Leslie Kong
Encyclopedia
Leslie Kong was a Chinese Jamaican
record producer
.
. In 1961, he encountered a young Jimmy Cliff
outside of his shop singing a song he had written called "Dearest Beverly," in the hopes that the mention of the establishment would convince Kong to record him. This encounter led Kong to launch his own record label, "Beverley's
", and to record Cliff's song, launching Cliff's career in the process.
In 1962, he recorded Bob Marley
's first single
: "One Cup of Coffee" and "Judge Not
", and Jimmy Cliff's first hit, "Miss Jamaica". Kong, known in Jamaican music circles as "the Chinaman," quickly established himself as the island's leading producer of local popular music. Throughout the 1960s Kong kept recording many leading Jamaican artists
from ska
to reggae through rocksteady
including Joe Higgs
, Desmond Dekker
, Toots & the Maytals
, Derrick Morgan
, John Holt
and Stranger Cole
. A wise businessman, Kong was one of the original shareholders in Island Records
along with Chris Blackwell
and Australian engineer Graeme Goodall. Starting in 1963 Kong began licensing ska recordings to Blackwell for release in the UK on Island's Black Swan imprint. After Blackwell bought out Kong and Goodall's share in Island, in 1967 Kong formed a second partnership with Graeme Goodall, who created the Pyramid label in the UK for the successful release of Kong's rocksteady and early reggae productions. When Pyramid folded in 1969, the licensing successes continued with Trojan Records.
Kong is known for being the first Jamaican producer to get international hits with long-time collaborator Desmond Dekker
, in 1967 with "007 (Shanty Town)" and above all in 1969 with "Israelites
" which topped the UK Singles Chart
in April 1969 and went to number nine on the US charts in July 1969, selling over two million copies. During the early reggae period, he worked with Bob Marley The Wailers (The Best of the Wailers
) and enjoyed several successful hits with The Pioneers
' "Long Shot Kick The Bucket" or The Melodians
' "Rivers of Babylon" and "Sweet Sensation". His works with The Maytals
also led to many hits including "54-46 That's My Number" and the UK charting single "Monkey Man
".
Other vocalists who recorded for him and the Beverley's label include Ken Boothe
, Bruce Ruffin
, The Gaylads
and Delroy Wilson
. Ex-Skatalites saxophonist Roland Alphonso
cut numerous instrumentals for Kong during the rocksteady period. When reggae arrived in late 1968, lead instrumental duties were handled by organists Ansell Collins
and Winston Wright.
Kong died of a heart attack
, aged 38, in August 1971, after being allegedly 'cursed' by Bunny Livingston of The Wailers after a dispute over the release of an album entitled The Best of the Wailers
; the Wailers believed that the release of such an album was premature, saying that their best music was yet to come. Kong makes a cameo appearance in the film The Harder They Come
, where he is seen overseeing a recording session with Toots & the Maytals. He had a nephew Errol Kong, who recorded several singles and an album as I Kong a.k.a. Ricky Storme.
Chinese Jamaican
Chinese Jamaicans are the descendants of migrants from China to Jamaica. Early migrants came in the 19th century; there was another wave of migration in the 1980s and 1990s...
record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
.
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, KingstonKingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
. In 1961, he encountered a young Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff, OM is a Jamaican musician, singer and actor. He is the only currently living musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievement in the arts and sciences...
outside of his shop singing a song he had written called "Dearest Beverly," in the hopes that the mention of the establishment would convince Kong to record him. This encounter led Kong to launch his own record label, "Beverley's
Beverley's
Beverley's was a Jamaican record label owned by the Chinese Jamaican record producer Leslie Kong. Beverley's was essential to the development of Ska and Rocksteady into Reggae...
", and to record Cliff's song, launching Cliff's career in the process.
In 1962, he recorded Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
's first 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...
: "One Cup of Coffee" and "Judge Not
Judge Not
"Judge Not" is the first single Bob Marley recorded. It was released in 1961, only in Jamaica on Leslie Kong label Beverley's. With a ska beat, Marley has a youthful voice, as it was his first recorded song. Though "Judge Not" failed to achieve much success, Marley was not discouraged and continued...
", and Jimmy Cliff's first hit, "Miss Jamaica". Kong, known in Jamaican music circles as "the Chinaman," quickly established himself as the island's leading producer of local popular music. Throughout the 1960s Kong kept recording many leading Jamaican artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
from 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...
to reggae through 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...
including Joe Higgs
Joe Higgs
Joe Higgs was a reggae musician from Jamaica. In the late 1950s and 1960s he was part of the duo Higgs and Wilson together with Roy Wilson...
, Desmond Dekker
Desmond Dekker
Desmond Dekker was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group, The Aces , he had one of the first international Jamaican hits with "Israelites". Other hits include "007 " and "It Miek"...
, Toots & the Maytals
Toots & the Maytals
Toots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group and one of the best known ska and reggae vocal groups. According to Sandra Brennan at Allmusic, "The Maytals were key figures in reggae music...
, Derrick Morgan
Derrick Morgan
Derrick Morgan is a musical artist popular in the 1960s and 1970s. He worked with Desmond Dekker, Bob Marley, and Jimmy Cliff in the rhythm and blues and ska genres, and he also performed rocksteady and skinhead reggae.-Biography:In 1957 Morgan entered the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour, a talent...
, John Holt
John Holt (singer)
John Holt is a reggae singer and songwriter.-Biography:Holt was born in Kingston in 1947. By the age of 12, he was a regular entrant in talent contests run at Jamaican theatres by Vere Johns...
and 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:...
. A wise businessman, Kong was one of the original shareholders in Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
along with Chris Blackwell
Chris Blackwell
Christopher Percy Gordon "Chris" Blackwell is a British record producer and businessman, who was the founder of Island Records, acknowledged as the most successful and groundbreaking independent record company in history. Blackwell has been a music industry mogul for over fifty years...
and Australian engineer Graeme Goodall. Starting in 1963 Kong began licensing ska recordings to Blackwell for release in the UK on Island's Black Swan imprint. After Blackwell bought out Kong and Goodall's share in Island, in 1967 Kong formed a second partnership with Graeme Goodall, who created the Pyramid label in the UK for the successful release of Kong's rocksteady and early reggae productions. When Pyramid folded in 1969, the licensing successes continued with Trojan Records.
Kong is known for being the first Jamaican producer to get international hits with long-time collaborator Desmond Dekker
Desmond Dekker
Desmond Dekker was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group, The Aces , he had one of the first international Jamaican hits with "Israelites". Other hits include "007 " and "It Miek"...
, in 1967 with "007 (Shanty Town)" and above all in 1969 with "Israelites
Israelites (song)
"Israelites" is a song written by Desmond Dekker and Leslie Kong that became a hit for Dekker's group, Desmond Dekker & The Aces. Although few could understand all the lyrics, the single was the first UK reggae number one and the first to reach the US top ten...
" which topped 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 April 1969 and went to number nine on the US charts in July 1969, selling over two million copies. During the early reggae period, he worked with Bob Marley The Wailers (The Best of the Wailers
The Best of the Wailers
The Best of the Wailers is an album by The Wailers, released in August 1971. Despite its title, it is not a compilation album. The album was recorded in 1969-1970 but only released in 1971....
) and enjoyed several successful hits with The Pioneers
The Pioneers (band)
The Pioneers are a Jamaican reggae vocal trio, whose main period of success was in the 1960s. The trio has had different line-ups, and still occasionally performs.-Founding and early years: 1962-1967:...
' "Long Shot Kick The Bucket" or The Melodians
The Melodians
The Melodians were a reggae band formed in the Greenwich Town area of Kingston, Jamaica in 1965, by Tony Brevett , Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton...
' "Rivers of Babylon" and "Sweet Sensation". His works with The Maytals
Toots & the Maytals
Toots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group and one of the best known ska and reggae vocal groups. According to Sandra Brennan at Allmusic, "The Maytals were key figures in reggae music...
also led to many hits including "54-46 That's My Number" and the UK charting single "Monkey Man
Monkey Man (Toots & the Maytals song)
"Monkey Man" is a 1969 song by the ska and reggae group the Maytals, reaching number 47 in the UK Singles Chart. The song is a jab at their producer, Leslie Kong...
".
Other vocalists who recorded for him and the Beverley's label include Ken Boothe
Ken Boothe
Ken Boothe OD is a Jamaican recording artist.-Biography:Ken Boothe was born in the Denham Town area of Kingston in 1948, the youngest of seven children, and began singing in school...
, Bruce Ruffin
Bruce Ruffin
Bruce Ruffin is a rocksteady and reggae artist.-Biography:...
, The Gaylads
The Gaylads
The Gaylads were one of the top Rocksteady vocal groups active in Jamaica between 1963 and 1973. The group, formed in Kingston, originally consisted of singers Harris "B.B." Seaton, Winston Delano Stewart and Maurice Roberts; Seaton and Stewart had previously been successful as the duo Winston &...
and Delroy Wilson
Delroy Wilson
Delroy Wilson was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer.-Biography:Wilson released his first single "Emy Lou" in 1961 for record producer, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, at the age of thirteen...
. Ex-Skatalites saxophonist Roland Alphonso
Roland Alphonso
Roland Alphonso O.D. or Rolando Alphonso aka The Chief Musician was a Jamaican tenor saxophonist, and one of the founding members of The Skatalites....
cut numerous instrumentals for Kong during the rocksteady period. When reggae arrived in late 1968, lead instrumental duties were handled by organists Ansell Collins
Ansell Collins
Ansell Collins is a Jamaican keyboard player, producer, and occasional singer. Born 1949 in Kingston, Jamaica.-Biography:...
and Winston Wright.
Kong died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, aged 38, in August 1971, after being allegedly 'cursed' by Bunny Livingston of The Wailers after a dispute over the release of an album entitled The Best of the Wailers
The Best of the Wailers
The Best of the Wailers is an album by The Wailers, released in August 1971. Despite its title, it is not a compilation album. The album was recorded in 1969-1970 but only released in 1971....
; the Wailers believed that the release of such an album was premature, saying that their best music was yet to come. Kong makes a cameo appearance in the film The Harder They Come
The Harder They Come
The Harder They Come is a 1972 Jamaican crime film directed by Perry Henzell.The film stars reggae singer Jimmy Cliff, who plays Ivanhoe Martin, a character based on Rhyging, a real-life Jamaican criminal who achieved fame in the 1940s...
, where he is seen overseeing a recording session with Toots & the Maytals. He had a nephew Errol Kong, who recorded several singles and an album as I Kong a.k.a. Ricky Storme.
Discography
- Various Artists - Original Reggae Hot Shots - 1969 - Beverley's/Trojan (1975)
- Various Artists - King Size Reggae - 1970 - Beverley's
- Various Artists - Golden Hits By The Greats - 1970 - Beverley's
- Various Artists - Reggae Chartbusters - 1970 - Beverley's
- Various Artists - King Size Reggae - 1970 - Trojan Records
- Various Artists - Hot Shots of Reggae - 1970 - Trojan Records
- Various Artists - Best Of Beverley's Records 1969-1970 - Trojan RecordsTrojan 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...
(1981) - Various Artists - The Best Of Beverley's Records or Masterpieces From The Works of Leslie Kong - Island RecordsIsland RecordsIsland Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
/Trojan (1981) - Various Artists - The King Kong Compilation - Island RecordsIsland RecordsIsland Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
(1981) - Various Artists - Leslie Kong's Connection Vol 01 - 1969-1971 - Jet Set RecordsJet Set RecordsJet Set Records is a French record label specialized in Jamaican music reissues.Apart from artists' compilations they also focused on record producer works with albums on Leslie Kong, Phil Pratt and Derrick Harriott-Discography:...
- Various Artists - Leslie Kong's Connection Vol 02 - 1969-1971 - Jet Set RecordsJet Set RecordsJet Set Records is a French record label specialized in Jamaican music reissues.Apart from artists' compilations they also focused on record producer works with albums on Leslie Kong, Phil Pratt and Derrick Harriott-Discography:...