Horace Andy

One of Jamaica's most distinguished and beloved vocalists, Horace Andy is blessed with one of the most distinctive voices on the island and his emotive delivery just adds further weight to his reputation. His classic recordings from the '70s remain crucial listening, while his more recent work with trip-hop heroes Massive Attack has introduced the singer to an entire new generation of devoted fans. Indeed, Andy's work has been of such consistently high caliber over the years that there's never been a time when he wasn't releasing exceptional records. Born Horace Hinds in the Allman Town neighborhood of Kingston, Jamaica, on February 19, 1951, the young star-to-be watched in awe as his elder cousin Justin Hinds cut a swathe across the Jamaican music scene. Justin Hinds & the Dominoes notched up hit after hit across the '60s, most memorably with the smash "Carry Go Bring Come," later covered by Two Tone heroes the Selector. It was inevitable then that the younger Hinds would attempt to follow his cousin's meteoric path, although intriguingly he chose not to approach Justin's own producer, Duke Reid. Instead, at the age of 16 he cut his debut single for George "Phil" Pratt. Unfortunately, "This Is a Black Man's Country" did not light up the charts and the teenager spent the next few years in the shadows. In January 1970, Hinds showed up at Studio One to audition for labelhead Coxsone Dodd, this time as a duo with friend Frank Melody. Dodd wasn't keen on the pairing, but later that week, Hinds tried again on his own with the self-composed ballad "Got to Be Sure," and this time the producer was sold. That song was cut as the singer's debut single. However, the producer was wary of releasing it under Hinds' own name, concerned that the family relation with Justin and...