Keith Hudson
| Keith Hudson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1946 |
| Origin | Kingston, Jamaica |
| Died | 14 November 1984 New York, United States |
| Genres | Reggae, Dub reggae |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, Record producer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1960–1984 |
| Labels | Joint International Imbidimts Atra Virgin |
Keith Hudson aka the "Dark Prince of Reggae" (1946 in Kingston, Jamaica – 14 November 1984 in New York, USA), was a Jamaican reggae artist and record producer.
He is known for his influence on the Dub movement.
Raised in a musical family, Hudson attended Boys Town School in Kingston, where he organised school concerts with schoolmates including Bob Marley, Delroy Wilson, and Ken Boothe. He was an ardent follower of Coxsone Dodd's Downbeat sound system and was soon hanging out with musicians such as Don Drummond, carrying his trombone into sessions at Dodd's Brentford Road studio when he was around fourteen. He produced his first track in 1960, an instrumental featuring musicians who would go on to join The Skatalites, although it wasn't released until 1968 (as "Shades of Hudson"), by which time Hudson had launched his own Inbidimts label. After leaving school he served an apprenticeship in dentistry, and used these skills to raise money for recording sessions. In 1968 he obtained some Termites and Carl Bryan rocksteady rhythms from Olympic Records, and recorded new vocals over them, such as "Old Broom" and "You Must be Popular". These early 45s on his own Imbidmts and Rebind labels enjoyed sufficient success to enable him to purchase some studio time of his own. His first recording session produced Ken Boothe's Jamaican hit "Old Fashioned Way", later versioned by Dennis Alcapone as "Spanish Omega" and U Roy as "Dynamic Fashion Way". In the following months he worked with vocalists Delroy Wilson ("Run, Run"), Alton Ellis, Bunny Gale and John Holt ("Never Will I Hurt My Baby"). He was one of the first to record DJ U-Roy in 1969, although U-Roy's first recording had in fact been made with Peter Tosh for Lee Perry – "Earth's Rightful Ruler". Other deejay productions included numerous tunes with Dennis Alcapone (e.g. "Shades of Hudson"), and Big Youth's "S.90 Skank" released in 1972 became the deejay's biggest hit, with added motorcycle noises recorded in the studio beginning a trend followed by other producers such as Dodd and Perry. In the first half of the 1970s he regularly used the Soul Syndicate band, featuring George "Fully" Fullwood and Carlton "Santa" Davis.
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