McGregor documentary premieres in Trinidad
Trinidad Express
by Deborah John
Friday, September 1st 2006
Freddie McGregor in T&T.Following three successful screenings of Freddie McGregor's docu-trip, Freddie's First - Where Reggae Meets Soca, in New York and Jamaica, the much anticipated film will make its Trinidad debut at Courtyard Marriott, Invaders Bay, Audrey Jeffers Highway, Port of Spain, this at 6 p.m.
Produced by Funsation4's Rhea Smith and Dahya Pix's Lonai Mosley, Freddie's First - When Reggae Meets Soca, a reality based, cultural, docu-trip, narrated by the 40-year Reggae music veteran, highlights the differences and similarities in culture, history, music styles and carnival traditions between Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago in an effort to educate the viewer and unify the two islands.
For this historical occasion, Funsation4/Dahya Pix has planned an exclusive Hollywood style reception and film screening to include a special appearance by Reggae's Cultural Ambassador Freddie McGregor O.D, a performance by Single Pan Band of Trinidad and Tobago (SIPABATT) and the announcement of their community related Caribbean HIV youth initiative - Bridging the Gap in Trinidad and Jamaica
According to Smith: "Bridging the Gap Caribbean HIV Youth Initiative is a community "give back" and collaborative project developed by Funsation4/Dahya Pix and the Archdeaconries of Brooklyn & Queens HIV/AIDS Ministry whose goal is to "bridge the gap" between international companies based in the Caribbean and local HIV organisations, like Trinidad's Cyril Ross Nursery and Jamaica's Dare to Care, by funding, supporting and strengthening HIV programmes and outreach in an effort to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic throughout the Caribbean".
Here is some more about McGregor:
Freddie McGregor is one of reggae's most durable and soulful singers, with an incredibly steady career that started all the way back in the '60s, when he was just seven years old.
Since then, he's spanned nearly every stylistic shift in Jamaican music, from ska and rocksteady to Rastafarian roots reggae to lovers' rock (his particular specialty) to dabblings in dancehall, ragga, and dub.
Not just a singer, he wrote some of his own material, and grew into an accomplished producer as well.
McGregor's heyday was the early '80s, when he released several high-quality albums and reached the peak of his popularity in Jamaica and England. However, he remained a strong presence on the reggae scene well into the new millennium.
In 1975, McGregor converted to Rastafarianism (Twelve Tribes of Israel), which had a profound impact on his music. Still with Studio One and working with Earl "Chinna" Smith, he recorded the classics "Rastaman Camp" and "I Am a Rasta" right off the bat, and followed them with a string of singles that substantially raised his profile in Jamaica: "Mark of the Beast", "Sergeant Brown," "Jogging", "Natural Collie", "Zion Chant", "Walls of Jericho", "Africa Here I Come", "Come Now Sister", and "Bobby Bobylon" among them. He issued his first album, Mr McGregor, in 1977, under the auspices of producer Niney the Observer. Returning to Studio One, he offered his first LP for the label in 1980 with the classic Bobby Bobylon, which featured a mixture of new material and reworkings of older singles. The album was a smash hit in Jamaica, establishing McGregor as a budding star, and revitalising Coxsone Dodd's production career. Around the same time, he started producing and arranging for other artists, most notably on Judy Mowatt's solo debut, Black Woman; he also worked with Johnny Osbourne and Jennifer Lara.
In 1981, McGregor scored a huge hit single with "Big Ship", which catapulted him to the front rank of reggae stars in the immediate post-Marley era, along with Dennis Brown and Gregory Isaacs.
His next LP arrived in 1982, also titled Big Ship, and featured production by Linval Thompson and musical backing by the Roots Radics.
It too was highly successful, both creatively and commercially. Signing with Ras for 1983's Come On Over, McGregor extended his creative hot streak to an international audience, making a name for himself in the UK and US.
His 1984 follow-up Across the Border contained his hit reggae cover of "Guantanamera." Continuing in this crossover vein, in hopes of surviving amid the dancehall revolution, McGregor released All in the Same Boat in 1986; it produced a major hit in "Push Come to Shove", which became his first UK chart entry.
He sparked the interest of Polydor Records, and found further UK success with "That Girl" and a cover of the Main Ingredient's "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely," which made the UK Top Ten in 1987.
McGregor's relationship with Polydor proved short-lived, however, and he formed his own label, Big Ship, in 1989.
The first release was an all-covers LP called Jamaican Classics, which was so well-received that he quickly recorded a second volume (and, eventually, a third in 1996). 1991's Now also featured several covers, and 1993's Legit was an equal-time collaboration with Dennis Brown and Cocoa Tea.
Also in 1993, he had a hit with his lover's rock cover of Justin Hinds' "Carry Go Bring Come." 1994's Push On provided much of the foundation for what many would call his finest outside production work, Luciano's 1995 After All album (which featured the major hit "Shake It Up Tonight").
Also in 1995, McGregor issued his own Forever My Love, one of his more sentimental offerings.
After slowing his pace i n the late '90s, McGregor returned in 2000 with the acclaimed Signature, which restored his typical balance of roots reggae and lovers rock with touches of dancehall.
He followed it two years later with a similarly well-received album, the Grammy-nominated Anything for You.
No comments:
Post a Comment