Much like the never-ending quest to find the next Michael Jordan, reggae aficionados have been seeking "the next Bob Marley" and have prematurely placed that crown on many an unprepared head. There was Jacob Miller, Garnet Silk, Lucky Dube, and then there was Dennis Brown. In fact, the consensus was that Dennis Brown so deserved to be the successor to the Great One, that he was known and accepted as "The Crown Prince of Reggae with the "honey-coated voice". It is said that Bob Marley himself anointed Dennis as his successor, naming him as his favorite reggae singer.
Brown, who started performing at age nine, was also known as "Jamaica's Michael Jackson." Great things were expected from Dennis, and most agree that, for the most part, he delivered.
Some may even contend that he over-delivered; that as a young man he became the victim of unscrupulous, greedy promoters and producers who exploited him and his talent.
From the Guardian:
It didn't take long before every producer in Jamaica was knocking on the 14-year -old's door, enticing him with little more than small change to record for them. Brown was incapable of saying "no" and duly obliged, setting a pattern that would result in at least 78 albums for 37 record labels in his 30-year career, releasing six or seven albums a year at his peak.I do take issue with the inference that he couldn't say no because he was weak. He was an inexperienced young man at the mercy of rapacious businessmen who knew how to get what they wanted. Without a team fighting for him, young Brown didn't stand a chance against the vultures.
Happy Birthday, Dennis Brown!
Now follow me below the dancing thinga-ma-jig for my favorites from the man himself.
Reference:
Dennis Brown. (2015). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 01:46, Jan 07, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/....