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Jackie Edwards

 

Singer, song writer, musician and record producer Wilfred Gerald “Jackie” Edwards was born in Jamaica 1938. A young fan of Nat King Cole, he began performing when he was 14. Island’s Chris Blackwell discovered him in 1959 and from then to 1961 he had four number one singles in Jamaica. He travelled to London with Blackwell in 1962 to help set up Island Records and worked as a delivery driver as well as singer and songwriter. He recorded some duets with Millie Small. He is mainly known for writing the songs “Keep on running” and “Somebody help me” and for recording many reggae tracks for the parent Island label.

In a tribute, The Gleaner called him an “unsung hero” and noted: “He moved to Trojan Records in 1970 and later in the decade, did a slew of recording for producer Bunny Lee. He also produced the 1977 album, ‘Move Up Starsky’, while continuing to work as a recording artiste, doing regular album releases into the mid-80s.”

Mr Edwards died on 15 August 1992 of a heart attack.

Image: Strictly Vibes

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