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Big Youth

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Big Youth
Big Youth, Reggae Geel, 3 August 2019, Belgium.
Big Youth, Reggae Geel, 3 August 2019, Belgium.
Background information
Birth nameManley Augustus Buchanan
Born(1949-04-19)19 April 1949(age 75)
OriginKingston, Jamaica
GenresReggae,R&B,soul,dub,dancehall
Occupation(s)Deejay,singer
InstrumentVocals

Manley Augustus Buchanan(born 19 April 1949,Trenchtown,Kingston,Jamaica),[1]better known asBig Youth(sometimes calledJahYouth), is a Jamaicandeejay,mostly known for his work during the 1970s.

He commented, "Deejays were closest to the people because there wasn't any kind of establishment control on the sound systems".[2]

Biography

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Early career

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Before beginning his musical career, Buchanan worked as a diesel mechanic at Kingston's Sheraton Hotel, where he would develop histoastingskills while he worked, and was nicknamed "Big Youth" by his co-workers.[1]He started to perform at dances, initially influenced byU-Roy,and became a regular withLord Tippertone'ssound systemby 1970, becoming the resident deejay, and attracting the attention of Kingston's record producers.[1]His early 45 singles for producers such as Jimmy Radway ( "The Best Big Youth" ),Lee Perry( "Moving Version" ) andPhil Pratt( "Tell It Black" ) were artistically and commercially unsuccessful.

1970s peak

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By 1972 he had begun working withAugustus "Gussie" Clarke,a teenage producer whose rhythms and singers were more in tune with the vibes on the streets of Kingston, and "The Killer" (on a version ofHorace Andy's "Skylarking" rhythm) became his first major Jamaican hit record, soon followed by "Tippertone Rocking".[1]Following this, he released the successful "S-90 Skank", featuring a motorbike being revved in the studio, forKeith Hudson's Imbidmts label, versioning the producer's own "We Will Work It Out".[3]This became his first Jamaican number one hit,[3]and also featured in a television advert for the Honda motorcycle that inspired it.[1]The first album to feature his vocals,Chi Chi Runwas produced byPrince Busterin 1972. Distinctive musically, his half-sung style contrasting with his contemporaries, he was also visually distinctive, with his teeth inlaid with red, gold, and green jewels.[1]

In 1973, he released his first album entitledScreaming Target,produced by Gussie Clarke.[3]The album is still considered as a classic of its genre, featuring rhythms from well-known hits byGregory Isaacs,Leroy Smart,andLloyd Parks,among others.[1][4]Around this time, he also notched up some achievements in the singles chart, having seven singles in the chart at one time, and having four singles remain in the top 20 for an entire year.[1]Throughout 1974 and 1975, he continued to record for other producers, includingGlen Brown( "Dubble Attack" ),The Abyssinians( "I Pray Thee" / "Dreader than Dread" ),Yabby You( "Yabby Youth" – later known as "Lightning Flash (Weak Heart Drop)" ),Bunny Wailer( "Bide" / "Black on Black" ) andJoe Gibbs( "Medecine Doctor" ).

His next LP,Dread Locks Dread,was released on Klik Records in 1976.[3]Although ostensibly a Big Youth LP produced by "Prince" Tony Robinson, it in fact only featured six vocal tracks, two of which – "Marcus Garvey Dread" (originally "Mosia Garvey" onJack Ruby's Fox label) and "Lightning Flash" had been released as singles for other producers.

By this time he had begun releasing his own self-produced recordings on theNegusaNagast and Augustus Buchanan labels in Jamaica, sometimes buyingrhythmsfrom producers for whom he had worked, but latterly using his own musicians, usually theSoul Syndicateband.[1][4]Many of his singles, such as "Hot Stock", and "Battle of the Giants" (with U-Roy) were released on this imprint. His first self-produced LP wasReggae Phenomenonin 1974.[3]His self-productions continued withNatty Cultural Dreadin 1976, followed later that year byHit the Road Jack.[3]He covered "Wake Up Everybody" and "What a World Needs Now" also.[5]This was helpful, as new young DJs such asTrinityandClint Eastwoodwere appearing on the scene, and Big Youth's chanting style was becoming less fashionable.

He signed toVirgin Records' Frontline label in 1977, his first release on the label being theIsaiah First Prophet of Oldalbum,[3]and he also appeared in the filmRockers.[1]Virgin declined the chance to release his next three albums, however, and as the 1970s came to a close, Big Youth's popularity took a dip.[1]By 1982, events had combined to make reggae much less successful than it had been five years earlier. The rising tide of violence had driven many musicians and producers to leave Jamaica for the UK and US; reggae had not broken through to widespread commercial success, and, in the wake ofBob Marley's death a lot of major labels either dropped their Jamaican artists or spent little on promoting them, and the music returned to its insular roots. "Slackness"(sexually explicit lyrics) became far more fashionable than culturalRastafari movement,and teenagers looked more towards the United States for their heroes. While his records continued to find a market, tunes like "Jah Jah Golden Jubilee", "A Luta Continua"and"Chanting"failed to capture the public imagination.

1980s onwards

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The modern digital rhythms were far from suited to Big Youth's style, and his forays into the studio became less frequent. His appearance atReggae Sunsplashin 1982 (he would appear another four times between 1983 and 1996) was well received, but his success during the 1980s was limited. His career revived in 1990, with the "Chanting"single, produced byWinston "Niney" Holness,and "FreeSouth Africa"on the protest albumOne Man One Vote.

Yes, me come inna de music as Rasta, me a de originalrastamanwho enter it.

— Big Youth, Italy, 2001

In the 2000s, Big Youth teamed up with modern dub producerTwilight Circusto record two notable singles 'Daniel in the Lions Den' and 'What We Need Is Love', in a style hearkening to the sound of Youth's vintage 1970s classics.[6]

Discography

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Big Youth performing in 2010.

References

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  1. ^abcdefghijkThompson, Dave (2002) "Reggae & Caribbean Music", Backbeat Books,ISBN0-87930-655-6
  2. ^Du Noyer, Paul (2003).The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music(1st ed.). Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 366.ISBN1-904041-96-5.
  3. ^abcdefgColin Larkin,ed. (1992).The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music(First ed.).Guinness Publishing.p. 244.ISBN0-85112-939-0.
  4. ^abBarrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide to Reggae",ISBN1-84353-329-4
  5. ^"jamaica".www.muzikifan.com.Retrieved2 January2023.
  6. ^"YouTube".Youtube.com.Archived fromthe originalon 6 March 2016.
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