One of reggae's greatest composers and vocalists passed away the other day. Most high raspect to Bob Andy, may you rise in power forever. He truly transcended the reggae genre with soulful songs and wise, deep lyrics. Perhaps the best example of this was his classic, "Feeling Soul", but that was only one of many of his high peaks. His songs were covered by many other artists, and often their versions made more waves than his original recordings. He shied away from the "reggae business" because of its unceasingly poor treatment of its star artists and the lack of recognition of the genre worldwide, but those who knew of him realized his lyrical power and his independently produced and released product always stood above the rough and tumble stuff released by more popular reggae artists and the producers who largely controlled the genre in Jamaica.

Also Apple Gabriel, 1/3 of the vocal trio Israel Vibration, passed away last week. Though he was estranged from the trio, his were always the best vocals in my eyes and his songs were the best in the trio's catalogue.

Two artists who were truly on a level with or higher than the Rolling Stones though many may never have heard of them. Bob Andy's passing may be a bit harder than most for me to bear, I was a very good friend of his for about 15 years now. At least it came quickly and his suffering was minimal. Apple on the other hand had been living on the streets of Washington DC last I heard; he was a curmudgeonly person but filled to the brim with a talent he never fully realized, living in the shadow of the other two Israel Vibration singers, Skelly and Wiss. Always the best of the three to my ears.


jb



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2020-03-28 04:15 by jbwelda.

RIP to both