Gregory Isaacs, Reggae Singer and Songwriter, Dies at 60
Matthew Kruk
October 25, 2010
Gregory Isaacs, Reggae Singer and Songwriter, Dies at 60
By ROB KENNER
Gregory Isaacs, reggae's "Cool Ruler," whose aching vocals and poignant
lyrics about love and loss and ghetto life endeared him to fans of
Caribbean music, died on Monday at his home in London. He was 60.
The cause was lung cancer, said his wife, June Isaacs, who lives in
Kingston, Jamaica.
Cat Coore, the guitarist and cellist for the seminal reggae band Third
World, has called Mr. Isaacs "the Frank Sinatra of Jamaica" for his
elegant vocal phrasing. But as the singer's friend and former manager
Don Hewitt observed, "It goes further than that, because Sinatra was not
a songwriter."
Mr. Isaacs's nuanced compositions eschewed sentimental clich� and
boastful machismo in favor of a sensitive, even vulnerable point of
view. But on songs like "Slave Master" and "Hand Cuff," he revealed a
more militant side.
"Gregory used to sit and go through his lyrics with a dictionary," his
wife, a secondary-school teacher, said in a telephone interview. "He was
very clean with his lyrical content and his grammar."
Born on July 15, 1950, in the rough Kingston neighborhood Denham Town,
Mr. Isaacs picked up the nickname Jah Tooth after a policeman broke one
of his teeth. Inspired by the American soul singer Sam Cooke, he got his
start on a local radio talent show, "The Vere Johns Opportunity Hour."
He was briefly a member of the vocal trio the Concordes before making
his name with the solo single "All I Have Is Love" in 1973. Although he
established his own Jamaican label and record shop, African Museum, with
his fellow reggae singer Errol Dunkley, Mr. Isaacs was later signed to
the British labels Virgin and Island.
While true mainstream success eluded him, few recording artists in any
genre could rival his prolific output. He recorded hundreds of albums'
worth of original material, starting in the '70s and concluding in 2008
with his final CD, "Brand New Me."
Mr. Hewitt said of Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones that when he was
introduced to Mr. Isaacs, "he carried on like he'd met Jesus."
Mr. Isaacs was best known for his 1982 release "Night Nurse," on which
he was backed by the renowned band Roots Radics, which he organized in
the 1970s. His 1988 album "Red Rose for Gregory" proved that he was
equally at home singing over the hard-edged digital rhythms of reggae's
dancehall era.
He was also renowned for his fashion sense; he performed in the 1978
film "Rockers" wearing a powder-blue tuxedo and black fedora. "He was
always dapper," Mrs. Isaacs said. "Very proud, very tidy, very laconic,
a man of few words."
But he could be an aggressive businessman, she added. "He always stood
up for what he deserved in whichever way he could," she said. "When it
came to what was due to him, he had to get that. No ifs, no buts, no
maybes."
When he and his wife were arrested for illegal possession of a firearm
in 1983, she said, "he took the rap so I could go free" and served time
in Kingston's General Penitentiary. He was also arrested repeatedly for
possession of cocaine and struggled with addiction for many years.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his mother, Enid Murray; a
brother, Sylvester; 12 children; and a grandson.
In a 2001 interview, Mr. Isaacs reflected on his legacy. "Look at me as
a man who performed works musically," he said. "Who uplift people who
need upliftment, mentally, physically, economically - all forms. Who
told the people to live with love 'cause only love can conquer war, and
to understand themselves so that they can understand others."