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Special tribute to The Cool Ruler
Zimbabwe Herald
When the shocking news about the death of Gregory Isaacs reached me last week, I was devastated. Nothing can describe the sadness and anguish I felt for such a loss of life and talent.
Gregory Isaacs died on the 25th October at around 4.00 am, London time from lung cancer at the age of 59. Gregory had been ill for some time. Although it is said he was diagnosed of cancer only a few months ago, people in reggae circles knew that he was ill as far back as 2008.
Many blame his illness on too much smoking of both weed and crack cocaine to which he had become an addict. His death has robbed the reggae fraternity of a sincere, serious and dedicated singer who was instrumental in bringing Jamaican music to international fame. He was best known for his 1982 releases "Night Nurse" and "Cool Down The Pace".
To me, this is one of reggae’s most important icons whose death is as devastating as the deaths of those who went before him, Bob Marley in 1981, Peter Tosh in 1987, Garnett Silk in 1988, Dennis Brown in 1999 and Sugar Minott in 2010. Without doubt, Gregory Isaacs, also known as William Shakespeare, or The Cool Ruler is the embodiment of Jamaican roots Lovers Reggae music. Through a wealth of magnificent recordings he had come to symbolise the most exquisite voice of reggae. He recorded over 50 albums in his three decade long career with his most recent album "Brand New Me" released in 2008. He is one of the most potent forces in reggae.
Gregory Isaacs pioneered the slinky, seductive reggae sub-genre lovers rock, and he left behind an endless string of international hits that spanned the 1970s and 1980s.
Though he never shied away from political material, he’s better known for the love songs he delivered in a ridiculously smooth tenor, the kind of voice that brought to mind another lovers’ favourite soul man, Marvin Gaye.
I first became acquainted with Gregory Isaacs when he came to Zimbabwe in 1987 after an invitation to perform from a local music promoter, Musekiwa Nkumbula.
I and the late Tendai Gamure aka Culture T went to visit him at the Holiday Inn in Harare.
After we introduced ourselves to him, he asked us where he could get some cocaine. Although I had never heard of anyone trading in coke in this country, Tendai seemed to have an idea, "Give me 50 bucks and I will go and get you some," he said.
In no time at all Culture T was back with some white powder wrapped in a brown paper. Gregory sniffed it and tasted some with his tongue and he quickly retorted: "No man, dis cyan be coke. Dis raas******************** man tief my 50 pound fram mi, raatid, Bomba******************** Jackass!"
Before Gregory was done with his Jamaican expletives, Culture T was gone. We later learned that it was powdered milk Tendai had brought. Gregory got so depressed that Nkumbula tried to persuade him to go on stage without his fix, but this was his response: "You cayn sing for dem audience without feeling high. It’s too draining man! Go on play dem a disco. Play dem some of my tunes, man!"
He later agreed to go on stage, but because he was so depressed, he only sang three songs and left the stage.
The 60 000 fans in the stadium were not amused. A riot followed and the police came in with teargas. That was the end of the Gregory Isaacs tour of Zimbabwe.
Everybody, including one of his fans in high office, Comrade Simon Muzenda, was disappointed to the extent that he called Musekiwa to explain what had transpired.
I kept in touch with Gregory Isaacs thereafter. I went to Jamaica and contacted many reggae artists including Bunny Wailer. My tour guide, Neville Garrick (who used to be Bob Marley’s artist) showed me around Kingston. We went to 56 Hope Road where Bob Marley used to reside but had been turned into a museum. It was the mention of museum that reminded me that Gregory had also opened an African Museum in Kingston and in London. I asked Neville to take me to Gregory.
We searched Kingston high and low until someone mumbled that Gregory had been seen the night before taking a flight to New York where he was going to tour for three months. As I was in Jamaica for only three weeks, I decided that I did not have a chance of seeing him before I left the country.
However, six months down the line, he came to London, where I was resident at the time. The billboards were advertising Sunsplash tour featuring Denis Brown, Gregory Isaacs and Frankie Paul plus other Jamaican artistes.
I decided this was not going to be an event to be missed. On the Friday, I attended one of the most memorable reggae shows I have ever seen organised by two white reggae promoters, David Rodigan and Dave Betteridge. Frankie Paul, a blind singer, who sounded like the great Stevie Wonder, came first and belted out some knockout reggae rhythms. Gregory came second and did his own thing. Two tastefully dressed young West Indian girls jumped onto the stage as he started to sing "Cool Down The Pace".
He grabbed and started to dance with one of them. This almost caused a riot. Gregory raised a few . . . errr temperatures in the process when he demonstrated how to achieve a communal orgasm by simply using a plugged-in microphone.
Next was Dennis Brown who sang his famous hits "Money In My Pocket" and "You Think I love You for Just One Thing". I went backstage after the show and reminded Gregory of the Zimbabwe show. He just kissed his teeth and showed no embarrassment. Although we were never really close, we maintained a professional respect for each other. I later went to visit his African Museum shop in London, again with Culture T who had also relocated to London. Culture T apologised for the Zimbabwe incident and Gregory said he had long forgotten about it. When I went back to Zimbabwe Isaac Kalumbu aka King Isaac who was about to travel to Indiana University to study Ethnomusicology asked me for Gregory Isaac’s contact details as he planned to meet the man and perhaps do a duet with him. I gave him Frankie Paul’s address, which Frankie himself had written on his business card. Isaac later did a duet with Frankie Paul when he visited Jamaica in the late 1990s.
In 2005, King Isaac, now a professor of ethnomusicology at Michigan State University in the US visited Jamaica again and this time recorded an album with Gregory Isaacs.
The album "Isaacs Meets Isaac" although not well-known in Zimbabwe did quite well in Jamaica and the US.
Meanwhile another Isaac (Chirwa) in Zimbabwe, has released a scorcher entitled "Fancy Lady" from his forthcoming album, "Struggling Peacefully".
One may say nuff of these Isaacs, but not for me. I will greatly miss Gregory. He left us many little things to laugh about, many great songs to sing along and many great ideas to think about.
Rest in Peace, Gregory. There is a special place in my heart for you.
l Fred Zindi is a Professor at the University of Zimbabwe. He is also a musician and an author of several books on music. He can be contacted via e-mail on f_zindi@hotmail.com
Zimbabwe Herald
When the shocking news about the death of Gregory Isaacs reached me last week, I was devastated. Nothing can describe the sadness and anguish I felt for such a loss of life and talent.
Gregory Isaacs died on the 25th October at around 4.00 am, London time from lung cancer at the age of 59. Gregory had been ill for some time. Although it is said he was diagnosed of cancer only a few months ago, people in reggae circles knew that he was ill as far back as 2008.
Many blame his illness on too much smoking of both weed and crack cocaine to which he had become an addict. His death has robbed the reggae fraternity of a sincere, serious and dedicated singer who was instrumental in bringing Jamaican music to international fame. He was best known for his 1982 releases "Night Nurse" and "Cool Down The Pace".
To me, this is one of reggae’s most important icons whose death is as devastating as the deaths of those who went before him, Bob Marley in 1981, Peter Tosh in 1987, Garnett Silk in 1988, Dennis Brown in 1999 and Sugar Minott in 2010. Without doubt, Gregory Isaacs, also known as William Shakespeare, or The Cool Ruler is the embodiment of Jamaican roots Lovers Reggae music. Through a wealth of magnificent recordings he had come to symbolise the most exquisite voice of reggae. He recorded over 50 albums in his three decade long career with his most recent album "Brand New Me" released in 2008. He is one of the most potent forces in reggae.
Gregory Isaacs pioneered the slinky, seductive reggae sub-genre lovers rock, and he left behind an endless string of international hits that spanned the 1970s and 1980s.
Though he never shied away from political material, he’s better known for the love songs he delivered in a ridiculously smooth tenor, the kind of voice that brought to mind another lovers’ favourite soul man, Marvin Gaye.
I first became acquainted with Gregory Isaacs when he came to Zimbabwe in 1987 after an invitation to perform from a local music promoter, Musekiwa Nkumbula.
I and the late Tendai Gamure aka Culture T went to visit him at the Holiday Inn in Harare.
After we introduced ourselves to him, he asked us where he could get some cocaine. Although I had never heard of anyone trading in coke in this country, Tendai seemed to have an idea, "Give me 50 bucks and I will go and get you some," he said.
In no time at all Culture T was back with some white powder wrapped in a brown paper. Gregory sniffed it and tasted some with his tongue and he quickly retorted: "No man, dis cyan be coke. Dis raas******************** man tief my 50 pound fram mi, raatid, Bomba******************** Jackass!"
Before Gregory was done with his Jamaican expletives, Culture T was gone. We later learned that it was powdered milk Tendai had brought. Gregory got so depressed that Nkumbula tried to persuade him to go on stage without his fix, but this was his response: "You cayn sing for dem audience without feeling high. It’s too draining man! Go on play dem a disco. Play dem some of my tunes, man!"
He later agreed to go on stage, but because he was so depressed, he only sang three songs and left the stage.
The 60 000 fans in the stadium were not amused. A riot followed and the police came in with teargas. That was the end of the Gregory Isaacs tour of Zimbabwe.
Everybody, including one of his fans in high office, Comrade Simon Muzenda, was disappointed to the extent that he called Musekiwa to explain what had transpired.
I kept in touch with Gregory Isaacs thereafter. I went to Jamaica and contacted many reggae artists including Bunny Wailer. My tour guide, Neville Garrick (who used to be Bob Marley’s artist) showed me around Kingston. We went to 56 Hope Road where Bob Marley used to reside but had been turned into a museum. It was the mention of museum that reminded me that Gregory had also opened an African Museum in Kingston and in London. I asked Neville to take me to Gregory.
We searched Kingston high and low until someone mumbled that Gregory had been seen the night before taking a flight to New York where he was going to tour for three months. As I was in Jamaica for only three weeks, I decided that I did not have a chance of seeing him before I left the country.
However, six months down the line, he came to London, where I was resident at the time. The billboards were advertising Sunsplash tour featuring Denis Brown, Gregory Isaacs and Frankie Paul plus other Jamaican artistes.
I decided this was not going to be an event to be missed. On the Friday, I attended one of the most memorable reggae shows I have ever seen organised by two white reggae promoters, David Rodigan and Dave Betteridge. Frankie Paul, a blind singer, who sounded like the great Stevie Wonder, came first and belted out some knockout reggae rhythms. Gregory came second and did his own thing. Two tastefully dressed young West Indian girls jumped onto the stage as he started to sing "Cool Down The Pace".
He grabbed and started to dance with one of them. This almost caused a riot. Gregory raised a few . . . errr temperatures in the process when he demonstrated how to achieve a communal orgasm by simply using a plugged-in microphone.
Next was Dennis Brown who sang his famous hits "Money In My Pocket" and "You Think I love You for Just One Thing". I went backstage after the show and reminded Gregory of the Zimbabwe show. He just kissed his teeth and showed no embarrassment. Although we were never really close, we maintained a professional respect for each other. I later went to visit his African Museum shop in London, again with Culture T who had also relocated to London. Culture T apologised for the Zimbabwe incident and Gregory said he had long forgotten about it. When I went back to Zimbabwe Isaac Kalumbu aka King Isaac who was about to travel to Indiana University to study Ethnomusicology asked me for Gregory Isaac’s contact details as he planned to meet the man and perhaps do a duet with him. I gave him Frankie Paul’s address, which Frankie himself had written on his business card. Isaac later did a duet with Frankie Paul when he visited Jamaica in the late 1990s.
In 2005, King Isaac, now a professor of ethnomusicology at Michigan State University in the US visited Jamaica again and this time recorded an album with Gregory Isaacs.
The album "Isaacs Meets Isaac" although not well-known in Zimbabwe did quite well in Jamaica and the US.
Meanwhile another Isaac (Chirwa) in Zimbabwe, has released a scorcher entitled "Fancy Lady" from his forthcoming album, "Struggling Peacefully".
One may say nuff of these Isaacs, but not for me. I will greatly miss Gregory. He left us many little things to laugh about, many great songs to sing along and many great ideas to think about.
Rest in Peace, Gregory. There is a special place in my heart for you.
l Fred Zindi is a Professor at the University of Zimbabwe. He is also a musician and an author of several books on music. He can be contacted via e-mail on f_zindi@hotmail.com