Winston Grennan
| Winston Grennan | |
|---|---|
Outside The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Winston Richards |
| Born | 16 September 1944 |
| Origin | Duckenfield, Jamaica |
| Died | 27 October 2000 (aged 56) |
| Genres |
Reggae Ska Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Drummer singer songwriter Pianist |
| Instruments | Drums vocals Piano trombone |
| Years active | 1962–2000 |
| Labels |
Island Records Trojan Records Decca Records Swegway Records |
| Associated acts |
Bob Marley and the Wailers Jimmy Cliff Kid Creole and the Coconuts Lee Perry Paul Simon The Rolling Stones The Skatalites Ska Rocks Band Toots & the Maytals Eric Gale Garland Jeffreys |
| Website | winstongrennan |
Winston Grennan (16 September 1944 – 27 October 2000) was a Jamaican drummer, famous for session work from 1962 to 1973 in Jamaica as well as later in New York City through the 1970s and 1980s.
Grennan's career spanned several of the richest and most diverse decades in popular music, and he worked with a large number of the most famous artists of his time, both in Jamaica and in the United States.
He is most famous for creating the one drop rhythm in the late 1960s; this beat places kick/snare emphasis on the third beat within a highly syncopated 4/4 bar. One Drop, an outgrowth of the ska and rocksteady, became the foundation for reggae music, combined with traditional Jamaican forms such as mento, burro and kumina. Grennan was also responsible for importing the "Flyers" beat to the United States – a beat which he had developed and recorded in the 60s in Jamaica. While living New York, Grennan performed at the uptown nightclub Mikell's, where local musicians scored and adapted the beat for their own use. A reconstituted Flyers later emerged in New York as the rhythm that became known as disco.
Grennan is also remembered for his work at Studio One (Coxsone Dodd), Treasure Isle (Duke Reid), Federal, and Beverly's (Leslie Kong) although he also recorded with Sonia Pottinger, Clive Chin, Byron Lee and Winston Riley, and nearly every other record producer of the era. Early album releases rarely attributed the players of instruments and the majority of Grennan's early work was uncredited.
Grennan performed on thousands of tracks over the years. He played on sessions for numerous Jamaican acts notably Toots and The Maytals, Bob Marley, the Wailers, Jimmy Cliff and Desmond Dekker. Grennan's drumming style was extremely innovative and constantly evolving. Even his drum set-up was also highly idiosyncratic: he placed his cymbals behind him. He mentored a number of Jamaican musicians including notable drummers, Carlton Barrett, Sly Dunbar, Tin Leg, and Willie Williams. Prior to leaving Jamaica he worked on recordings by various foreign acts who gravitated to Jamaica's studios, including Paul Simon, Eddie Kendricks, Peter Paul & Mary, and Booker T. and the MGs. Just before leaving Jamaica he also appeared in the classic film The Harder They Come, as well as playing on most of the soundtrack cuts.
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