Johnny Clarke

Gigs at Uppsala Reggae Festival:

Year	Speldag	Speltid	Scen	Gallery
2011	Friday	19:15 - 20:15	Main Stage	Inga bilder

Johnny Clarke was one of the great roots-singers in the late 1970s. Along with Dennis Brown and Gregory Isaacs he ruled the Jamaican dancehall but he never got international recognition that the other two experienced. Nonetheless he had a string of hits in Jamaica, most of which were inspired by his faith in Rastafari.

At the age of 17 Johnny Clarke recorded his first song, "God Made The Sea And The Sun", for producer Clancy Eccles. The song sold poorly, and as a consequence, he started hanging around at different studios in order to get familiar with the islands leading producers. Clarke was hanging around so much that he gained the nickname "studio idler".

After a couple of semi-successful songs, he got his breakthrough with the 1974 classic "None Shall Escape The Judgement". The song was also one of the first to use the so-called "flying cymbals"-style that was to remain the hottest style in Jamaica for a few years to come. This drum-style was inspired by disco, which at the time was really popular in the United States. Listen and compare to "T.S.O.P. - The Sound Of Philadelphia" by MFSB, to hear the similarities.

He followed up the success with songs such as "Enter Into His Gates With Praise", "Move Out Of Babylon", "Joshua's Words," and "Jah Jah Bless Joshua." The latter two were political songs that supported the then-President Michael Manley, called Joshua after the Biblical character.

His large song catalog contains many more heavy roots-songs such as "(Just Call Me) African Roots", "Every Knee Shall Bow" and "Roots Natty Roots, Natty Congo".

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