Burning Spear

Winston Rodney, the Saint Ann singer who recorded roots reggae as Burning Spear from 1969 and made Marcus Garvey with Jack Ruby in 1975.

Origin: Saint Ann's Bay, Saint Ann, Jamaica
Years active: 1969-present
Genres: roots reggae
Labels: Studio One, Island Records, EMI, Heartbeat Records, Slash, Burning Music
Also known as: Winston Rodney

Saint Ann's Bay and Studio One

Winston Rodney was born on 1 March 1945 in Saint Ann's Bay, Saint Ann, Jamaica, the parish that also produced Bob Marley and Marcus Garvey. As a young man he listened to the R&B, soul and jazz carried by American radio stations that reached the island, and he has named Curtis Mayfield and James Brown as influences. The views of Garvey on Pan-Africanism and self-determination shaped him deeply.

Burning Spear began as Rodney's group, named after a military award given by Jomo Kenyatta, and first included the bass singer Rupert Willington. In 1969, after Marley told him to try Coxsone Dodd's Studio One, the duo auditioned and made their debut single, Door Peep. Tenor Delroy Hinds joined, and the trio cut more singles and two albums for Dodd before leaving in 1974. Disillusioned with the label and the Jamaican music business, Rodney went home to Saint Ann and worked as a farmer.

Jack Ruby and Island

In early 1975 he began working with Jack Ruby, who ran the Ocho Rios sound system Hi-Power. Their first recording together, Marcus Garvey, was meant as an exclusive for the sound system, but it was released as a single and became an immediate hit. Slavery Days followed. The backing band, the Black Disciples, included Earl "Chinna" Smith, Valentine Chin, Robbie Shakespeare and Leroy Wallace.

The album Marcus Garvey was an immediate success and led to a deal with Island Records for wider release. Island remixed it and altered the speed of some tracks, to the annoyance of fans and the group, and Rodney set up his own label, Burning Music, to keep control of later records. Island still released the dub set Garvey's Ghost and then Man in the Hills. Patricia Meschino of GRAMMY.com calls the 1975 album his international breakthrough, and Robert Christgau called it the most African and political sounding reggae LP yet released in the United States.

Alone and abroad

In late 1976 Rodney split from Ruby and from Willington and Hinds, and from then on used the name Burning Spear for himself alone. Dry & Heavy followed in 1977, self-produced and still on Island, and the last album to include the Black Disciples. With a sizeable following in the United Kingdom, he played a sold-out Rainbow Theatre show in London that year with members of Aswad as his band. It was recorded and released as the album Live!. Aswad also backed him on Social Living in 1978. His profile rose further when he appeared in the film Rockers, performing "Jah no Dead".

In 1980 he left Island and set up the Burning Music Production Company, signed to EMI. Its first album, Hail H.I.M., was recorded at Marley's Tuff Gong studio and co-produced by Aston Barrett. Trouser Press counts "Columbus" and "African Postman" from that record as classics.

Heartbeat and Burning Music

In 1982 Rodney signed with Heartbeat Records and made a run of well-received albums, among them Resistance (1985), which was nominated for a Grammy. Trouser Press said it matches his voice to a stellar horn section. He went back to Island in the early 1990s for two albums, then returned to Heartbeat, which released The World Should Know (1993), Rasta Business (1995) and Appointment with His Majesty (1997) under an arrangement with Burning Music. Years of touring produced a string of live albums, and the band's live sound grew more sophisticated, with accents of free jazz, funk and psychedelic music.

Calling Rastafari (1999) brought his first Grammy Award, in 2000, and Jah Is Real won a second in 2009. He has been nominated twelve times in all. In 2002 he and his wife Sonia Rodney, who has produced a number of his albums, restarted Burning Music Records, and the pair have released nearly forty singles, CDs, DVDs and vinyl albums on the imprint. He was awarded the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer on 15 October 2007. Rodney announced his retirement in 2016 and returned to the concert stage in 2022, when it was announced that he would play the Rototom Sunsplash festival in Spain and he had a date at the O2 Academy in Brixton, London, on 14 August. His album No Destroyer, recorded in 2011 at the Magic Shop in New York City, came out in August 2023, his first since Jah Is Real, and was nominated for the Grammy for Best Reggae Album.

Members

Winston Rodney vocals (1969-present)
Rupert Willington bass vocals (1969-1976)
Delroy Hinds tenor vocals (to 1976)

Records

Marcus Garvey 1975 · Fox Records (Jamaica), Island Records
The third Burning Spear album and the record that took him from Jamaica to Island Records.
Garvey's Ghost 1976 · Island Records
A dub version of every track on Marcus Garvey, mixed by Island engineers in London.
Man in the Hills 1976 · Island Records
A quieter, pastoral follow-up to Marcus Garvey, with songs about childhood in Saint Ann.
Dry & Heavy 1977 · Island Records
The self-produced 1977 album, and the last to feature the Black Disciples.
Social Living 1978
The 1978 album with Aswad and Sly Dunbar, also known as Marcus' Children.

Songs

Marcus Garvey Marcus Garvey · 1975
The first song Burning Spear recorded with Jack Ruby, and the title of the album that made his name.
Slavery Days Marcus Garvey · 1975
The second single from the Jack Ruby sessions, and track two of Marcus Garvey.
Door Peep Man in the Hills · 1969
Burning Spear's 1969 debut single for Studio One, remade for Man in the Hills.
Man in the Hills Man in the Hills · 1976
The title track, which sets rural life above the city.
Throw Down Your Arms Dry & Heavy · 1977
A nonviolence song from Dry & Heavy.
Marcus Say Jah No Dead Social Living · 1978
The closing track of Social Living, covered by Sinéad O'Connor in 2005.

Bob Marley, Jack Ruby, Aswad, Sinéad O'Connor

Where to go next

Reference

Burning Spear (Winston Rodney) Career overview, Grammy record and awards.
Marcus Garvey (album) Release history, credits and reception of the 1975 album.
Garvey's Ghost The dub companion, with tracklist and credits.
Man in the Hills Tracklist, credits and background to the 1976 album.
Dry & Heavy The 1977 album, with credits and critical quotes.
Marcus' Children (Social Living) Credits, recording locations and musicians for the 1978 album.
Hail H.I.M. The 1980 album recorded at Tuff Gong.
Resistance The 1985 Heartbeat album and its personnel.
Calling Rastafari The 1999 album that won the 2000 Grammy.
Jah Is Real The 2008 Burning Music album that won the 2009 Grammy.
Jack Ruby (record producer) The producer of Marcus Garvey and Man in the Hills.

Writing and criticism

Burning Spear, Trouser Press An album-by-album guide to the records through the 1990s.
Burning Spear, Consumer Guide Robert Christgau's grades and short reviews of the albums from 1976 to 1995.
Living Legends: Burning Spear, GRAMMY.com A 2023 interview profile by Patricia Meschino on No Destroyer and his early career.
Marcus Garvey turns 45, Albumism Jesse Ducker's anniversary retrospective on the 1975 album.
Burning Spear interviewed, Elsewhere Graham Reid's 2000 interview and profile.

Sources

Burning Spear, Wikipedia
Burning Spear, Trouser Press, Trouser Press
Burning Spear, Consumer Guide, Robert Christgau
Living Legends: Burning Spear, GRAMMY.com, GRAMMY.com
Burning Spear interviewed (2000), Elsewhere
Marcus Garvey turns 45, Albumism
Marcus Garvey (album), Wikipedia