Barrington Levy
BORN: April 30, 1964
Though a veteran performer, Barrington Levy is closely associated with dancehall music, he considers himself a straight reggae man committed to using his powerful lyrics and music to promote Rastafari's message of universal love and peace. Instead of drawing his inspiration from anger, frustration and lust like many 90's style dancehall performers, Levy bases his songs on his observations of the daily lives and travails of ordinary people.
A native of Kingston, Levy spent much time as a youth in the countryside of Clarendon. It is in the surrounding hills that he developed his signature riff, which some call the Blue Mountain Yodel. He learned to do it by experimenting with different vocalizations and bouncing them off the mountainsides. As a youth, his biggest influence was Dennis Brown, but he also liked the music of U.S. artists such as Sam Cooke. He started playing a little guitar at age nine, and was performing in dance halls at age 14 in Mighty Multitude, a band he formed with his cousin Everton Dacres, with such locally-based sound systems as Burning Spear and Stereograph. During these early performances, his singing was often informally recorded and sent to places in England and the U.S. His first single was "A Ya We Deh," but his first major hit was "Collie Weed" produced by Junjo Laws for Jah Guidance. This was followed up by such successes as "Twenty-One Girls Salute" and "Mind Your Mouth." In 1983, Levy made a big splash in Great Britain with "Under Mi Sensi," a tune that spent 12 weeks topping their charts. He later performed this pro-marijuana song on the British children's television show Number 73. The tune for "Under Mi Sensi" is said to have become the basis for one of reggae's biggest songs "Under Mi Sleng Teng," that is primarily credited to Wayne "Jammy" Smith. Though Levy came up with the melody, he has received no royalties. In the early 1990s, Levy scored a major recording contract with the U.S. label MCA and has since been gaining an international following. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Music Guide, courtesy cdnow.com
***Interesting Fact: Barrington Levy is of Jewish Religion as well as Rastafarism.
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