Roy Shirley

about

Roy Shirley (b. Roy Rushton Shirley, 18 July 1944, Kingston, Jamaica, d. 4 July 2008 in same town), also known as King Roy Shirley and The High Priest was a singer whose career spanned over the ska, rocksteady and reggae eras. His "Hold Them" 1966 is regarded by some in the reggae branch to be maybe the first recorded rocksteady song. He was also one of the original members of The Uniques 1966. Shirley grew up in Trench Town, and began his career performing in talent contests. His debut single, released 1965 by the Chinese-Jamaican music producer Leslie Kong, was "Oh Shirley". The song was co-arranged with Shirley's friend Jimmy Cliff and was a ska hit in Jamaica. Shirley had another hit (reggae) in 1971 with "A Sugar" for Randy's. He toured in the United Kingdom in 1972 with the Jamaican toaster U-Roy and singer Max Romeo, and became based in the UK from 1973. He set up All Stars Artistic Federated Union in 1976, with the aim of helping other artists to avoid some of the pitfalls of the music business. BIOGRAPHY Shirley was born on July 18, 1944, and grew up in Trench Town, and began his career performing in talent contests. After early recordings for producer Simeon L. Smith went unreleased, he moved on to work with Leslie Kong, who released his debut single "Oh Shirley", co-arranged with his friend Jimmy Cliff, giving him a hit in 1965. Shirley then formed The Leaders along with Ken Boothe, Joe White, and Chuck Josephs. This group was unsuccessful, but Shirley went on t

top songs

albums

Trojan Jamaican Hits Box Set CD1

Legend

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Unearthed Gold of Rocksteady Vol. 2

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Let's Do Rocksteady: The Story Of Rocksteady 1966-68

Reggae's Greates Hits - Volume 9

Music Is The Key: The Anthology

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Reggae Anthology - Joe Gibbs: Scorchers From The Early Years [1967-73]

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Trojan Presents: Rock Steady

Music Is The Key: The Anthology

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Tighten Up Volume 1

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Reggae Icons Box Set

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The Trojan Story

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