Lord Creator
b. Kentrick Patrick, c.1940, Trinidad, West Indies. As his imperious name makes clear, Lord Creator began his career as a calypso singer. Some time in the mid-to-late '50s he arrived in Jamaica where the music scene was just starting its own recording business. Lord Creator's smooth, honeyed tones were not ideal for the raucous jump to R&B soon to emerge from ska, but as a big band crooner in Jamaica, he had no equal. Evening News (1959) was his first massive hit, and it was a song he returned to at several points in his career. The storyline of a barefoot kid feeding his siblings by selling newspapers he could not even read, had greater resonance at a time when Jamaica was struggling for its independence. In 1962 his Independent Jamaica was the first single on the Island label in the UK, although legend has it that Owen Gray's Twist Baby, scheduled as Island 002, made it to the shops first. Don't Stay Out Late (1963) was a major Jamaican hit, and Lord Creator was generally regarded as the island's biggest star of the time. Little Princess (1964) helped maintain his status. He also released a calypso album for the Studio One label. He was overtaken by other smooth voices such as Ken Bootheand Bob Andy, both of which offered more contemporary songs. In 1969, he teamed up with producer Clancy Eccles and recorded the single Kingston Town, perhaps the finest sentimental reggae record ever released. However, by this time Creator was hardly well-off and a week after recording the record, he borrowed $30 from Eccles. A couple of months later Eccles spotted Creator in a Kingston street and the singer ran off. Eventually Eccles caught him, and Creator immediately began to make excuses for not paying back the money he owed. Eccles explained that he owed Creator $1,000 in royalties for Kingston Town. The record had sold thousands of copies in Britain without ever making the charts. During the '70s, Lord Creator's croon became rare in a reggae music obsessed with roots, Rasta and heavy dub. He did record one powerful single in 1977, Life, a new version of a 1967 single, Such Is Life. During the '80s rumour had it that Lord Creator had succumbed to the life of the homeless rum drinker on the streets of Kingston, and eventually Clancy Eccles helped organise enough money for Creator to be returned to his family in Trinidad. That seemed to be the end of the story, but in 1989 UB40covered Kingston Town, and Clancy Eccles and Creator were recruited to give their seal of approval in the accompanying video. While it seems sadly ironic that he never got the hit he deserved with his own version, at least UB40's success meant that a royalty cheque would go to the song's creator.