Duke Reid
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Arthur "Duke" Reid, CD (born 1915 in Portland, Jamaica, died 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner.
He ran one of the most popular sound systems of the 1950s called Duke Reid's the Trojan after the British-made trucks used to transport the equipment. In the 1960s, Reid founded record label Treasure Isle, named after his liquor store, that produced ska and rocksteady music. He was still active in the early 1970s, working with toaster U-Roy. He died in early 1975 after having suffered from a severe illness for the last year.
Biography
After serving 10 years as a Jamaican Police Officer, Reid left the force to help his wife Lucille run the family business, The Treasure Isle Grocery and Liquor Store.
He made his way into the music business first as a sound system (outdoor mobile discothèque) owner, promoter and disc jockey. He quickly overtook Tom the Great Sebastian and his sound system as the most popular sound system in Jamaica. Soon he was also sponsor and presenter of a radio show, Treasure Isle Time. A jazz and blues man at heart, Duke chose 'My Mother's Eyes' by Tab Smith as his theme tune. Other favourites of his included Fats Domino, a noticeable influence on the early Duke Reid sound.
Early Reid productions were recorded in studios owned by others, but when the family business moved from Pink Lane, Kingston to Bond Street, Reid set up his own studio above the store. He became proprietor of a number of labels, chiefly Treasure Isle and Dutchess (his spelling). Much of his income derived from licensing agreements with companies in the UK, some of which set up specialist Duke Reid labels.
He dominated the Jamaican music scene of the `60s, specialising in ska and rock-steady, though his love of American jazz, blues and soul was always in evidence. Duke Reid had several things going for him that helped him to rise to prominence. He made a concerted effort to be in the studio as much as possible, something his counterparts didn't do. Duke was known as a perfectionist. He also had a knack for adding symphonic sounds to his recordings and producing very dense arrangements. Furthermore, his records were considerably longer than those being produced by his rivals. His tunes often broke the four-minute barrier while most ska songs were barely longer than two minutes.
Reid initially disliked ska for being too simple and having too much focus on drums rather than on guitar. However, Reid eventually got behind ska and produced hits by Justin Hinds & the Dominoes. By the `70s, Reid's poor health and the trend towards Rastafarian influenced roots reggae noticeably reduced the number of releases from Treasure Isle. Reid forbade Rasta lyrics from being recorded in his studio and thus Coxsone Dodd was able to dominate the Jamaican recording industry. Reid maintained his high profile largely by recording the `toasting` of DJs U-Roy and Dennis Alcapone as well as vaguely Rasta-influenced oddities such as Cynthia Richards' "Aily-I".
At around this time, Reid protege Justin Hinds noticed his boss appeared unwell and recommended a doctor. Cancer was diagnosed and Reid decided to sell Treasure Isle to Sonia Pottinger, widow of his friend Lenford `Lennie the King` Pottinger, and already owned High Note Records which was one of the largest record company's on the Island. He kept involved for a while acting as a Magistrate but died in 1975.
Reid was posthumously awarded the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander on October 15, 2007.[1]
Partial discography
- Various Artists - Soul To Soul DJ's Choice - 1973 - Trojan Records (1995)
- Various Artists - Gems From Treasure Isle - 1966-1968 - Trojan Records (1982)
- Various Artists - Ba Ba Boom Duke Reid - 1967-1972 - Trojan Records (1994)
- Various Artists - Duke Reid's Treasure Chest - Heartbeat Records (1992)
- Various Artists - Treasure Isle Dub Vol 01
- Various Artists - Version Affair Vol 01 - Lagoon (1992)
- Various Artists - Version Affair Vol 02 - Lagoon (1993)
- Various Artists - Sir Coxsone & Duke Reid In Concert At Forresters Hall - Studio One