'Steely' will be missed
Jamaica Observer - Wednesday, September 02, 2009
The passing yesterday of producer/musician Wycliffe 'Steely' Johnson has left a void in Jamaica's music industry that will not be easily filled.
For Mr Johnson, throughout his 30 years in the music industry, distinguished himself as one of the finest proponents of reggae and dancehall music in particular.
In fact, so dedicated was Mr Johnson to his craft, that he and his musical twin, Mr Cleveland 'Clevie' Browne, revolutionised the sound of dancehall in the 1980s through the use of computers, giving the genre an edge that forced the world to sit up and pay attention.
The fact that there are so many young artistes today who are benefiting from dancehall's worldwide popularity is due in large measure to the foundation laid by 'Steely' and 'Clevie'. Therefore it was heartbreaking to see the disrespect shown to him by youngsters in the music industry here in recent months before he left for New York where he drew his last breath.
That, of course, speaks to a wider problem we have in Jamaica of a lack of appreciation for those who have, without fanfare, given yeoman service to the development of the arts.
People who knew Mr Johnson will tell you that he was a perfectionist who practically lived in the recording studio. He no doubt honed his craft from his early days as the original keyboard player with the Roots Radix Band which provided backing for big name artistes Gregory Isaacs and Bunny Wailer as well as many other singers, both on tour and on recordings.
The list of artistes with whom he and his partner worked is extremely impressive - Jimmy Cliff, Freddie McGregor, Dennis Brown, No Doubt, Lady Saw, Billy Ocean, Back Street Boys, Heavy D & The Boyz, Buju Banton, Capleton, Maxi Priest, Shabba Ranks, Beenie Man, Mr Vegas, Sean Paul, and Barrington Levy are a few who come easily to mind.
They all benefited from his creativity and musical genius, and so too did the music-loving public.
The local music fraternity, we are sure, is today mourning Mr Johnson's untimely passing. It is always painful to lose someone so talented and at such a relatively young age, as he was in his early 50s. But death, as we all know, is inevitable and unpredictable.
A fitting tribute to Mr Johnson, we suggest, would be for the local music industry, especially the exponents of dancehall, to burnish its image by expunging the trash that has infiltrated the genre under the guise of creativity and free expression.
Our condolences to Mr Johnson's family, friends and colleagues. May his soul rest in peace.
True legend! Lighter!
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gmFWFidObVI&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gmFWFidObVI&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pwGabMERqIY&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pwGabMERqIY&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
RIP Wycliffe 'Steely' Johnson
Moderator: Philaflava