U-Roy

Ewart Beckford OD (21 September 1942 – 17 February 2021), known by the stage name U-Roy, was a Jamaican vocalist and pioneer of toasting. U-Roy was known for a melodic style of toasting applied with a highly developed sense of timing.

Ewart Beckford was born in Jones Town, Saint Andrew Parish, Kingston, Jamaica, on 21 September 1942. He was raised within a religious and musical family; his mother was an organist for the choir at a local Seventh-day Adventist church. The sobriquet U-Roy originated from a younger member of his family who found it difficult to pronounce his first name. Beckford attended Denham Town High School in Kingston. As a young man Beckford listened to the music of Louis Prima, James Brown, Ruth Brown, Fats Domino, Rufus Thomas, Smiley Lewis and was especially influenced by the vocal phrasing of Louis Jordan.

Inspired by Count Matchuki, U-Roy started his professional career as a deejay in 1961 on Dickie Wong's sound system (originally called Doctor Dickies later changed to Dickies Dynamic) moving later to the Sir George the Atomic sound system. He then worked on Sir Coxsone Dodd's sound system where he ran the number two set while King Stitt "The Ugly One" ran the main set. This was followed by a period with Sir Percy before he moved to King Tubby's Hometown Hi-Fi sound system. His first single "Dynamic Fashion Way" (1969) was a Keith Hudson production. It was followed by the Lee "Scratch" Perry production "Earth's Rightful Ruler" with Peter Tosh.

In 1970, Jamaican singer John Holt (lead vocalist of the Paragons) heard U-Roy toasting over a Duke Reid track at a dance. Holt told Reid about the performance and on his recommendation Reid asked him to come and see him and an informal recording deal was arranged. His first two singles on Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label in 1970, "Wake the Town" and "Wear You to the Ball", were Jamaican hits and established his reputation as one of Jamaica's most popular toasters. He went on to work with other major producers on the island including Lee "Scratch" Perry, Bunny Lee, Phil Pratt, Sonia Pottinger, Rupie Edwards, Alvin Ranglin and Lloyd Daley. 1971 saw the release of his deejay version of The Paragons' "The Tide Is High". He first toured the UK in 1972 with the artists Roy Shirley and Max Romeo. The tour was organized by Rita and Benny King, the owners of R & B Records based in Stamford Hill, London.

U-Roy's album Dread in a Babylon was released in the US, Europe and Jamaica by Virgin Records in 1975. The album achieved significant sales in the UK, due in part to the ongoing expansion of the Virgin label and stores. The track "Runaway Girl" from the album was released as a single in Europe that same year. The success of Dread In A Babylon led to a series of Tony Robinson produced albums: Natty Rebel (1976), Rasta Ambassador (1977) and Jah Son Of Africa (1978). His international popularity led to the album Natty Rebel being released in 1976 on Virgin's Front Line label in Nigeria as well as in France on Virgin and Polydor.

U-Roy started his own sound system in 1978, which he named Stur Gav after his sons. The sound system would launch the careers of a younger generation of toasters and singers including Ranking Joe, Jah Screw, Charlie Chaplin and Josey Wales. The pop group Blondie had a world-wide hit with a cover of "The Tide Is High" in 1980, prompting Virgin to re-release the original Paragons' recording from 1967 and the 1971 U-Roy version as a single that same year. His album Pray Fi Di People was released in 2012.

U-Roy was featured on the album True Love by Toots and the Maytals, which won the Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Reggae Album, and showcased many notable musicians including Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Trey Anastasio, Gwen Stefani / No Doubt, Ben Harper, Bonnie Raitt, Manu Chao, The Roots, Ryan Adams, Keith Richards, Toots Hibbert, Paul Douglas, Jackie Jackson, Ken Boothe, and The Skatalites.

He was awarded the Order of Distinction in 2007 by the Jamaican government for his contribution to music.