Contents - Beth Lesser

Barrington on his own. He recorded a few sides for singer Dobbie Dobson,
but without much success. His career seemed stalled - until Junjo saw him
singing in a dance one night. Junjo sent a friend to go find the youth and invite
him to come and get acquainted. Now, Junjo had a singer to go with the
rhythm tracks he had obtained from Leon Symoie. He was just waiting for the
financing when Jah Life arrived.
The initial flurry of albums in 1979 and 1980 established Barrington as
Jamaica’s top newcomer. Tupps, King Jammy’s selector, commented, “At that
time, the artist that was kicking up Jamaica was Barrington Levy, Shaolin
Temple album, and we used to have them pon dub [dubplate]. That’s how
come Jammys [sound] used to conqueror the place.” Barrington was making
records at such a pace, it was hard to keep up with everything he put out. By
1982, he had at least six LPs and a number of hit 45s. But Barrington didn’t
stop there. He was enjoying success and loved to sing. Thus, he continued to
record with a whole string of producers in Jamaica and abroad until he began
to wear himself thin. He was getting “overexposed”, the term reserved for
artists with too many releases out at one time. Beyond the Junjo and Jah Life
material, he had the 45s, ‘The Winner’ for Channel One, his own production
‘Deep In the Dark’, ‘Min’ Your Mouth’ for Joe Gibbs, ‘Poor Man Style’ produced
by Linval Thompson (Clocktower/Trojan), ‘Doh Ray Me’ on JB Music
and an LP in Canada called Run Come Ya.
Being considred ‘over-exposed’ can put a damper on a young artist’s career.
But, because Barrington was an ambitious singer with vast reserves of raw
talent, he was able to bounce right back. In 1982, the hit ‘Twenty One Girl
Salute’, again for Junjo with Scientist and The Radics, put him back on the
map and launched Barrington on another hit- making spree.
After another round of releases, the market, once again, reached the saturation
point. “I did have too much song on the road,” He now admits. “So, I
decide fe just cool off for a while. But, you find say some new artists get bad
pon the scene! So, I have fe take up back my whip again and start ride, say
‘Gwan Jockey!’” Again, Barrington bounced back, this time in 1984 with
‘Prison Oval Rock’ (again for Junjo with The Roots Radics), a huge hit both
inside and outside the dancehall.
Soon he was back at the top of the charts with, according to his estimate,
with “around five number one”. And he was still just gathering steam - his
biggest releases were still to come. Along the way, Barrington’s hit making
streak continued with ‘Money Move’ for George Phang and ‘Murderer’ for
Jah Life. But it was his two releases with former Stur-Gav selector Jah Screw-
‘Here I Come’ and ‘Under Mi Sensi’– that really demonstrated his talent as
a mature and capable vocalist. Both were huge hits, topping charts in Britain
for months in 1985. From that point on, Barrington was no longer seen as a
site specific dancehall singer from Jamaica. With Jah Screw as his guide, he
became an international name, attracting broad audiences wherever in the
world he performed.
68 | RUB A DUB STYLE – The Roots of Modern Dancehall