Desmond Dekker

Desmond Dekker (16 de julio de 1941 - 25 de mayo de 2006), fue un cantante y compositor de

música ska y reggae jamaicano. Junto a su grupo The Aces (formado por Wilson James e Easton

Barrington Howard), obtuvo uno de los primeros éxitos internacionales de la música jamaiquina con

"Israelites". Otros de sus éxitos incluyen "007 (Shanty Town)" (1967) e "It Mek" (1968). Antes del

éxito de Bob Marley, Dekker fue uno de los músicos jamaicanos más reconocidos, tanto en su país

de origen como en el extranjero.

Sus inicios

Nacido Desmond Adolphus Dacres en St. Andrew, Jamaica, creció en Kingston, donde asistió al

colegio Alpha Boy's School. Después de la muerte de su madre, su padre le envió a St. Mary, y más

tarde a St. Thomas, donde trabajó de aprendiz de sastre antes de regresar a Kingston y trabajar

como soldador. Pasaba las horas cantando mientras sus amigos le animaban. En 1961 hizo una

prueba para Coxsone Dodd  (de Studio One) y Duke Reid (de Treasure Isle). Su talento no consiguió

impresionar a ninguno de ellos, así que Desmond decidió probar suerte en la compañía Beverley

de Leslie Kong, donde realizó una prueba para Derrick Morgan , por aquél entonces la mayor estrella

de la compañía.

Sus inicios en la industria musical

Dekker consiguió firmar un contrato con el apoyo de Morgan, pero no fue hasta 1963 que grabó su

primer disco en el que se incluía el éxito "Honour Your Father and Mother", al que más adelante

siguieron "Sinners Come Home" y "Labour for Learning". Fue entonces cuando adoptó su nombre

artístico, Desmond Dekker (su nombre real era Desmond Dacres).

Su cuarto sencillo le convirtió en la estrella más grande de la isla. Se trataba de “King of Ska” (el rey

del ska), una canción animada y llena de júbilo para la cual Dekker contó con la colaboración de The

Cherrypies (también conocidos como The Maytals ). La canción sigue siendo una de las más

conocidas entre los seguidores del ska de todo el mundo. Posteriormente Dekker reunió a cuatro

hermanos, Carl, Patrick, Clive y Barry, para formar su banda de apoyo,The Four Aces. Dekker grabó

un gran número de éxitos junto a los Howards, incluyendo "Parents", "Get Up Edina", "This Woman"

y "Mount Zion".

Gracias a su éxito, Desmond Dekker fue el responsable en la llegada del ska a Europa en los años

sesenta. Posteriormente el ritmo se reinventó a sí mismo en los setenta, llevando al ska a su

segunda ola conocida como Two Tone .

Discografía seleccionada

Israelites (1969)

This Is Desmond Dekkar (1969) - Trojan Records

You Can Get It If You Really Want (1970) - Trojan

Black And Dekker (1980)

Compass Point (1981)

Israelites / The Best Of Desmond Dekker (1963-1971) - Trojan (1999)

Desmond Dekker (16 July 1941 – 25 May 2006[1]) was

a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing

group, The Aces (consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard), he had one of the

earliest international reggae hits with "Israelites" (1968). Other hits include "007 (Shanty Town)"

(1967), "It Mek" (1969) and "You Can Get It If You Really Want" (1970).

Early life

Desmond Adolphus Dacres was born in Saint Andrew Parish (Greater Kingston), Jamaica, on 16

July 1941. Dekker spent his early formative years in Kingston, the capital of Jamaica. From a very

young age Dekker would regularly attend the local church with his grandmother and aunt. This early

religious upbringing as well as his enjoyment of singing hymns led to a lifelong religious commitment.

Following his mother's death as a result of illness, Dekker moved to the parish of St. Mary and then

later to St. Thomas. While at St. Thomas Dekker embarked on an apprenticeship as a tailor before

returning to Kingston where he secured employment as a welder. His workplace singing had drawn

the attention of his co-workers who encouraged him to pursue a career in the music industry.[2] In

1961 he auditioned for Coxsone Dodd (Studio One) and Duke Reid (Treasure Isle) though neither

audition was successful. The young unsigned vocalist then successfully auditioned forLeslie

Kong's Beverley's record label and was awarded his first recording contract.[2]

Career

Despite having achieved his aim of securing a record deal it would be a further two years before

Dekker would see his first record released. Eventually in 1963 Kong chose "Honour Your Mother and

Father" (written by Dekker and the song that Dekker had sung in his Kong audition two years earlier)

which became a Jamaican hit and established Dekker's musical career. This was followed by the

release of the tracks "Sinners Come Home" and "Labour for Learning". It was during this period that

Desmond Dacres adopted the stage-name of Desmond Dekker. His fourth hit, "King of Ska" (backing

vocals by The Cherrypies also known as The Maytals), made him into one of the island's biggest

stars. Dekker then recruited four brothers, Carl, Patrick, Clive and Barry (surname Howard) as his

permanent backing vocalists to perform with him under the name Desmond Dekker and The Aces.[2]

Desmond Dekker and The Aces recorded a number of Jamaican hits including "Parents", "Get Up

Edina", "This Woman" and "Mount Zion". The themes of Dekker's songs during the first four years of

his career dealt with the moral, cultural and social issues of mainstream Jamaican culture: respect for

your parents ("Honour Your Mother and Father"), religious morality ("Sinners Come Home") and

education ("Labour for Learning"). In 1967 he appeared on Derrick Morgan's "Tougher Than Tough",

which helped begin a trend of popular songs commenting on the rude boy subculture which was

rooted in Jamaican ghetto life where opportunities for advancement were limited and life was

economically difficult. Dekker's own songs did not go to the extremes of many other popular rude boy

songs which reflected the violence and social problems associated with ghetto life though he did

introduce lyrics that resonated with the rude boys starting with one of his best-known songs, "007

(Shanty Town)". The song established Dekker as a rude boy icon in Jamaica and also became a

favourite dance track for the young working-class men and women of the United

Kingdom's mod scene.[3] "007 (Shanty Town)" was a Top 15 hit in the UK and his UK concerts were

attended by a large following of mods wherever he played.[2]

Dekker continued to release rude boy songs such as "Rude Boy Train" and "Rudie Got Soul" as well

as mainstream cultural songs like "It's a Shame", "Wise Man", "Hey Grandma", "Unity", "If It Pays",

"Mother's Young Girl", "Sabotage" and "Pretty Africa". Many of the hits from this era came from his

debut album, 007 (Shanty Town).[2]

In 1968 Dekker's "Israelites" was released, eventually topping the UK Singles Chart in April 1969 and

peaking in the Top Ten of the US Billboard Hot 100 in June 1969. Dekker was the first Jamaican

artist to have a hit record in the US with a form and style that was purely Jamaican. That same year

saw the release of "Beautiful and Dangerous", "Writing on the Wall", "Music Like Dirt (Intensified '68)"

(which won the 1968 Jamaica Independence Festival Song Contest), "Bongo Girl" and "Shing a

Ling".[2] 1969 saw the release of "It Mek" which became a hit both in Jamaica and the UK .[4] Dekker

also released "Problems" and "Pickney Gal"; both of which were popular in Jamaica although only

"Pickney Gal" managed to chart in the UK Top 50.[2] In 1969 Dekker took permanent residency in the

UK.[5]

1970s

In 1970 Dekker released "You Can Get It If You Really Want" , written by Jimmy Cliff, which reached

No.2 in the UK charts. Dekker was initially reluctant to record the track but was eventually persuaded

to do so by Leslie Kong.[2] Dekker's version uses the same backing track as Cliff's original. Kong,

whose music production skills had been a crucial part of both Dekker's and Cliff's careers, died in

1971. This had an impact on the careers of both artists for a short period of time.[2] In 1972 the rude

boy film "The Harder They Come" was released and Dekker's "007 (Shanty Town)" was featured

on the soundtrack.

In 1975 "Israelites" was re-released and became a UK Top 10 hit for a second time. He had also

begun working on new material with the production duo Bruce Anthony in 1974. In 1975 this

collaboration resulted in the release of "Sing a Little Song" which charted in the UK Top Twenty; this

was to be his last UK hit.

1980s and later

The 1980s found Dekker signed to a new label Stiff Records; an Independent label that specialized

in Punk and New Wave acts as well as releases associated with the 2 Tone label whose acts

instigated a short-lived but influential ska revival. He recorded an album called Black &

Dekker (1980) which featured his previous hits backed by The Rumour, Graham Parker's backing

band and the Akrylykz (featuring Roland Gift, later of the Fine Young Cannibals).[6] A re-recorded

version of "Israelites" was released in 1980 on the Stiff label followed by other new recordings:

Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross" and "Book of Rules". His next album Compass Point (1981) was

produced by Robert Palmer. Despite declining sales Dekker remained a popular live performer and

continued to tour with The Rumour.[2]

In 1984 he was declared bankrupt.[7][8] Only a single live album was released in the late 80s although

in 1990 "Israelites" was used in a Maxell TV advert which became popular and brought the song and

artist back to the attention of the general public. He collaborated with The Specials on the 1993

album King of Kings which was released as Desmond Dekker and The Specials. King of

Kings consists of songs by Dekker's musical heroes such as Byron Lee, Theophilus Beckford, Jimmy

Cliff and his friend and fellow Kong label artist Derrick Morgan.[9] He also collaborated on a remix of

"Israelites" with reggae artist Apache Indian.[2] In 2003 a reissue of the "The Harder They Come"

soundtrack featured "Israelites" and "007 (Shanty Town)".[10]

Dekker died of a heart attack on 25 May 2006, at his home in Thornton Heath in the London Borough

of Croydon, England, aged 64.[2] He was preparing to headline a world music festival in Prague.

Dekker was divorced and is survived by his son and daughter.[11]

Backing band

The Aces

The current line-up for Dekker's backing band, who are still performing tribute concerts, includes:

Delroy Williams - backing vocals/M.C.

Gordon Mulrain  - bass guitarist and session musician (Mulrain, also known as 'Innerheart', is

co-founder of the British record label Ambiel Music)

Aubrey Mulrain - keyboard player and session musician

Steve Roberts - guitarist and session musician (also a member of the British band Dubzone)

Leroy Green - drums and session musician

Stan Samuel - guitarist and session musician

Charles Nelson - keyboard player and session musician

This particular line-up also recorded with Dekker on some of his later studio sessions in the 1990s.