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Horace AndyText by Harry Hawks

One of Jamaican music's most distinctive, original and prolific singer/song writers responsible for inspiring an entire style of reggae singing.

Horace Andy

Real Name	Horace Hines
Born	Feb 19, 1951
Place of Birth	Allman Town Kingston Jamaica

Born Horace Hinds on 19th February 1951 in Kingston, Jamaica Horace, also known as 'Sleepy', began his musical career with producer Phil Pratt. His first record was 'Black Man's Country' a 'roots reality' lyric sung over a sprightly rock steady rhythm and released through Ken Lack's Caltone set up. In 1969 he travelled down to Studio One on Brentford Road to attend one of Mr Dodd(CS Dodd)'s legendary Sunday afternoon auditions. Mr Dodd(CS Dodd) signed him and renamed him Horace Andy, after Bob Andy, due to his song writing prowess. Like so many others Horace acknowledges that his time spent at Studio One was like going to a musical school. Delroy Wilson had been his biggest influence but, with the help of the teachers and fellow pupils at Studio One including Dennis Brown, Alton Ellis and Leroy Sibbles & Earl Morgan from The Heptones, he soon developed his own unique, haunting style. His first big hit 'Skylarking', a call to the youth to stay on the straight and narrow, would become his signature tune. Much of his work for Studio One can be found on his two classic albums 'Skylarking' and 'The Best Of Horace Andy'. Many of his classic songs from the era, such as 'New Broom', 'Just Say Who' and his twelve inch 'disco mix' tribute to Leroy Sibbles 'Mr Bassie', helped to form the foundation of reggae music.

In 1972 Horace left Studio One and, for the next two decades, worked tirelessly in the Jamaican recording industry, a business typified by an absence of managers and contracts, and his standards always remained impeccable. He sang for many of the island's top producers including Leonard 'Santic' Chin(Leonard Chin) with 'Children Of Israel' & 'Problems',Gussie Clarke(Augustus Gussie Clarke) on a reworking of Tom Jones' 'Delilah', Derrick Harriott with 'Lonely Woman' and his original employer Phil Pratt before settling down, for a while at least, with Bunny 'Striker' Lee(Striker Lee). 'Sleepy' and 'Striker' together produced countless classic recordings including original songs such as 'Don't Try To Use Me', 'You Are My Angel', 'Zion Gate' and 'Money Is The Root Of All Evil' together with updates of a selection of his own Studio One songs and interpretations of classics from Ken Boothe, Dennis Brown, and Delroy Wilson later compiled on the excellent 'Horace Andy Sings For You And I' album. Horace also recorded for Keith Hudson on the chilling 'Don't Think About Me', sung a further cut of 'Problems' with Augustus Pablo, the yearning 'Girl A Love You' for the Hookim brothers at Channel One and 'Love Is The Light', his cut of the 'Stalag' rhythm, for Winston Riley.

With New York based Jamaican producer Everton DaSilva he produced the well received 'In The Light' album in 1977 which featured 'Government Land' and 'Do You Love My Music'. He continued to record in Jamaica and 'Pure Ranking', King Tubby's first production released on Carlton Patterson's Black & White label in 1979, returned to the theme that had originally inspired 'Skylarking': Kingston's wayward youths who had now grown into wayward men but, this time round, the mood was much, much darker. The strength and power of his output seldom faltered and, by 1980, he was based in Hartford, Connecticut in the U.S.A. where he set up his own 'Rhythm' label.

As the eighties ushered in the dance hall style Horace was there, as ever, showing the way forward with deejay and producer Tappa Zukie on an update of Alton Ellis' 'Hurting Me': their anthemic 'Natty Dread A Weh She Want' proved to be one of the biggest hits of Horace's career narrowly missing breaking into the UK National Charts when released through Jet Star in London. Staying with the dance hall style Horace next linked up with another New York based Jamaican producer, Lloyd 'Bullwackie' Barnes(Lloyd Barnes), and Wackie's unique approach and mixing style provided Horace with his next big hit: a version of 'Love Hangover' that transformed Diana Ross' song into an extended aching lament. Wackies followed it up with the classic 'Dance Hall Style' album, a 'showcase' set where the dubs followed the vocals, which contained Horace's driving version of Lloyd Robinson's 'Cuss Cuss' and the brooding 'Spying Glass'. He continued as a freelance artist throughout the eighties for King Jammy(Lloyd James)'s, Bobby Digital(Bobby Dixon), Prince Jazzbo and many more in Jamaica as well as recording extensively in the U.K. for the Mad Professor at Ariwa, Blacker Dread, Fashion Records and the redoubtable Jah Shaka.

The Bristol based musical collective Massive Attack approached Horace in 1990 and asked him to contribute vocals to their 'Blue Lines' album. The album, considered to be the first 'trip hop' long player, sold well on its initial release in 1991 but has subsequently attained near legendary status and an obligatory high placing in the many 'Best Album Ever' polls. 'Blue Lines' established a relationship that has continued up to the present day and Horace Andy is the only vocalist to have appeared on all five Massive Attack albums. The collective released his retrospective set 'Skylarking' in the late nineties, a compilation that included a selection of some of the highlights of his astounding career, and which introduced the original music of Horace Andy to a new worldwide audience. It was truly heartening to see a man who really had paid his dues in the reggae business time and time again finally receiving his fair share of both 'praise and raise'.

Many of his contemporaries were left out of the dance hall explosion and the digital revolution that followed but Horace Andy stood his ground and he has played an important part in all of reggae music's major movements since the late sixties. His influence on reggae vocalists has been immeasurable inspiring a whole host of sound-alikes who have proved that imitation really is the most sincere form of flattery.

Date Added: Nov 22, 2019