The Wailing Souls
| The Wailing Souls | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Renegades The Little Roys The Classics Atarra Pipe and the Pipers |
| Origin | Kingston, Jamaica |
| Genres | Rocksteady, reggae |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Labels |
Studio One Island Channel One Massive Greensleeves Live & Learn Chaos Zoo |
| Website | thewailingsouls |
| Members | Winston "Pipe" Matthews Lloyd "Bread" McDonald |
| Past members | George "Buddy" Haye Oswald Downer Norman Davis Joe Higgs Rudolph "Garth" Dennis Ziggy Thomas Maisha |
The Wailing Souls (originally The Renegades) are a Jamaican reggae vocal group whose origins date back to the 1960s. The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years with Winston "Pipe" Matthews and Lloyd "Bread" McDonald the only constant members. They have been nominated for Grammy Awards three times.
The group formed in 1964, originally called The Renegades, comprising Winston "Pipe" Matthews, Lloyd "Bread" McDonald, and George "Buddy" Haye, who had attended the same vocal classes held by Joe Higgs in the early 1960s as The Wailers. Matthews had previously recorded as a member of The Schoolboys for Prince Buster.
They recorded as backing singers with Ernest Ranglin and released their own debut single, "Lost Love", before recording several singles for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's Studio One label, including "Back Out With It", "Row Fisherman Row", and "Mr. Fire Coal Man". The group became The Wailing Souls in 1968 and in the same year Haye left and new members Oswald Downer and Norman Davis joined. Under the new name they recorded singles such as "Dungeon" and "Thou Shalt Not Steal".
In 1970 the group began working with producer Lloyd Daley, releasing the "Gold Digger" single. In this period, their singles were often released under names such as The Little Roys, The Classics, Atarra, and Pipe and the Pipers, to avoid confusion with The Wailers. They went on to record with members of the Wailers later that year on the Tuff Gong singles "Harbour Shark", "Walk Walk Walk", and "You Should've Known Better".
By 1974 Downer and Davis had left, and original member Buddy Haye returned, along with Joe Higgs, although Higgs' tenure in the band was short-lived as he was recruited for a US tour with Jimmy Cliff. His replacement was Rudolph "Garth" Dennis, a founder member of Black Uhuru.
In the mid-1970s, The Wailing Souls association with producer Joseph Hoo Kim and his Channel One Studios brought them a string of hits, backed by house band The Revolutionaries, including "Back Biter", "Very Well", "Things and Time", "Jah Jah Give Us Life", and "War". In 1977 the band started their own 'Massive' label, further hits following in "Bredda Gravalicious" and "Feel the Spirit". The band's success reached another level in 1978 when their Wild Suspense album, featuring remixed tracks from their singles, was released internationally by Island Records.
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