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Boris Gardiner

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Boris Gardiner
Born (1943-01-13) 13 January 1943 (age 81)
Kingston, Jamaica
GenresSka, reggae, lovers rock, soul, R&B
Instrument(s)Vocals, bass guitar
Years active1960–present

Boris Gardiner (born 13 January 1943)[1] is a Jamaican singer, songwriter and bass guitarist.

Career

Born in the Rollington Town area of Kingston, Jamaica, Gardiner attended Franklin Town Government School and St Monica's College, dropping out of education after being diagnosed with tachycardia.[2]

In 1960 he joined Richard Ace's band the Rhythm Aces, which also included Delano Stewart, later of the Gaylads.[2][3] With the group he recorded "Angella", and the local hit "A Thousand Teardrops".[2] The group split up and by 1963 Gardiner had joined Kes Chin and The Souvenirs as vocalist, and began learning guitar.[2] He went on to join Carlos Malcolm & the Afro Caribs with whom he started playing bass guitar after the original bassist left, and when that band ended he started his own group, the Broncos, named after the Bronco Club where they had a residency.[2] He later played with Byron Lee's Dragonaires.[1] In the late 1960s and 1970s he worked extensively as a session musician as a member of the Now Generation, The Upsetters, The Aggrovators, and The Crystallites.[1][4] While working at Studio One he played on hits such as The Heptones' "On Top", Larry and Alvin's "Nanny Goat", and Marcia Griffiths' "Feel Like Jumping".[2]

As a solo artist, Gardiner had a hit with the song "Elizabethan Reggae" in 1970, a version of Ronald Binge's "Elizabethan Serenade".[1] When the single was released in the United Kingdom, the first copies were printed with the label incorrectly identifying Byron Lee (not Gardiner) as the performer. Lee was the producer of the track. The UK Singles Chart printed this error for the first chart entry and the first four weeks of its re-entry into the charts. After 28 February 1970, all printings gave Gardiner credit.[5]

His debut album, Reggae Happening, was also released in 1970 and (although it did not chart). Music journalist Ian McCann said that the album "sold respectably for a reggae LP" in the UK. Gardiner's music continued to be popular in Jamaica, but interest waned in the UK. During the 1970s he continued session work, including several recordings for Lee "Scratch" Perry including Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves".[2]

Gardiner recorded a version of Bill Withers' “Ain't No Sunshine” in 1973, as part of The Boris Gardiner Happening - Is Whats Happening (album), accompanied by Tinga Stewart, Paul Douglas, and Larry McDonald on vocals.[6]

In 1986, Gardiner recorded the single "I Wanna Wake Up with You", which became a surprise number 1 in the UK. It spent two months in the top ten. The accompanying album, Everything to Me also included the follow-up hit, "You're Everything to Me", which peaked at number 11. The single "The Meaning of Christmas" was also released later that year.[5] Later, Gardiner signed to RCA Records. In 2002, a 22-track anthology, The Very Best of Boris Gardiner, was issued on CD by Music Club.

In 2015, his song "Every Nigger Is a Star" was sampled on "Wesley's Theory", the opening track of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly.[7] The song also opens the film Moonlight (2016).

Discography

  • Reggae Happening (1970), Trojan
  • It's So Nice to Be with You (1970), Steady
  • Soulful Experience (1971), Dynamic Sounds
  • Is Whats Happening (1973), Dynamic Sounds
  • Every Nigger is a Star OST (1973), Leal Productions
  • Everything to Me (1986), Revue
  • Let's Take a Holiday (1992), WKS
  • Next to You (1992), VP
Compilations
  • The Very Best of Boris Gardiner (2002), Music Club
  • I Want to Wake Up With You: The Best Of Boris Gardiner (2004), Sanctuary/Trojan
Hits
  • Elizabethan Reggae (Single, 1970) - UK #14
  • I Want To Wake Up With You (Single, 1986) - UK #1
  • You're Every Thing To Me (Single, 1986) - UK #11
  • The Meaning Of Christmas (Single, 1986) - UK #69
  • Friends and Lovers (Single, 1987) - UK #97 - with Gwen Guthrie

References

  1. ^ a b c d Thompson, Dave (2003) Reggae & caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6, p.420
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Gardiner - The Man Behind The Music", Jamaica Gleaner, 9 March 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2014
  3. ^ Johnson, Richard (2014) "Boris Gardiner Spells It Out", Jamaica Observer, 14 December 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2014
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9, p.106
  5. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 222. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  6. ^ The Boris Gardiner Happening (1973) Is Whats Happening. ReggaeRecord.com. Web. Retrieved 16 November 2016. <http://www.reggaerecord.com/en/catalog/description.php?code=2024>
  7. ^ "KENRICK LAMAR BRIGHTENS BORIS'S STAR". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
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