Fathead was a dancehall

Dancehall

Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...

 deejay

Deejay

A deejay is a reggae or dancehall musician who sings and toasts to an instrumental riddim .Deejays are not to be confused with disc jockeys from other music genres like hip-hop, where they select and play music. Dancehall/reggae DJs who select riddims to play are called selectors...

 best known for his collaborations with Yellowman

Yellowman

Yellowman is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, widely known as King Yellowman...

 in the early 1980s.

Biography

Fathead was already an established deejay when he began working with Yellowman, during the peak of the latter's popularity between 1980 and 1982. The pair performed regularly at the Aces Disco in St. Thomas

Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica

Saint Thomas is a suburban parish that is situated at the south eastern end of Jamaica, in the county of Surrey. It is the birth place of The right Honorable Paul Bogle, one of Jamaica's seven National Heroes...

, and recorded a live album there (the first ever live dancehall album), Live at Aces, which was sufficiently successful for studio follow-ups Bad Boy Skanking and For Your Eyes Only (both 1982). Other albums featuring the duo were One Yellowman, Supermix, and The Yellow, The Purple, and the Nancy, the latter also featuring Purpleman

Purpleman

Purpleman, aka Peter Yellow was a Jamaican Dancehall dj. being one of three albino djs in the 80s , he often called himself Yellowman, and even released an album as him.-Biography:Purpleman deejayed with King Jammy's sound system, including performing at 'clashes' with other systems...

 and Sister Nancy

Sister Nancy

Sister Nancy, aka Muma Nancy, real name Ophlin Russell-Myers, is a dancehall DJ and singer. She is known to the world as the first female dancehall DJ and was described as being a "dominating female voice for over two decades" on the dancehall scene...

.

With Yellowman concentrating on solo material, Fathead went on to work with others, having a hit in 1983 with "It's Me", and collaborating with Beenie Man

Beenie Man

Anthony Moses Davis , better known by his stage name Beenie Man, is a Grammy award winning Jamaican reggae artist. He is the self-proclaimed "King of the Dancehall".-Biography:...

, Early B

Early B

Earlando Arrington Neil, better known by his stage name Early B, was an early dancehall and reggae deejay whose lyrics had a cultural bent, noted mainly in his hits Visit of King Selassie, History of Jamaica and Wheely Wheely, the latter an ode to bicycle-riding in Jamaica.-Biography:Earlando was...

, Johnny Ringo

Johnny Ringo (musician)

Johnny Ringo was a reggae/dancehall deejay active from the late 1970s to the early 1990s.-Biography:...

, and Ranking Toyan

Toyan

Toyan aka Ranking Toyan was a Jamaican reggae deejay active since the mid-1970s and best known for his early 1980s recordings.-Biography:...

.

Yellowman and Fathead were reunited in 1984 for the Showdown vol. 5 album, split between the duo and Purpleman.

Rainford was murdered on 22 December 1988, dying from a gunshot wound. During an interview with Winston Foster (Yellowman) carried out by Steve Day in Brighton, England on November 4, 2009, Yellowman confirmed that Fathead (Vernon Rainford) was actively involved in the Miami drug trade. It was this involvement that would lead to his death.

Albums

• Live at Aces (1982) VP
  VP Records
  VP Records is an independent reggae record label, located in Queens, New York. It is best known for producing Caribbean singers.-The foundation:...
  
  /Jah Guidance (Yellowman & Fathead)
• Bad Boy Skanking (1982) Greensleeves
  Greensleeves Records
  Greensleeves Records & Publishing is a record label specialising in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick and started as a small record store in West Ealing, London, in November 1975 and is based in Britain....
  
   (Yellowman & Fathead)
• For Your Eyes Only (1982) Arrival (Yellowman & Fathead)
• One Yellowman (1982) Hitbound (Yellowman & Fathead)
• Supermix (1982) Volcano (Yellowman & Fathead)
• The Yellow, The Purple & The Nancy
  The Yellow, The Purple & The Nancy
  The Yellow, The Purple & The Nancy is a 1982 album by Sister Nancy.- Track listing :#Purpleman - Feeling Irie#Yellowman & Fathead - Mr Wong#Sister Nancy - No Any Man Can Test Sister Nancy#Purpleman - Get Ready#Yellowman & Fathead - Baby Father...
  
  (1982) Greensleeves (Yellowman & Fathead, Purpleman, & Sister Nancy)
• Showdown Vol 5 (1984) Hitbound (Yellowman & Fathead & Purpleman)

Singles

• "It's Me"/"Wha Dat" (1983)
• "That's The Sound" (w/ King Mellow Yellow, 1984)
• "Wha-Do-Dem-So" (w/ King Mellow Yellow, 1984)
• "Rat Trap"
• "Come Me A Come"
• "Champion"
• "Stop All The Fight"

External links

• Fathead at Roots Archives