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Born in Kingston,
Jamaica on 22 May 1954, Riley
grew up in the city's Waterhouse
district and attended Kingston
Senior School along with Slim
Smith. When Smith had success in
The Techniques, Riley hung
around with the group hoping to
join, but was limited to
carrying things for them and
helping out with harmonies.
In 1967, Jimmy Riley founded The
Sensations along with Cornell
Campbell. After several
successful releases in the mid
sixties, Riley joined Slim Smith
and Lloyd Charmers in The
Uniques, who had huge hits wish
songs such as "Watch This Sound"
and "My Conversation".
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When the Uniques split up, Riley
initially recorded as a solo
artist for Bunny Lee before
moving away to record
independently. He began
producing his own recordings and
others by artists such as Slim
Smith and Delroy Wilson. He had
several hits in the 1970s,
including "Tell The Youths The
Truth", "Nyah Bingi", and "Clean
up the Streets", and continued
to be successful in the 1980s,
working with Sly & Robbie's Taxi
productions. In 1983, Riley
topped the UK reggae charts with
his version of Marvin Gaye's
"Sexual Healing".
Riley's son Tarrus Riley
followed him into music, and the
success of Tarrus gave a boost
to Jimmy's career. They have
performed together several
times, headlining a number of
festivals including the Ocho
Rios Seafood Festival in 2007.
Jimmy Riley's latest album Sly
and Robbie Presents Jimmy Riley:
Pull Up Selector saw him again
working with Sly & Robbie, and
features Tarrus on the title
track, which was also released
as a single in 2008.
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