Max Romeo | Artist

Maxwell Livingston Smith aka Max Romeo is a Jamaican roots reggae artist born 1944 in St. Ann, Jamaica. In his early career Romeo joined up with Kenneth Knight and Lloyd Shakespeare in The Emotions, and did some recordings with The Hippy Boys. 1968 saw Romeo go solo and he had an immediate breakthrough with his composition "Wet Dream", which became a massive hit in Jamaica. The track was banned by the BBC Radio in the UK due to its overtly sexual lyrics but became a UK top 10 hit nonetheless. Romeo has released 24 studio albums but his earlier works are his strongest, culminating with the 1976 classic War Ina Babylon which was recorded with The Upsetters and produced by Lee Perry. In 1978, Romeo moved to New York City, where he co-wrote with Michael Butler and starred in, the musical Reggae. In 1980 he appeared as a backing vocalist on the track"Dance" on The Rolling Stones album Emotional Rescue. The favour was returned in 1981 when Keith Richards co-produced and played on Romeo's album Holding Out My Love to You. Standout Max Romeo albums include A Dream by Max Romeo, Let The Power Fall, Revelation Time and War Ina Babylon.

Artist Website: wikipedia/Max_Romeo/

Featured Albums: Max Romeo

Related Artists: The Upsetters, Lee Scratch Perry, The Hippy Boys