Arthur Louis

Arthur Louis (21 June 1945 – 24 December 2014) was a British rock, blues and reggae cross-over musician. His surname is pronounced as luːɪs (Lewis) and he held British nationality. He released three solo albums and was responsible for introducing the work of musician Mike Oldfield to Virgin Records.

Early life

Born in Jamaica, Louis moved to Brooklyn with his family at a young age. In his late teens he attended Michigan State University where he joined and toured with the band Terminal Stations, in Brazil and Germany.

Career

At the beginning of his career Louis toured with terminal stations. He recorded his debut album Knockin' on Heaven's Door in 1974, which featured Eric Clapton and Gene Chandler. The title song, a reggae blues version of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" was released as a single in July 1975, a week before Eric Clapton released his own interpretation of Louis's arrangement, of the same song. Louis's release received attention but was overshadowed by Clapton's, which featured Louis's "Someone Like You" as the B-side. Louis's album Knocking on Heaven's Door, eventually climbed to #6 in International charts.

In 1991 the German record label Discovery...

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