Gregory Isaacs | Artist

Gregory Isaacs OD was a Jamaican reggae musician born 1951 in Denham Town, Kingston. Milo Miles, writing in The New York Times obituary in October 2010 described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae", in recognition of his smooth singing voice. In 1968, Isaacs made his recording debut under the name Winston Sinclair, with the single "Another Heartache", recorded for producer Byron Lee. Unhappy with the recording, Isaacs teamed up with Errol Dunkley to start the African Museum record label and shop. He soon had a massive hit with "My Only Lover", credited as the first lovers rock record ever made. A string of hits followed over the next three years, including "All I Have Is Love", "Lonely Soldier", "Black a Kill Black", "Extra Classic" and "Loving Pauper". In 1974, he began working with producer Alvin Ranglin and that year had his first Jamaican no. 1 with "Love Is Overdue". International stardom followed when Isaacs signed to Virgin Records offshoot Front Line Records, and he appeared in the film "Rockers", in which he performed "Slavemaster". His first album for that label was Cool Ruler and the title stuck as his nickname. Later he signed to Island Records and released the album Night Nurse which saw him break through to a wider audience. Although "Night Nurse" was not a chart hit in the US, it was hugely popular in clubs and received heavy radio play, and the album reached number 32 in the UK. Over his career, Isaacs released 60 Singles and 82 studio albums. Standouts include Extra Classic, Cool Ruler, Mr. Isaacs, The Best of Gregory Isaacs, Soon Forward and Night Nurse. In 2008, after some 40 years as a recording artist, Isaacs released a new studio album Brand New Me, which was nominated for the Grammy Awards in 2010. Following that came Isaacs Meets Isaacs, the last album to be released while he was still living. That album was nominated for Best Reggae Album at the 2011 Grammy Awards, giving Gregory Isaacs his fourth Grammy nomination.

Artist Website: wikipedia/Gregory_Isaacs

Featured Albums: Gregory Isaacs

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