Stranger Cole
Stranger Cole | |
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Stranger Cole at Chiemsee Reggae Summer Festival | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Wilburn Theodore Cole |
Also known as | StrangeJah Cole |
Born |
1945 Kingston, Jamaica |
Genres | Ska, rocksteady, reggae |
Instruments | Vocals |
Years active | 1962 – present |
Labels | Stranger Cole |
Stranger Cole, also known as StrangeJah Cole (born Wilburn Theodore Cole, 1945)[1] is a Jamaican singer whose long recording career dates from the early days of ska in 1962 through to the 2000s.
Biography
Cole was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1945 and nicknamed "Stranger" by his family, as they considered that he didn't resemble any member of his kin.[1] Cole was initially successful as a songwriter, writing "In and out the Window", which was a hit for Eric "Monty" Morris.[2] This success gave him the chance to make his recording debut in 1962, instantly finding success with singles such as "Rough and Tough" and "When You Call My Name" (a duet with Patsy Todd) for producer Arthur "Duke" Reid.[3] Further success followed with singles for Reid through to the mid-1960s, and he also worked with other producers at this time, including Clement "Coxsone" Dodd (a duet with Ken Boothe on "Worlds Fair"), and Prince Buster.[3] Further duets included recordings with Gladstone Anderson (on "Just Like a River")[4] and Hortense Ellis, the tendency to record duets apparently due to his shyness when it came to singing alone.[1] In the late 1960s and early 1970s he recorded with several producers, including Bunny Lee, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and Sonia Pottinger.[5] These included further material with Todd as Stranger & Patsy. In 1971 he emigrated to England, where he toured extensively, and moved on again to Canada in 1973, settling in Toronto.[3] He worked as a machinist in the Tonka Toy factory in Toronto and later opened the first Caribbean record shop in Toronto His first album, "Foward" in the Land of Sunshine, was released in 1976, with a handful of further albums released over the next ten years, most on his own label.[3] In 2006, Cole released his first album in twenty years, Morning Train, a collaboration with Jah Shaka. Cole is featured in the 2009 documentary Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae, in which he and other stars of the rocksteady era reunited to record a new album of the same name, released in August 2009.[6]
Cole's son, Squiddly, followed him into a music career, working as a drummer for artists including Ziggy Marley and Mutabaruka.[5]
Discography
Albums
- "Foward" in the Land of Sunshine (1976), Ron Lew
- The First Ten Years of Stranger Cole (1978), Stranger Cole
- Capture Land (1980), Stranger Cole
- The Patriot (1982), Stranger Cole
- No More Fussing and Fighting (1986), Scorcher
- Dramatic (2003), Stranger Cole & King Banana
- Bangarang (the Best of) (2003), Trojan
- Morning Train (2006), Jah Shaka Music
- Fabulous Songs of Miss Sonia Pottinger Vol.1 (2008), Drum&Bass (Queen Patsy & Stranger Cole)
- Ska 1959 - 1969, Stranger Cole
- Hice Gold, Wacam
Singles
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References
- 1 2 3 Thompson, Dave (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6, p. 335
- ↑ Boehm, Mike (2001) "StrangeJah in Laguna Reggae Musicians Will Perform at a Benefit to Provide Toys for Children at Orangewood", Los Angeles Times, 21 December 1988, retrieved 30 August 2009
- 1 2 3 4 Larkin, Colin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9, p. 64
- ↑ Leggett, Steve "Stranger Cole Biography", Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation
- 1 2 Moskowitz, David V. (2006) Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall, Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-33158-8, p. 66-7
- ↑ Braun, Liz (2009) "A pleasure getting to the roots of reggae", Calgary Sun, 28 August 2009, retrieved 30 August 2009
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stranger Cole. |
- Stranger Cole at Roots Archives
- Discography at discogs.com
- at Jamaican Gleaner
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