Fifty-six years ago, a trio named The Fabulous Flames performed at Caribana in Toronto. There, they met fellow Jamaican Glen Ricks, a resident of that city who agreed to join them. Within one year, they had a massive hit with their reggae cover of Neil Diamond’s ‘Holly Holy’. That song, produced by Clancy Eccles, turned 55 this year.
Once signed to CBS Canada, Ricks is still active, recording songs for producers in Jamaica, the United States and Europe. Two of his latest songs can be found on ‘All Star Album’, a compilation produced by Earl Messam for Wildfire Records. It was released on November 17.
‘When Love is New’ and a cover of Beres Hammond’s ‘No Goodbye’ are Ricks’ songs on the 22-track set. The latter is a collaboration with Shan Bam, a singer from Philadelphia where Wildfire Records is based.
Ricks is one of the established artists on ‘All Star Album’. Others include Jah Cure and Alborosie, who share the mic on ‘Give Thanks for Life’.
Veteran singer Anaconda, who began recording in 2000, has five songs on the album. They are ‘Don’t Come A mi Yard’, ‘Woman’, ‘Caribbean Queen’, ‘Love my Flow’ and ‘Lady I Wanna Know You’.
Shan Bam also has five songs, all collaborations. The others are ‘Tonight is The Night’ and ‘Lonely Night’ (with Nate the Great), ‘Wanna Wake Up’ (with Ian Sweetness) and ‘Want You for Life’ (with Nate The Great and Kr Kinetic).
