Alvin Ranglin
Alvin Ranglin | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1942 (age 81–82) |
| Origin | Clarendon Parish, Jamaica |
| Genres | Reggae |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Alvin 'GG' Ranglin (born 1942, Eden, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica)[1] is a Jamaican reggae singer, record producer and record label owner.
Biography
Ranglin started to sing in public in his teens with an
records with artists such as Trevor Brown; and as a singer with Vernon Buckley (later of The Maytones) as "Vern & Alvin" and with Lloyd Flowers under the name of "Flowers & Alvin".[2]
He soon developed his business by buying jukeboxes and opening his first record shop.
He took over the Gloria label from a family member in 1969 and had his first hit with
Prince Mohammed with the hit "Hallelujah I Love Her So", Cynthia Richards, Gregory Isaacs from 1974 to 1977 (including his debut In Person album, and the two Best of volumes),[3] The Starlites featuring Stanley Beckford ("Soldering" in 1975), Jah Thomas in the mid 1970s ("Midnight Rock"), Dennis Brown in 1975, I-Roy in 1977, Dennis Alcapone, Mike Brooks in 1977 ("Guiding Star" launched his career), between 1977 and 1978 Jah Stone & Freddie McKay ("The Right Time"), in 1979 Lone Ranger ("Barnabas Collins" became a No. 1 in the UK reggae chart in 1980)[3] plus Barrington Levy, with whom he enjoyed a string of hits in the early 1980s.[5] Isaacs gave Ranglin his first international hit with "Love is Overdue", and in the four-year period that the two worked together in the 1970s, Isaacs status rose to that of a superstar.[1] Ranglin worked with him again in 1995 on the Dreaming album,[6] and again in 2002 on I Found Love.[7]
During his long career, Ranglin set up different record labels such as GG's, Hit, and Typhoon,[3] and record stores in places such as Kingston, Half Way Tree, Old Harbour, Brooklyn and London.
He currently lives in Kingston and owns GG Records, a recording studio and a pressing plant.
Partial discography
The GG All Stars
- Man From Carolina – 1970 – Trojan
- Bonanza – 1970 – Trojan
- Musical Shot – 1970 – Trojan
- Flight 404 – 1970 – Trojan
- Ganja Plane – 1970 – Trojan
- The Three Dreads From Zion – 1978 – GG's
Compilations
- Various Artists – Reggae Flight 404 – 1970 – Trojan
- Various Artists – Reggae Reggae Volume 2 – 1972 – Trojan
- Various Artists – Atlantic 1 – 1975 – Horse/Trojan
- Various Artists – Street Corner Ital Food – 1979 – GG's
- Various Artists – From Chapter To Version – 1970–1974 – 1998 – Jamaican Gold
- Various Artists – From GG's Reggae Hit Stable Vol 01 – 1968–1973 – Jamaican Gold (1998)
- Various Artists – From GG's Reggae Hit Stable Vol 02 – 1969–1973 – Jamaican Gold (1998)
- Various Artists – Holy Ground – Heartbeat Records (1990)
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Greene (Alvin Ranglin Biography)
- ^ Thompson, p. 436, 494
- ^ a b c d e f Thompson, p. 316
- ^ Katz, p. 102
- ^ Greene, Jo-Ann "Barrington Levy Biography", AllMusic. Retrieved 7 May 2010
- ^ Greene, Jo-Ann "Gregory Isaacs Biography", AllMusic. Retrieved 7 May 2010
- ^ Windham, Ben (2002) "Some Artists 'Southern By Extension'", The Tuscaloosa News, 8 November 2002. Retrieved 7 May 2010
References
- Greene, Jo-Ann "Alvin Ranglin Biography", Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-05-07
- Katz, David (2000) People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry, Payback Press, ISBN 0-86241-854-2
- Thompson, Dave (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6
External links
- Alvin Ranglin at Roots Archives
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