* En anglais uniquement
A renowned singer and formidably prolific producer,
Winston Riley is one of Jamaica's greatest success stories, a pillar of the island's music industry to this day. Born in 1946 in Kingston, Jamaica,
Riley founded the Techniques in 1964 with a group of friends, all of whom congregated at a youth club established by Edward Seaga. It was the future prime minister who took the young band into Federal Studios that year, where
Byron Lee oversaw the group's recording debut, "No One." Soon after, the Techniques relocated to Treasure Isle, where their debut for
Duke Reid, 1965's "Little Did You Know," rocketed them to the top of the Jamaican chart. A series of lineup shifts barely slowed the group down, as the Techniques' hits continued to pour forth across the ska, rocksteady, and reggae years.
In 1968, though, the band broke with
Reid, and
Riley began producing the Techniques' music. He also oversaw the Sensations and a solo
Johnny Osbourne, who gave
Riley's Techniques label its first major hit, "Warrior." But it was a riddim worked up by organist
Ansel Collins and drummer
Sly Dunbar that provided the producer with his international breakthrough, when their "Double Barrel," enlivened by
Dave Barker's toasts, shot to the top of the U.K. chart and the U.S. Top 25. The follow-up, "Monkey Barrel," was nearly as successful, together bringing a licensing deal with Trojan Records and financing
Riley's new record shop. The 1974 instrumental "Stalag 17," initially credited to a solo
Ansel Collins, had an even greater impact. The phenomenally successful riddim has been versioned regularly ever since, with the Stalag 17, 18 & 19 set one of the most popular one-riddim albums of all time.
During the '70s,
Riley released a stream of excellent singles and albums, working with many of the island's finest singers and DJs. Beyond
Osbourne and
Barker (as both DJ and singer), he also oversaw recordings by
Jimmy Riley,
Horace Andy,
Pat Kelly,
Alton Ellis,
the Ethiopians, and
the Viceroys, among others, as well as just about every name DJ on the scene. His melody-laced dubs are all of equal note. Fans thus found it unnerving that while
Riley was overseeing such high-quality roots offerings, he was also grooming
General Echo for stardom. "Well, someone was going to do it," the producer later quipped about his unleashing slack into the sound systems. Like "Stalag," that move would also have long-term implications. The other side of the coin, though, was
Sister Nancy, the groundbreaking female DJ
Riley helped launch to fame in the early '80s.
Echo and
Nancy were just two of many of the artists who
Riley would either turn into stars or give a leg up;
Lone Ranger,
Frankie Paul,
Tristan Palmer, Madoo, and Errol Scorcher were among some of the other notables he worked with during this period.
In 1985,
Prince Jammy launched the digital age with "Under My Slang Teng," and
Riley slapped back strongly with
Tenor Saw's equally seminal "Ring the Alarm," yet another "Stalag" version. Of course, the singing producer was fighting a losing battle, but even when he bowed to the inevitable, so laced with melodies were his riddims that one could forget they were actually ragga. And the hits just kept rolling in --
Super Cat's "Boops,"
Red Dragon's "Hol a Fresh" and "Yu Body Good,"
Flourgon's "Hol a Spliff,"
Daddy Lizard's "A Fi Fly Out,"
Papa San and
Lady G.'s "Legal Rights," as well as a clutch from
Cutty Ranks and more from
Courtney Melody. Meanwhile,
Admiral Tibett and
Frankie Paul kept the cultural flag flying, as did
Ernest Wilson,
Gregory Isaacs, and
Yami Bolo, with
Bushman providing an illustrious example of the producer's more recent roots work.
Buju Banton's "Ring the Alarm Quick" chimed in the new millennium, with
Riley still hard at work. He continues to stay on top of the scene, while simultaneously overseeing his vast back catalog. ~ Jo-Ann Greene