Hugh Mundell
| Hugh Mundell | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | "The Blessed Youth", "Jah Levi" |
| Born |
14 June 1962 East Kingston, Jamaica |
| Died | 14 October 1983 (aged 21) Kingston, Jamaica |
| Genres | Reggae |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1975–1983 |
Hugh Mundell (14 June 1962 – 14 October 1983) was a Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter.
Mundell was born the fourth child and only boy to Theresa and Alvin Mundell. Alvin Mundell was a successful lawyer. Hugh attended St. Margaret's Preparatory School, Kingsway Preparatory School and the Ardenne High School before pursuing a career in music. Most thought that Mundell would become an athlete because he was known to be a competitive runner and routinely participated in street running races with other neighbourhood youth. Mundell grew up just houses away from three other youth who would also go on to become reggae singers: Winston McAnuff, Earl Sixteen Daley, and Yabby You protogé Wayne Wade. Mundell was introduced to reggae by reggae performer and producer Boris Gardiner who was a friend of the family. Mundell was at Joe Gibbs' studio the day that Winston McAnuff recorded the song "Malcolm X." Joe Gibbs offers Mundell the opportunity to record and they lay down a track titled "Where Is Natty Dread?" The track is never pressed to vinyl. It is at Gibbs' studio that he meets dub maestro Augustus Pablo. Mundell explains in his November 1980 interview with Sounds magazine's Edwin Pouncey:
“I did one recording for Joe Gibbs for Errol Thompson Records which was not released called 'Where Is Natty Dread' and one day I was at the studio and Augustus Pablo saw me at the Joe Gibbs session 'cos he used to run around and check it out y'know. And he asked me to come and do some recordings for him so I said 'Yeah!' So I went by his house and started rehearsing and he create the rhythms. The following Saturday we went to the studio where we recorded my first two songs for release called 'Africa Must Be Free' and 'My, My.'"
Between 1976 and 1978 Mundell and Pablo lay the tracks for what would ultimately become Mundell's debut LP Africa Must Be Free By 1983. Produced by Augustus Pablo, Mundell wrote every song on the record. It included two Black Ark-recorded titles: "Let's All Unite" and "Why Do Black Man Fuss & Fight", both supervised and mixed by Lee Perry. The album received five stars from Rolling Stone magazine and was included in Tom Moon's 2008 book, 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. He was a major influence on Junior Reid, who was three years younger, and Mundell was the first to record Reid. He also kept a close friendship with Reid's friend Lacksley Castell, who like Reid, hailed from Waterhouse.
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