A World of Reggae

Time for some serious reggae legend. John Holt is  one of the classics from Jamaica. Holt’s style, notably slower and more romantic than most of his contemporaries, is a recognisable forerunner of the lovers rock sub-genre. If you have read my reggae her/history post you will see that Holt almost passes through all reggae genres: Rocksteady, roots reggae, dub, ragga and lover’s rock.

Even though he made his first production some 50 years ago Mr. Holt is still going strong as can be seen on this 2009 clip:

Not bad for a man who started his career in 1958!

Holt was born in Kingston in 1947. By the age of 12, he was a regular entrant in talent contests run at Jamaican theatres by Vere Johns.^[1] He recorded his first single in 1963 with “I Cried a Tear” for record producer Leslie Kong, and also recorded duets with Alton Ellis.^[1] He achieved prominence in his home country as lead singer of The Paragons and they cut a succession of singles for Duke Reid at his Treasure Isle Studio and enjoyed a string of hits, including “Ali Baba”, “Tonight”, “I See Your Face”, and the Holt penned “The Tide Is High” . “Wear You To The Ball” was another of his hits with The Paragons, and hit the charts again when U-Roy added a Deejay verse to it. During his time with the Paragons, he also recorded solo material for Studio One (including “Fancy Make-up”, “A Love I Can Feel“, “Let’s Build Our Dreams”, and “OK Fred”) and Prince Buster (“Oh Girl”, and “My Heart Is Gone”).^[1]

1960s as part of the group the Paragons 

Holt left the Paragons in 1970 and concentrated on his solo career. By the early 1970s, he was one of the biggest stars of reggae, and his “Stick By Me” was the biggest selling Jamaican record of 1972, one of a number of records recorded with producer Bunny Lee.^[1]

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