Rainford Hugh Perry known as Lee 'Scratch' Perry Is Dead - Fabrizio Laganà

Lee 'Scratch' Perry

Today is another tragic sad day because the real great Jamaican legend singer & producer Rainford Hugh Perry, better known to the world as LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY, passed away this morning.

Rainford Hugh Perry alias Lee Scratch Perry was born on March 20, 1936 in Hannover, Jamaica. Telling his story is equivalent to describing the entire history of Jamaican music from the 60's to today, covering more than 60 years of musical paths of historical reggae artists and covering a vast record repertoire with 6 labels and many other recordings with other producers. In fact, his entire curriculum vitae will have 4 distinct periods, one for each decade, to understand and learn more about all his work.

I period 1960-1970 -

He began to deal with music following the great professor Clement Coxsone Dodd after doing auditions in his Dodds Record Shop in Orange Street in Kingston, also organizing recordings, during the period 1959-1962. The auditions at the Dodd studio continued until 1963 when Lee Perry contributed to the writing of some lyrics for Delroy Wilson with Joe Liges and Spirit In The Sky and others for the Maytals, in full Ska-Rocksteady era. From 1963 to 1966 he recorded his first singles such as Prince In The Pack, Trial And Crosses, Help The Weak, Give Me Justice, Chicken Scratch (hence the nickname Scratch), Mad Head and Doctor Dick sung alongside Rita Marley And The Soulettes.

In this period Lee Perry also manages to record 2 singles for another great producer, Prince Buster. The songs are Ghost Dance and Judge Dread. The feelings between Lee P. and Dodd was drastically interrupted. In 1966 he left Coxsone and began working with other producers such as Clancy Eccles, and in 1968 with Joe Gibbs where he produced artists such as Errol Dunkley and the Pioneers early in their respective careers. With Joe Gibbs he recorded The Upsetter and with Clancy Eccles People Funny Boy, the title of the homonymous book released in 2001, written by David Katz on the life of Lee Perry. Other productions that he did are with the Pioneers - Longshot, with David Isaacs - Place In The Sun, and with the Untouchables - Tighten Up, name from which Trojan Records compiled the famous compilations in various volumes in the early 70's.

II period 1970-1980 

The approach of the 70s was for Lee P. the springboard that will catapult him into the entire musical history of the island up to the present day. In 69 he recorded the famous single Return Of Django by the famous tenor-sax Val Bennett with the base inspired by the Spaghetti Western movie and it remained for 3 weeks at number 5 of the English charts in the month of October. In this period begins the very important collaboration with the Wailers and especially with Bob Marley, with whom he forged a strong friendship and a great mutual feeling. That brings to mind recordings of several singles such as Soul Rebel, Small Ax and Duppy Conqueror and the realization of a double album entitled Soul Revolution Pt.1 and 2 printed for the Trojan.

The incredible success was only in its infancy, as between 1969 and 1974, he recorded more than 100 singles for several new artists, without ever losing the freshness of his sound for a moment. With made special use of effects such as reverbs, jingles and other ubiquitous objects that he used when recording in his Black Ark studio. The singles I would like to recommend are: Shocks Of Might and Upsetting Station by Dave Barker and Ansel Collins, Alpha & Omega by Dennis Alcapone, Blackman Time by Neville Hinds, Newsflash by Leo Graham, Mooving Version by Big Youth, Beat Down Babylon and Place Called Africa by Junior Byles and finally Selassie by the Reggae Boys.

Lee P. was one of the first to operate an unprecedented technical innovation in Jamaican music of this period and in those times where poverty prevailed over everything, enjoying great success and also a lot of curiosity from all the record companies and professionals both in Jamaica than later in Great Britain and America. He began to work closely together with the great Dub Master ever The Almighty King Tubby, where Lee Perry's first Dub albums titled Rhythm Shower in 72 and Blackboard Jungle Dub in 73 were released.

The recordings for other singers went on, and the singles he recorded were: 'Words Of My Mouth' by the Gatherers, This World by Milton Henry, Hot and Cold by Augustus Pablo, and he also recorded his two singles with Jungle Lion and Civilasation. He opened his studio in 1974, Black Ark in Washington Gardens in Kingston., and his first official recording in his new studio was Curly Locks by Junior Byles and in 75 Susan Cadogan recorded her first song Hurt So Good. In the same year, Lee Perry also recorded the Revolution Dub album, with versions of songs such as Bushweed Corntrash by Bunny and Ricky, The Long Way by Junior Byles and Womans Gotta Have It by Jimmy Riley. From 1975 until the end of 1979 Lee Perry never stopped recording excellent productions, but the problem of the archaic instrumentation not in step with modern times with the 4-track room, excluded a sound not properly optimized, and therefore the musical giant of Chris Blackwell's Islands Records met Lee Perry's recording in LPs, amazing albums such as Party Time by the Heptones, War In A Babylon by Max Romeo, To Be A Lover by George Faith, Police & Thieves by Junior Murvin, Natty Passing Through by Prince Jazzbo, Colombia Colly by Jah Lion and the famous Super Ape by Lee Perry And The Upsetters.

In 79 Lee Perry recorded other very important singles and I recommend that you try and find them: Mr. Money Man by Danny Hensworth, Open The Gate by Watty Burnett, Ellaine by Mystic Eyes, School Girls by Mikey Dread and the beautiful Garden Of Life by Leroy Sibbles, leader of the Heptones at that time.

III and IV period 1980 2000 

In 1980 the most incredible story of Lee P. takes place after many record successes, working with artists who started their career with him, with sales never hoped for, personal challenges started to emerge. He started having some mental challenges, If will be difficult to understand everything if you have not read his entire story in the book, released last year entitled Lee Perry the Genius: People Funny Boy, written by David Katz in English, in which you can understand what could have happened to the genius of reggae Of all times. In fact, madness leads him to completely destroy his studio, setting it on fire at the end of 1979 and he moved to Great Britain after that.

Here he begins a long period of collaborations with other producers such as Adrian Sherwood making an excellent album in 1987 entitled Time Boom X De Devil Dead printed for the On-U-Sound label. Continuing with the co-productions, he meets Lloyd Barnes, owner of Wackies and made Satan Kicked The Bucket in 1988. The relationship with Neil Frazer, known to all as Mad Professor and owner of the Ariwa label in London, continues to this day with productions that are not always good,  technically superb, and always full of eccentric effects, typical of the two characters such as Lee P. and Mad P.

The albums recorded with Mad P. began in 1989 with Mystic Warrior and Mystic Warrior In Dub.  In 1990 he recorded Lee Perry Meets Mad Professor Vol. 1 and 2, and again in 1991 with Experiments At The Grass Roots Of Dub and Black Ark Experiments, in the 1992 Super Ape In The Jungle, and arriving to the present day after about 8 years of hiatus with Mad P., he records Dub Fire and Fire In Dub in 2000 and now in 2002 with Techno Party and Techno Dub, his latest recordings, but with much regret for the Black Ark Studio sound throughout the 70s.

The only time I was able to meet Lee P. was in 1996 in Rome at the CSOA Global Village, before the concert with Half Pint and Freddie McGregor (instead of Michael Rose) and I must say that it was not an optimal meeting, because I really think that his mood and mental state was running out. Talking with him about reggae was not at all easy to understand. His arrival on stage will remain in the memories. With a lighted candle in his hand, his hair dyed with green-yellow-red stripes and a cloak type sorcerer or Magician Otelma style, not to mention his monotonous and stagnant repertoire and his continuous quarreling. with the band, who didn't know any rhythm of his songs, unbelievable but true !!

On the other hand, the last 2 double productions of the English label Pressure Sounds with excellent reissues of Lee P.'s work in the golden age, with Lee Perry The Upsetter and the latest Divine Madness Definitely, with a series of songs and really dub versions sensational, including the version of George Faith To Be A Lover included in the Divine Madness Definitely LP with a duration of about 7 minutes and in the B Side the interview with Lee P. for 26 minutes, at least we listen to it directly from the vinyl, in person really everything a program.

My very deep condolences to his family, friends, musicians, all reggae lovers around the planet.

Never forgotten.

March 20 1936 - August 29 2021

Note:

Fabrizio Laganà

The writer, Fabrizio Laganà was born in Rome, Italy on January 16 1965. He is known as 'Mr.Roots & Culture', and he has been a lover of the reggae music scene, since 1977.  He wrote the book 'Justin Hinds Natty Take Over'.