|
Ranking Joe, one of Jamaica’s most entertaining deejays, has enjoyed a career which has been as long as it has been illustrious.
|
| Date Added: Jan 25, 2012, Date Updated: Nov 1, 2019 Copyright (C) 2024 Dub Store Sound Inc. |
|
Born 1st July 1959 Joseph 'Ranking Joe' Jackson grew up in the Waltham Park Road area of Kingston, Jamaica where his father ran a small local sound system and, from an early age, Joe would practise deejaying on his father's set. A singer named Carl Dryden was a good friend of Joe's and encouraged Joe at the start of his career.
"Him carry me go a Bohemia Club one time. A talent show thing and we just go there and win that show there." Ranking Joe
Joe went on to work on a number of local sets including El Paso Hi Fi alongside Dennis AlCapone and Lizzie and Smith The Weapon where his sparring partner was Dillinger. Fellow deejay Joseph Spaulding had already made a name for himself as Big Joe and so Joe Jackson was originally known as Little Joe. This has led to a certain amount of confusion over the years. Joe Jackson's recording debut came in 1974 for Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd(CS Dodd) at Studio One where as Little Joe he deejayed 'Gun Court' on Larry Marshall's 'Mean Girl' rhythm. He then began to work for other producers including Bunny Lee(Striker Lee) 'Tradition', Lloydie Slim 'No Vacancy For Bald Head' and Pete Weston '750 Four'. He began work with Prince Tony Robinson in 1977 who, after persuading him to change his name to Ranking Joe, released a series of very popular seven inch singles and his first long player 'The Best Of Ranking Joe' on TR Groovemaster. At the same time Joe was also recording for Joe Gibbs on some of the first disco-mix releases where his deejayed contribution added immeasurably to the non-stop excitement of Culture's 'Baldhead Bridge' and The Mighty Diamonds' 'Just Like A River' twelve inch releases. As the decade drew to a close Ranking Joe showed the way forward with classic releases for Sly & Robbie's Taxi label, 'Stop You Coming And Come', and Sugar Minott's Youth Promotion. 'Youth Man Promotion' a celebration of the forward thinking and revolutionary Youth Promotion organisation was one of the first releases on Sugar's own label.
Ranking Joe never stopped deejaying live and direct on a sound system. He was the resident mic. man on Ray Symbolic (The Bionic) Hi Fi (Ray had actually taken Joe to Studio One for his recording debut) and then, when Ray took a break to rebuild the sound, he worked with the legendary U Roy's Stur Gav Hi Fi with Jah Screw(Paul Love) as the selector. Stur Gav sound, named after U Roy's sons, was often known as Stereograph and its position throughout the late seventies as one of Kingston's top sound systems was unassailable. Joe had learned much of his approach from U Roy but when Ray asked them to return Joe and Screw could not resist his offer and the pair rejoined Ray Symbolic (The Bionic) Hi Fi at the end of the decade.
Singer Errol Dunkley invited Ray to England to tour and in 1980 Ray Symbolic (The Bionic) Hi Fi became the first Jamaican sound system to ever tour the UK catapulting Joe and Screw to superstar status. Jah Screw's unerring ability to draw for the right tune at the right time played an integral part in Stur Gav's and Ray Symbolic's success and he went on to produce his own records and establish the highly successful Time One label best known for its classic Barrington Levy releases. Joe recorded a series of albums and singles for a number of different producers that showcased his versatility running from raw roots to serious slackness. In the mid nineties he joined forces with the UK based Blood & Fire sound system where, alongside fellow veterans such as Dennis AlCapone, U Brown and Joseph Cotton, he introduced his endlessly energetic style of entertainment to a whole new audience.
With a career spanning four decades Ranking Joe has never lost his popularity with the worldwide reggae audience. The reputation he made when he first carved out his credentials in Kingston's cut throat musical arena has outlived that of many of his contemporaries. He now lives and works in New York. |
| Jan 25, 2012 (Nov 1, 2019 Update) Text by Harry Hawks
|
|
|
|
| Best selling CD(s) |
|
|
| >>more |
| Best selling LP(s) |
|
|
|
|
| >>more |
| Best selling 10/12"(s) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| >>more |
| Best selling 7"(s) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| >>more |
|
|
![Ranking Joe - Come Out A Mi Life [Colored Vinyl]](/jacket_img/39339.jpg)
![Ranking Joe, Triston Palmer - No Tribal War [Colored Vinyl]](/jacket_img/39340.jpg)
