MICHAEL ROSE
Born in the Western Kingston
ghetto of Waterhouse, Jamaica on
July 11, 1957 Michael Rose was
introduced to music by his
brothers, who used to sing
around the house. Blessed with a
powerful voice he joined a band,
doing local talent shows as well
as
entertaining tourists in the
north coast hotels of Jamaica.
Returning to Kingston in 1975,
Niney the Observer first spotted
the potential of Michael Rose
and produced first recordings
like "Guess Who's Coming To
Dinner" and "Clap The Barber" to
name a few.
The following year he replaced
Don Carlos as the lead singer of
a three-piece vocal group called
Black Uhuru. Their first
full-length recording "Love
Crisis", produced by Prince
Jammy in 1977, was later remixed
and re-released as "Black Sounds
of Freedom". Michael Rose had a
profound effect on the sound of
the group. With his distinctive
voice and his powerful,
self-penned reality themes,
Black Uhuru were to eventually
become the Reggae supergroup of
the 80's after joining forces
with Sly & Robbie and releasing
hit-singles like "Shine Eye
Gal", "General Penitentiary" or
"Plastic Smile" on the Taxi
Label. Signed to Island Records
in 1980, they recorded highly
acclaimed albums like "Sinsemillia",
"Red", "Chill Out" and the
grammy-winning "Anthem" in 1984.
In 1985 Michael Rose left Black
Uhuru to pursue a solo career.
After recording singles like
"Bogus Badge" and
"Demonstration" on his own
Grammy Rose label he took a
break from the music business,
preferring instead to farm
coffee on land he owned in
Jamaica. It wasn't until he was
signed to the RCA label in 1989
that he was heard from again.
His pop-oriented debut solo
album "Proud" was released the
following year in Europe and
Japan. The early 90's saw the
release of two albums in Japan:
"Bonanza" and "King Of General".
Most of the tracks from these
low-fi recordings were later
remixed or re-recorded and
reissued worldwide on the
Heartbeat label. In 1993 Michael
Rose also reunited in the studio
with Sly & Robbie, resulting in
a string of hitsingles including
"Monkeys Business", "One A We,
Two A We" and "Bad Boys". These
recordings also hit the streets
in remixed form on the album "X-Uhuru"
in 1999 for the french Tabou1
label.
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The 1995 released, simply
"Michael Rose" titled album was his first for the american
independent Heartbeat label. Produced by Niney the Observer, it
contained the smash-hit "Short Temper". Another single, the UK
produced "Last Chance" on the Ruff Cutt label, ruled the british
charts for several weeks. 1995 saw the release of an album
recorded by Bunny Gemini ("Voice of the ghetto" aka "Rising
Star") followed by the Heartbeat album "Be Yourself", which
contained remixed versions of some tracks from the japan-only
release "Bonanza" and previously unreleased material. Heartbeat
Records also did a dub-companion to "Be Yourself" dubbed "Big
Sound Frontline".
Another album containing unreleased, previously by Jah Screw
recorded material saw the light of day in 1996: "Nuh carbon" was
licensed to Greensleeves/RAS Records. Teaming up once again with
Mafia and Fluxy, who played also on the highly acclaimed
"Michael Rose" album, he recorded the albums "Dance Wicked" and
its dub companion "Dub Wicked" for Heartbeat. An interesting
album that contained vocal as well as dub tracks called "Selassie
I Showcase" surfaced 1997 on the european Bakchich label; tunes
like the re-recorded "I Love King Selassie" on a sampled
"Natural Mystic" rhythm held the grassroots market spellbound.
An energetic live album, "Party in Session", was recorded for
Heartbeat during his tours across America in 1996 and 1997.
1999 saw the release of the earlier mentioned "X-Uhuru" album on
the Tabou1 label as well as "Bonanza" for the Heartbeat label
(not to be confused with the japan-only release of the same
title). The latter consists once again of previously recorded,
remixed or re-recorded tracks as well as new tunes. June 2000
brought another live album on the Tabou1 label, this time
recorded back in 1984 with Black Uhuru. After being postponed
several times, the album "Never Give It Up" finally hit the
stores in April 2001. This Hearbeat Records release consists of
self-produced material recorded in Miami/Florida.
Although busy with touring (also with Sly & Robbie) and studio
work, Michael Rose hasn't released a full-length album for quite
some time. Early 2004 news hit the streets that Duckie Simspon
and Michael Rose reunite as "Black Uhuru feat. Michael Rose".
Since then, they released their single "Dollars" and performed
in various countries. Heartbeat Records meanwhile puts out a
"Best of"-album entiteld "Happiness - The Best of Michael Rose".
~ Bio
by
Thomas
Kriz
Michael
Rose
Links:
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