Christened the “King of Lovers Rock” by his fans, British reggae star Maxi Priest was one of the most internationally popular reggae singers since Bob Marley. Priest’s pop and modern R&B influences didn’t exactly endear him to reggae purists, but they gave him a strong crossover appeal that paid off in the trans-Atlantic chart-topper “Close to You.” At times he strayed too far from his reggae roots to deliver a true stylistic hybrid, but his silky-smooth voice was ideally suited for light, romantic material, and his best music was as sensual as it was soulful.Priest was born Max Elliott on June 10, 1962, in the Lewisham area of London. He was the eighth of nine children, born to parents who had emigrated from Jamaica several years before his birth.

His mother was active in the Pentecostal church, and the family grew up singing gospel music together; Maxi would later convert to Rastafarianism, upon which point he changed his name to Maxi Priest. He was working as a carpenter when he was invited to build speaker boxes for the prominent Saxon International sound system. It wasn’t long before his contacts there discovered that he could sing as well, and soon he was participating in live dancehall shows; in 1984, he and Paul “Barry Boom” Robinson also co-produced Phillip Levi’s “Mi God Mi King,” the first U.K.-born reggae single to hit number one in Jamaica.Priest signed with Virgin Records and released his debut album, You’re Safe, in 1985. A more traditional reggae set than his subsequent releases, it featured production by Robinson and live instrumental backing from the band Caution, and spun off the U.K. hit “In the Springtime.”

Ernest Ranglin was born June 19, 1932 and grew up in the small town of Robin’s Hall in the Parish of Manchester, a rural community In the middle of Jamaica. Music has always claimed a special place In the Island’s culture, and Ranglin’s destiny was set from an early age when two of his uncles showed him the rudiments of playing the guitar. When they discovered just how good the young boy was, they bought him a ukulele.

Ranglin learned how to play by imitating his uncles, but he was soon to be influenced by the recordings of the great American jazz guitarist Charlie Christian. Living in rural Jamaica, however, inhibited the boy’s ambitions, which, even at the age of fourteen, were focused on music. He then moved to Kingston – the country’s capital – ostensibly to finish his studies at Bodmin College. Very high on Ranglin’s agenda was to seriously study the guitar; something not on the school’s priorities.

His lessons came from guitar books and late-night sessions watching the Jamaican dance bands of the time: he was particularly influenced by Cecil Houdini, an unrecorded local musician. By the time he was sixteen years old, Ranglin was acknowledged as the rising young talent in the city. In 1948 he joined his first group, the Val Bennett Orchestra, playing in the local hotels. Such was Ranglin’s burgeoning reputation that he soon came to the attention of rival dance bands and, by the early-Fifties, he was a member of Jamaica’s best-known group, the Eric Deans Orchestra, touring around the Caribbean and as far north as the Bahamas.

The big bands gave Ranglin the hugely beneficial experience of learning how to orchestrate and arrange. The typical repertoire of the day Included tunes by Les Brown, Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton and Duke Ellington, together with Cuban music and the hot Broadway show songs. The constant tours also gave Ranglin a wider vision, meeting musicians from other traditions. Once, for instance, when he was working In Nassau his performance was heard by Les Paul, who gave Ranglin a guitar In admiration of his talents.

It was, however, back In Jamaica that his career was to be transformed by a chance meeting. In 1958 Ranglin was leading his own quintet, playing the leading hotels In Kingston and the resorts on the north of the Island. One engagement was at the Half Moon Hotel in Montego Bay, a show caught by a young would-be record producer called Chris Blackwell.

Singer Betty Wright proved to be a consistently strong presence on the Miami music scene, primarily throughout the ’70s and ’80s, although she continues to record. Born on December 21, 1953, in Miami, FL, Wright began her singing career early on as a member of her family’s own gospel group the Echoes of Joy. By the age of 13, Wright had begun appearing on other artists’ recordings as a backup singer and two years later was issuing her own solo singles (scoring a Top 40 hit the same year with “Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do”) and albums (My First Time Around).

It would be several years, however, before Wright would enjoy her next substantial hit, but it would prove to be worth the wait when 1972′s “Clean Up Woman” (notable for its prominent guitar riff and Wright’s swaggering lead vocal) peaked at number two on the R&B and number six on the pop charts. In 1974, Wright received a Grammy Award for the song “Where Is the Love?” (not to be confused with the renowned Roberta Flack/Donny Hathaway tune of the same name); Wright steadily continued to issue albums throughout the decade, including such standout titles as 1975′s Danger High Voltage (which spawned three R&B hits, “Shoorah! Shoorah!,” “Where Is the Love?,” and “Tonight Is the Night”) and 1978′s Betty Wright Live. 1981′s hit collaboration with Stevie Wonder, “What Are You Gonna Do With It?,” proved to be Wright’s last substantial hit. Wright continued issuing albums throughout the ’80s and ’90s, in addition to trying her hand as a television talk show hostess and contributing backing vocals to a wide variety of other artists such as Erykah Badu, Regina Belle, David Byrne, Jimmy Cliff, Gloria Estefan, Inner Circle, Millie Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Johnny Mathis, etc. The early 21st century saw the release of Wright’s first all-new studio album in several years, 2001′s Fit for a King, as well as the fine 16-track career overview The Very Best of Betty Wright.

Singer/songwriter Shirley Murdock is best known for the ethereal ballad “As We Lay,” which was produced by Roger Troutman. Murdock started out singing gospel music in her native Toledo. Troutman hired her as a background singer for his family’s group Zapp, who had several hits on Warner Brothers (or its Reprise imprint). Based on this success, Troutman began recording tracks with Murdock and lead singer Sugarfoot of the Ohio Players, among others, at his Dayton-based recording studio Troutman Sound Labs. Murdock and Troutman’s first charting single was a Warner single issued as Roger (Featuring Shirley Murdock), “Girl, Cut It Out,” which charted at number 79 R&B in early 1985. Murdock was signed to Elektra Records with the pumping “No More,” which made it to number 24 R&B in early 1986. Then came her signature hit, “As We Lay,” written by Zapp’s Larry Troutman and keyboardist Billy Beck (of the Ohio Players). The tender, melancholy ballad made it to the R&B Top Ten and peaked at number 23 pop in 1986. Her LP Shirley Murdock went gold, also helped along by the follow-up hits “Go on Without You” and “Be Free.” She also released full-lengths in 1988 (A Woman’s Point of View) and 1991 (Let There Be Love). In early 2000, Murdock toured in the inspirational/gospel play, Be Careful What You Pray For with Cuba Gooding and David Peaston.

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