Meet Earl Sixteen, a force of reggae music

Earl “Sixteen” Daley was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1958. His passion for music started at home, where his ingenious dad would create simple string instruments, such as a banjo made of coconut, fishing lines and bamboo strings.

At the age of 13, Earl entered a talent show and won it, beating future stars such as Junior Moore (who would become the lead singer with the Tamlins) and Michael Rose (Black Uhuru’s lead singer). He then formed a group with some friends, the Flaming Phonics, and by 1974 he started singing professionally with Boris Gardiner’s band.

When asked by ReggaeVille about how he got his stage name – Earl Sixteen – Daley replied:

Boris Gardiner […] literally took me out of school to start working with the band so I started working touring and doing my first recordings at the age of 16. The guys in the band said, “Bwoy, you act like a big man! But you’re only 16 so we’re going to call you Earl Sixteen so you remember to act like a boy!”

Boris introduced Earl to Lee Perry at the Black Ark studio, where Earl sang a few songs. Some of these would be released as singles by the Upsetter label, including ‘Freedom’ and ‘Cheating’. As Earl Sixteen’s involvement with Rasta culture grew deeper, most of his work would be based on roots, reality and spiritual themes.

In 1976, Earl sang the song ‘Malcolm X’, which had been written by his friend Winston McAnuff, for Joe Gibbs. Dennis Brown would later record the same song using Earl’s voice for a guide vocal.

Earl Sixteen’s solo career continued growing in the late 70s and early 80s, as he sang for reggae luminaries such as Augustus Pablo, Mikey Dread, Earl Morgan from The Heptones, Linval Thompson, and the Ray Symbolic Sound System by Ranking Joe and Jah Screw.

One Earl Sixteen’s most popular songs – ‘Love is a feeling’ – was an instant classic released in 1982 on a Studio One 7-inch single. In 1985, Coxsone Dodd released the ‘Earl Sixteen Showcase’ album, featuring a superb collection of songs that Earl had recorded at Studio One in the earlier years.

In 1988, Earl moved to England where he covered Simply Red’s ‘Holding back the years’. It was a big hit on the local reggae market. In the early 1990s, he recorded Babylon Walls and many great singles for the Mad Professor. Over the years, Earl Sixteen has continued to live in London, working with many of the UK’s top producers. He has also experimented with mixing traditional reggae with drum & bass and techno, to achieve a harmonious musical balance between Afro-Caribbean music and the European vibes.

Records by Earl Sixteen

Sources:
Reggaecollector.com
Allmusic.com
Reggaeville.com
Cover image from Earl Sixteen’s facebook page