Gladstone Anderson
Encyclopedia
Gladstone Anderson also known by his nickname "Gladdy", is a Jamaica
n pianist
, keyboard player, and singer, who has played a major part in the island's musical history, playing a key role in defining the ska
sound and the rocksteady
beat, and playing on hundreds of recordings as a session musician, a solo artist, and as leader of Gladdy's All Stars, featuring bassist Jackie Jackson
, drummer Winston Grennan
, guitarist Hux Brown, and keyboardist Winston Wright. As Harry J All Stars the band had a massive hit in Jamaica and United Kingdom with the instrumental song "The Liquidator" 1969 (and 1980!).
. He became a prominent studio pianist in the late 1950s, when he began working for Duke Reid
. He worked at Reid's Treasure Isle studio, generally replacing Jackie Mittoo
when The Skatalites
recorded there, also working for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd and Leslie Kong
, and was a member of Lynn Taitt
's group The Jets, playing on many of the key ska and rocksteady recordings, and helping to define the ska sound and the rocksteady beat. He was even credited with coming up with the name "rock steady", when he used the term to describe Hopeton Lewis
's "Take it Easy", when the recording (that he had played on) was played back. He went on to work with producer Harry Mudie
, leading Gladdy's All Stars, who were also known by different names when working with other producers, including The Aggrovators
(Bunny Lee
), Rupie's All Stars (Rupie Edwards
), The Crystallites (Derrick Harriott
), and The Dynamites (Clancy Eccles
), and would later become the Upsetters
when they worked with Lee "Scratch" Perry. He had success as a singer in the late 1960s working with Stranger Cole
as Stranger and Gladdy, including the singles "Just Like a River" and "Seeing is Knowing". His debut album, It May Sound Silly, was released in 1972, and became a best-seller in Jamaica. Anderson continued to work with Mudie, working on the late 1970s dub
album series Harry Mudie Meet King Tubby's In Dub Conference. A second solo album was released in 1977, Glady Unlimited, again produced by Mudie. Anderson released a vocal album in 1982, Sings Songs For Today and Tomorrow. Anderson was also one of several keyboard players to play in the Roots Radics
.
Anderson has also worked as a producer, his roots reggae
recordings appearing on the Rite Sound label.
Aderson's song "Mad Mad Ivy" was sampled for Jay-Z
's song "Already Home" for The Blueprint 3.
Compilations:
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, keyboard player, and singer, who has played a major part in the island's musical history, playing a key role in defining the ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
sound and the rocksteady
Rocksteady
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor to ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was performed by Jamaican vocal harmony groups such as The Gaylads, The Maytals and The Paragons. The term rocksteady comes from a dance style that was mentioned in the Alton...
beat, and playing on hundreds of recordings as a session musician, a solo artist, and as leader of Gladdy's All Stars, featuring bassist Jackie Jackson
Jackie Jackson
Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson is an American singer and musician, a member of The Jackson 5, and the second child in the Jackson family.-Life and career:...
, drummer Winston Grennan
Winston Grennan
Winston Grennan was a Jamaican drummer, famous for session work from 1962 to 1973 in Jamaica as well as later in New York City through the 1970s and '80s.-Career:...
, guitarist Hux Brown, and keyboardist Winston Wright. As Harry J All Stars the band had a massive hit in Jamaica and United Kingdom with the instrumental song "The Liquidator" 1969 (and 1980!).
Biography
Gladstone Anderson was born in 1934 in Jones Town, and was taught piano at home by his uncle, the keyboardist and bandleader Aubrey AdamsAubrey Adams
Aubrey Adams was a Jamaican pianist and keyboard player who was one of the top bandleaders in Jamaica in the 1950s, and led the Dewdroppers as well as playing with Clue J & His Blues Blasters.-Biography:...
. He became a prominent studio pianist in the late 1950s, when he began working for Duke Reid
Duke Reid
Treasure Isle re-directs here. For the game, see Treasure Isle .Arthur "Duke" Reid, CD was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner....
. He worked at Reid's Treasure Isle studio, generally replacing Jackie Mittoo
Jackie Mittoo
Jackie Mittoo was a Jamaican keyboardist, songwriter and musical director. He was a founding member of The Skatalites and was a mentor to many younger performers, primarily through his work as musical director for the Studio One record label.-Biography:He was born Donat Roy Mittoo in Browns Town,...
when The Skatalites
The Skatalites
The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone". They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many other Jamaican artists who recorded during that period...
recorded there, also working for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd and Leslie Kong
Leslie Kong
Leslie Kong was a Chinese Jamaican record producer.-Career:Leslie and his two older brothers Cecil and Lloyd ran a restaurant, ice cream parlour and record shop called Beverley's in Orange Street, Kingston...
, and was a member of Lynn Taitt
Lynn Taitt
Lynn Taitt was a reggae guitarist born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, closely associated with Jamaican rocksteady music.-Biography:...
's group The Jets, playing on many of the key ska and rocksteady recordings, and helping to define the ska sound and the rocksteady beat. He was even credited with coming up with the name "rock steady", when he used the term to describe Hopeton Lewis
Hopeton Lewis
Hopeton Lewis is a Jamaican singer. Lewis' rich baritone has had a profound impact on Jamaican music, and his mixture of gospel and soul elements helped set the template for early rocksteady.-Biography:...
's "Take it Easy", when the recording (that he had played on) was played back. He went on to work with producer Harry Mudie
Harry Mudie
Harry A. Mudie is a Jamaican record producer.-Biography:Harry Mudie attended the St Jago High School. In the mid fifties, he launched his own sound system "Mudies Hi-Fi", before going to the UK to study electronics and photography.Back in Jamaica in the late 1950s, Mudie began producing, mainly...
, leading Gladdy's All Stars, who were also known by different names when working with other producers, including The Aggrovators
The Aggrovators
The Aggrovators were a dub/reggae backing band in the 1970s & 1980s, and one of the main session bands of producer, Bunny Lee. The line-up varied, with Lee using the name for whichever set of musicians he was using at any time. The band's name derived from the record shop that Lee had run in the...
(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:...
), Rupie's All Stars (Rupie Edwards
Rupie Edwards
Rupie Edwards is a Jamaican reggae singer and record producer.-Biography:...
), The Crystallites (Derrick Harriott
Derrick Harriott
Derrick Harriott is a singer and record producer. He has produced recordings by Big Youth, Chariot Riders, The Chosen Few, Dennis Brown, The Ethiopians, Keith & Tex, The Kingstonians, Rudy Mills, Scotty, Sly & Revolutionaries, and Winston McAnuff.-Biography:As a student at Excelsior High School,...
), and The Dynamites (Clancy Eccles
Clancy Eccles
Clancy Eccles was a Jamaican ska and reggae singer, songwriter, arranger, promoter, record producer and talent scout. Known mostly for his early reggae works, he brought a political dimension to this music...
), and would later become the Upsetters
The Upsetters
The Upsetters was the name given to the house band for Jamaican reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. The name of the band comes from Perry's nickname of Upsetter, after his song "I Am The Upsetter", a musical dismissal of his former boss Coxsone Dodd....
when they worked with Lee "Scratch" Perry. He had success as a singer in the late 1960s working with Stranger Cole
Stranger Cole
Stranger Cole, also known as StrangeJah Cole is a Jamaican singer whose long recording career dates from the early days of ska in 1962 through to the 2000s.-Biography:...
as Stranger and Gladdy, including the singles "Just Like a River" and "Seeing is Knowing". His debut album, It May Sound Silly, was released in 1972, and became a best-seller in Jamaica. Anderson continued to work with Mudie, working on the late 1970s dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
album series Harry Mudie Meet King Tubby's In Dub Conference. A second solo album was released in 1977, Glady Unlimited, again produced by Mudie. Anderson released a vocal album in 1982, Sings Songs For Today and Tomorrow. Anderson was also one of several keyboard players to play in the Roots Radics
Roots Radics
The Roots Radics Band was formed in 1978 by bass player Errol "Flabba" Holt and guitarist Eric "Bingy Bunny" Lamont. They were joined by many great musicians. As a combined force the Roots Radics became a well-respected studio and stage band, which dominated the sound in the first half of the 1980s...
.
Anderson has also worked as a producer, his roots reggae
Roots reggae
Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of the artists concerned, including the spiritual side of Rastafari and with the honoring of God, called Jah by rastafarians. It also is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer, and the rural poor...
recordings appearing on the Rite Sound label.
Aderson's song "Mad Mad Ivy" was sampled for Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
's song "Already Home" for The Blueprint 3.
Discography
- Glad Sounds (1968), Bigshot (Gladdy with Lynn TaittLynn TaittLynn Taitt was a reggae guitarist born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, closely associated with Jamaican rocksteady music.-Biography:...
& the Jets) - It May Sound Silly (1972), Moodisc/Ashanti
- Glady Unlimited (1977), Moodisc
- Sings Songs For Today and Tomorrow (1982), Jahmani
- Radical Dub Session (1982), Solid Groove - credited to The Roots Radics Featuring Gladstone Anderson
- Don't Look Back (1985) Overheat
- Caribbean Breeze (1989) Overheat
- Get Closer (1989) NEC Avenue
- Peace Pipe Dub (1993) Seven Leaves
- Piano In Harmony (1994) Overheat
- Gladdy's Double Score(2010) Overheat
Compilations:
- Forever Dub vol 1 (1994) Roots
External links
- Gladstone Anderson at Roots Archives