in 1964, as part of his efforts to help set up his fledgling label. However, there are discrepancies concerning the year of her birth. On the premise of the above data, simple mathematics would mean she was born in 1949, however, some sources claim she was born in October of 1946. She was … Read entire article »

Filed under: GUEST RUNDOWNS