One of the most distinctive voices in reggae, Horace Andy has been making hit songs for over 50 years. Several of those classics are on ‘Horace Andy — Showcase: Deluxe Edition’, a compilation album released in September by Tad’s International Record.
The 22-song set contains vocal and dub versions of songs like ‘Cus Cus’, ‘Money Money’, ‘Something on My Mind’ and ‘Ain’t no Sunshine’ which Andy recorded during the 1970s. The songs on ‘Showcase: Deluxe Edition’ are produced by Tad Dawkins, Joseph “Ranking Joe” Jackson, Jah Screw and Osbourne “King Tubby” Ruddock.
Dawkins befriended the singer in the 1980s when he (Dawkins) operated a record store in New York City. At the time, Andy lived in Connecticut and was a regular visitor to the store. It was not long before he agreed to record songs with Dawkins, a former musician who was also emerging as a producer.
Known for his patented falsetto, Horace Andy first came to prominence at Studio One in the early 1970s with songs like ‘Skylarking’, ‘Just Say Who’ and ‘See A Man’s Face’. After a lull during the 1980s, he enjoyed a resurgence during the late 1990s when some of his songs were sampled by Massive Attack, a group from Bristol, England.
Dawkins recently decided to revisit the recording sessions he did with Andy in 1990, but with a fresh twist.
“The original released product didn’t include the versions, so the Deluxe includes drum and bass versions to the songs. Horace Andy is a unique reggae artist with a distinctive voice and there has been a high volume of requests for songs from him,” he said.