Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Bob Andy at Reggae Sunsplash 2006. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

FOR MUCH of his career, Bob Andy has been referred to as 'the other Bob'.

The more famous Bob (Marley) is recognised as the man who took reggae to all corners of the earth, but in terms of songwriting, it is safe to say that Bob Andy loses little to The Gong.

Bob Andy's talent as a composer will be rewarded in October at the annual National Awards and Honours ceremony. The Rastafarian singer/songwriter will receive the Order of Distinction for his contribution to the development of Jamaican music.

At 62, some may say it's been a long time coming for one of reggae's most unheralded authors whose songs continue to have an impact on Jamaican popular music.

In the early 1990s when producer Donovan Germaine's Penthouse Records exploded, it did so with the help of Andy compositions like Fire Burning, which was covered by his former lover, Marcia Griffiths.

At Studio One

Singers Sanchez and Jack Radix had hit songs with the powerful Unchained, while Barrington Levy had similar success with Too Experienced and Born A Man, which were originally done while Andy was with producer Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd's Studio One.

Andy never attained global fame, maybe because he never had the backing of a powerful record company as did many of his contemporaries of the 1970s.

Other productions

Besides Studio One, he recorded at Federal Records for which he cut Sun Shines For Me and Games People Play.

Andy (given name Keith Anderson) was an original member of the vocal group, The Paragons. He left after two years for a solo career at Studio One where he held two jobs: sales representative being the other.

His first major hit was Too Experienced, a song he says he wrote for Delroy Wilson. Others, like the classic I've Got To Go Back Home and Let Them Say, followed. There were also duets (Really Together and Young, Gifted And Black) with the talented Griffiths. Most of these songs are on the acclaimed Studio One compilation, Songbook.

In 1978, Andy showed his versatility with his first serious acting effort.

He appeared in the film Children Of Babylon with Leonie Forbes.

Andy on Rastafari

"Mi praise Jesus Christ an' mi praise Rastafari, but mi worship God. Mi not going to praise no man (Haile Selassie I) in the flesh as God."

Being labelled an 'oldies' singer

"That's a dilemma. My thing with the oldies shows is that it traps you in nostalgia and because of the comparative smallness of our market, it's going to be difficult for all of us to eat from the same marketplace."

"Coxsone has never given me a cent for that album, easily one of the best sellers (in reggae). If he had given me a grand a year for the 27 years since that album was released, he might have cheated me $250,000 but one grand a year would have shown some intention."