Barry Biggs
Encyclopedia
Barry Biggs is a reggae
singer, best known in the UK
for his cover
of the Blue Magic
song
, "Sideshow
", which got to #3 in the UK Singles Chart
in 1976.
for Byron Lee
's Dragonaires
.
It was at Lee's Dynamic Sounds studio
(where he also worked as a producer and engineer) that Biggs recorded his first Jamaican hit
, a cover of The Osmonds
' One Bad Apple
. He broke through to international success in 1976 with Work All Day, which had been recorded seven years earlier. Biggs had six hit single
s on the UK Singles Chart
between 1976 and 1981, the most successful of these, Sideshow, reaching #3 in December 1976. He recorded two songs with Bunny Lee
; Sincerely and You're welcome which did well in reggae charts. He topped the reggae chart in the UK with Wide Awake in a Dream and A Promise is a Comfort to a Fool.
Many of Biggs' recordings were reggae cover versions of popular soul hits, including songs such as Stevie Wonder
's - My Cherie Amour ,Sideshow
and Three Ring Cicus by Blue Magic
and others originally by The Chi-Lites
, The Moonglows
(Sincerely), and The Temptations
(Just My Imagination
). Unlike many of his contemporaries, he avoided the political and Rasta
themes then popular in Jamaica.
Biggs continued to perform occasionally in the 2000s, notably at a service of thanksgiving for his former bandleader, Byron Lee, in 2008.
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
singer, best known in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for his cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the Blue Magic
Blue Magic (band)
Blue Magic is an American soul music group, one of the most popular Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1972, they were originally composed of lead Ted Mills, Vernon Sawyer, Wendell Sawyer, Keith Beaton, and Richard Pratt...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
, "Sideshow
Sideshow (song)
"Sideshow" is a song recorded by American R&B soul vocal quintet Blue Magic, released in 1974. It was first released on the album Blue Magic and when issued as a single it sold over a million copies, going to #1 R&B and #8 pop in the United States in the summer of 1974. It was covered as a reggae...
", which got to #3 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in 1976.
Career
Biggs worked as an recording engineer and cameraman with the Jamaican Broadcasting Company, and also spent time as a member of the band the Astronauts, before becoming the lead singerLead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
for Byron Lee
Byron Lee
Byron Lee OD, OJ was a musician, record producer, and entrepreneur, best known for his work as leader of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.-Biography:Lee was born in Christiana in Manchester Parish to an Afro-Jamaican mother and a Chinese father Byron Lee OD, OJ (born Byron Aloysius St. Elmo Lee, 27...
's Dragonaires
Byron Lee & the Dragonaires
Byron Lee and the Dragonaires are a Jamaican ska, calypso and soca band. The band played a crucial pioneering role in bringing Caribbean music to the world...
.
It was at Lee's Dynamic Sounds studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
(where he also worked as a producer and engineer) that Biggs recorded his first Jamaican hit
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
, a cover of The Osmonds
The Osmonds
The Osmonds are an American family music group with a long and varied career—a career that took them from singing barbershop music as children, to achieving success as teen-music idols, to producing a hit television show, and to continued success as solo and group performers...
' One Bad Apple
One Bad Apple
"One Bad Apple" was a #1 single released by The Osmonds in December 1970. It hit the top of Billboard's Hot 100 Chart in February 1971 and stayed there for five weeks; it also reached #6 on the R&B chart....
. He broke through to international success in 1976 with Work All Day, which had been recorded seven years earlier. Biggs had six hit single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
s on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
between 1976 and 1981, the most successful of these, Sideshow, reaching #3 in December 1976. He recorded two songs with Bunny Lee
Bunny Lee
Edward O'Sullivan Lee, better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee is a prominent, prolific and successful record producer best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
; Sincerely and You're welcome which did well in reggae charts. He topped the reggae chart in the UK with Wide Awake in a Dream and A Promise is a Comfort to a Fool.
Many of Biggs' recordings were reggae cover versions of popular soul hits, including songs such as Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
's - My Cherie Amour ,Sideshow
Sideshow (song)
"Sideshow" is a song recorded by American R&B soul vocal quintet Blue Magic, released in 1974. It was first released on the album Blue Magic and when issued as a single it sold over a million copies, going to #1 R&B and #8 pop in the United States in the summer of 1974. It was covered as a reggae...
and Three Ring Cicus by Blue Magic
Blue Magic
Blue Magic can refer to:* Blue Magic , a R&B and soul music vocal quintet.*"Blue Magic" , a song from rapper Jay-Z's album American Gangster...
and others originally by The Chi-Lites
The Chi-Lites
The Chi-Lites are a Chicago-based smooth soul vocal quartet from the early 1970s, one of the few from the period not to come from Memphis or Philadelphia...
, The Moonglows
The Moonglows
The Moonglows were an American R&B and doo-wop group based in Cleveland, Ohio.-Early years:Originally formed in their native Louisville, Kentucky as the Crazy Sounds, the group moved to Cleveland, where disc jockey Alan Freed renamed them 'the Moonglows'...
(Sincerely), and The Temptations
The Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
(Just My Imagination
Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)
"Just My Imagination " is a song by American soul group The Temptations. Released on the Gordy label, and produced by Norman Whitfield, it features on the group's 1971 album, Sky's the Limit. When released as a single, "Just My Imagination" became the third Temptations song to reach number one on...
). Unlike many of his contemporaries, he avoided the political and Rasta
Rastafari movement
The Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...
themes then popular in Jamaica.
Biggs continued to perform occasionally in the 2000s, notably at a service of thanksgiving for his former bandleader, Byron Lee, in 2008.
Albums
- Mr. Biggs - (1976) - Dynamic Sounds (also issued in 1977 as Side Show)
- Sincerely - (1977) - Dynamic Sounds
- Wide Awake In A Dream - (1980) - Starlight
- A Promise Is A Comfort To A Fool - (1982)
- Barry Biggs & The Inner Circle - (1983) - TrojanTrojan RecordsTrojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name Trojan comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck that was used as Duke Reid's sound system in Jamaica...
- Coming Down With Love (1983) - Ariola
- So In Love - (1989) - Starlight
- Wide Awake - (1990) - Mango
- Night Like This - (1994) - WEAWarner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
- Love Come Down - (2000) - Wesgram Records
Compilations
- Sideshow: The Best of Barry Biggs - (1995) - Jamaican Gold
- Vintage Series: Barry Biggs - (2001) - VPVP RecordsVP Records is an independent reggae record label, located in Queens, New York. It is best known for producing Caribbean singers.-The foundation:...
- Just My Imagination - (2002) - Disky Records
- Sideshow: The Very Best of Barry Biggs - (2002) - Music Club
- Sideshow (The best of) - (2004) - Trojan
- Reggae Max - (2007) - Jet StarJet StarJet Star was a United Kingdom record distribution company that grew out of Pama Records in 1978. It was one of the largest distributors of reggae music, the company themselves claiming the title "the world's largest reggae distributors".-History:Jet Star was formed in 1978 by the Palmer Brothers,...
Chart singles
- "Work All Day" (1976) UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#38 - "Sideshow" (1976) UK #3
- "You're My Life" (1977) UK #36
- "Three Ring Circus" (1977) UK #22
- "What's Your Sign Girl" (1979) UK #55
- "Wide Awake In A Dream" (1981) UK #44
External links
- [ Barry Biggs biography at the Allmusic websiteWebsiteA website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
] - Mini biography at Kinkyjam.com
- Discography at Roots Archives