Reggae icon King Sound rolling on

• Highly motivated after 38 years in the business

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

After 38 years in the business, his locks and beard have turned snow-white but despite 11 albums and too many singles to remember, retirement is the farthest thing from the mind of Jamaica-born, England-based reggae statesman, the iconic King Sound.

"Retirement ... absolutely not. That is the farthest thing from my mind. I am still enjoying what I am doing," said King Sound, with a broad smile. "If I can avoid it, I don't even drive on Retirement Road when I am in Jamaica."

King Sound, whose long and illustrious career started in England in 1973 and has spawned such hits like, Book of Rules, I Shall Sing, You're My Pilot, Meadow and There Is a Reward, was recently in Jamaica for the 2011 staging of Western Consciousness which was staged a week ago at Paradise Park, in Westmoreland.

"It is always a pleasure to perform in Jamaica," stated King Sound. "Over the years, I have had four appearances at Reggae Sunsplash, three at Western Consciousness among other performances at Great River and Little Pub, in Ocho Rios."

It is perhaps interesting to note that the affable King Sound, who was born in Nain, St Elizabeth and grew up between Trelawny and Kingston before migrating to England, got into music by chance nearly four decades ago and has never looked back.

"I went to an Alton Ellis Concert in London and after the concert he asked me to accompany him to an upcoming concert," said King Sound, who despite his love for music was not involved at the time.

"I accepted the invitation," said King Sound. "While we were travelling to the concert, Alton told me that he did not have an emcee to introduce him and asked me to fill in, saying that with my booming afro hair-style and charisma, I was tailor-made to fill the role."

After succeeding in getting a somewhat reluctant King Sound to accept his suggestion and fill the role as emcee, the meticulous Ellis told him exactly how he wanted to be introduced. King Sound followed his instruction to the letter.

"After the show Alton was so pleased with the way I handled the emcee role that he asked me to complete the tour in that role," said King Sound. "He said that with my talent, I was bigger than being called just Sound and he changed my name to King Sound."

As his association with Ellis strengthened, the easy-to-learn King Sound soon found himself singing back-up vocals for the then rock-steady star. According to him, at first, singing back-up vocals was difficult. However, he worked hard at it revelling in the role as emcee/back-up singer.

career in music

"After a while, I basically fell in love with singing and started pondering the thought of a career in music," said King Sound. "Driven by the desire, I decided to record a song of my own and went into the studio and recorded the song, Rock and Roll, which I subsequently re-recorded and renamed, Reggae Rock La-la-by."

King Sound was so impressed by the recording effort, that towards the end of the 1970s he formed the group, King Sounds and the Israelites. Before long, he was touring England, Europe and Africa to rave reviews. In fact, he began to feel a sense of arrival when he toured Zimbabwe as the opening act for another act and emerged the star of the tour.

"The fans really embraced me and when I left Zimbabwe I was on top of the world," said King Sound. "I toured Zimbabwe six months ago and after more than three decades the love was still there... I got Michael Jackson-like treatment."

Based on the rich accolade he received after his recent performance at Western Consciousness, the charismatic King Sound says he is simply overwhelmed and it left him feeling almost like a young man again.

"The Jamaican audience is harder to please than any other audience," said King Sound. "So when I got the kind of reception I did, it I know that Jamaica still have a lot of love and respect for my music."

While Jamaica has always been aware of his music, King Sound really began picking up solid traction in 1989 when he took the local market by storm with several remarkable music videos, one of which, I Shall Sing, won the Best Music Video Award that year.

"I believe I could say that I popularize music videos in Jamaica at the time," said a reflective King Sound. "In addition, at the time, I was the only British-based reggae act to have had nine hit songs in Jamaica."

King Sound's acceptance in Jamaica was further concretised by his generosity. He won a lot of public respect after donating the proceeds of the hit song, Book of Rule, to the Maxfield Park Children's Home, in St Andrew.

With his iconic place in reggae music now sealed but with absolutely no desire to slowdown, King Sound recently released a new album, entitled Anthology, which features 15 of his most enduring hits. He has also re-recorded I Shall Sing, in combination style with Jamaica-born, London-based deejay Supa Sass.

Unlike some of his peers in the veteran column, who are seemingly unhappy at the so-called 'hip hop infusion' of reggae, which is being spawned primarily by some of the top-flight deejays, King Sound says that, while he sometimes has concerns about some of the lyrics, he has no problem with the younger generation of artistes.

"When I was a child, we had cars like Plymouth as the popular cars, today, we have other kind of cars serving the same purpose," noted King Sound. "While we should respect and not forget that which is original, we can't afford to stay stagnant in a changing world... we have to change with the time."

In fact, the evergreen King Sound, who has watched the evolution of Jamaica's music to include the ska and rocksteady eras, is absolutely convinced that Jamaica is second to no other nation as a musical force.

"There is nowhere in the world, not even the great United States, with the amount and kind of musical talent we have in Jamaica," stated King Sound. "Per capita, Jamaica is second to no other country when it comes to producing singers and players of instrument."

very strong ties

In addition to his association with Supa Sass, who he believes is poised to break as a top-flight deejay; King Sound also has very strong ties with the only renowned all-female reggae band in the world, the musically astute England-based SISTA, which is headed by his musical director, Valrie Keith.

"Valrie is my musical director and she is doing a brilliant job," said King Sound. "I have a strong musical relationship with the group SISTA; we have been touring the world together for a long time."

While it is not wholesale as with the family of other legends, music has also had a spill-over effect on King Sound's family as one of his sons is making quite a name for himself in the field of production in England.

"My son Treasure is into production, and he is doing really well ... I am really proud of his work," said King Sound. "He has a label called Lion Heart and he is doing quite well in both England and Japan."

With retirement the farthest thing from his mind, King Sound remains highly motivated. In fact, inspired by the work of the many Jamaicans who have made an indelible mark on world affairs, the veteran artiste said he is fully focused on expanding his own legacy.

"As I child, I learnt the following gem, 'Hail to Jamaica, the island of spring, peace on your meadows, Arabian bring. Small is our island, our music so rare, with thee, no country on earth can compare,'" said King Sound. "I believe in that little gem and I remain motivated by it."