Earl Sixteen
b. Earl Daley, 1958, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies. After winning local talent shows Daley joined the group Flaming Phonics as lead vocalist before voicing the self-penned Malcolm X for Joe Gibbs in 1975, later to be covered by Dennis Brown. In 1977 he became a member of the Boris Gardiner Happening who introduced him to Lee Perry at the Black Ark. There he recorded four tracks in 1978/9 and met Earl Morgan of the Heptones, who produced his debut album, SINGING STAR. His next collection was for radio DJ and DATC producer Mikey Dread, although there were singles for Augustus Pablo(Changing World), Linval Thompson, Derrick Harriottand others, released throughout the early '80s, including an excellent set for former Stur-Gav duo Ranking Joe and Jah Screw. By 1982/3 he was at Studio One where his third version of Love Is A Feeling was recorded. The previous two were for Aston Family Man Barrett and Stafford Douglas; to date it is Earl Sixteen's most popular song. Those Brentford Road sessions resulted in Coxsone Dodd's SHOWCASE album of 1985. Shortly afterwards he switched allegiance to former Royals founder Roy Cousins, then Skengdon and Blacka Dread (Batman And Robin) and Bert Douglas (Problems). In 1988 after a two year break he resurfaced in England, covering Simply Red's Holding Back The Years and making a short-lived attempt to produce himself. During 1991/2 he was to be found at Ariwa, recording BABYLON WALLS and several fine singles for the Mad Professor. Since then he has voiced for a growing number of UK producers with varying degrees of success.