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Dennis Brown
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Dennis Brown

1968–1999

Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lovers rock, a subgenre of reggae. Bob Marley cited Brown as his favourite singer, dubbing him "The Crown Prince of Reggae", and Brown would prove influential on future generations of reggae singers.

Biography

Early life and career

Dennis Brown was born on February 1, 1957, in Victoria Jubilee Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica. His father Arthur was a scriptwriter, actor, and journalist, and he grew up in a large tenement yard between North Street and King Street in Kingston with his parents, three elder brothers and a sister, although his mother died in the 1960s. He began his singing career at the age of nine, while still at junior school, with an end-of-term concert the first time he performed in public, although he had been interested in music from an even earlier age, and as a youngster was a fan of American balladeers such as Brook Benton, Sam Cooke, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin. He cited Nat King Cole as one of his greatest early influences...

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Albums

Satisfaction Feeling

16 tracks · 2010

Slow Down

8 tracks · 2009

Dennis Brown Sings Gregory Isaacs

8 tracks · 2003

We All Are One

1 tracks · 2003

Concentration / Changing Times

1 tracks · 2003

Another Day in Paradise

3 tracks · 2001

Let Me Be the One

1 tracks · 2000

Stone Cold World

11 tracks · 1999

Bless Me Jah

6 tracks · 1999

Tribulation

13 tracks · 1999

Believe in Yourself

12 tracks · 1999

Generosity

1 tracks · 1999

Judge Not

5 tracks · 1998

The Crown Prince

16 tracks · 1996

Could It Be

10 tracks · 1996

Milk and Honey

8 tracks · 1996

Temperature Rising

10 tracks · 1995

I Don't Know

4 tracks · 1995

Nothing Like This

1 tracks · 1995

Vision of the Reggae King

11 tracks · 1994

Light My Fire

13 tracks · 1994

One of a Kind

5 tracks · 1994

Blood Brothers

3 tracks · 1994

Legit

3 tracks · 1993

It's the Right Time

14 tracks · 1993

Unforgettable

10 tracks · 1993

The General

7 tracks · 1993

Hotter Flames

5 tracks · 1993

So Amazing

2 tracks · 1993

Blazing

6 tracks · 1992

Friends for Life

10 tracks · 1992

Beautiful Morning

9 tracks · 1992

Over Proof

11 tracks · 1991

Victory Is Mine

6 tracks · 1990

Sarge

5 tracks · 1990

Reggae Giants

1 tracks · 1990

Good Vibrations

10 tracks · 1989

No Contest

4 tracks · 1989

Death Before Dishonour

1 tracks · 1989

Unchallenged

10 tracks · 1988

My Time

6 tracks · 1988

Brown Sugar

3 tracks · 1988

Inseparable

8 tracks · 1987

Smile Like an Angel

9 tracks · 1986

The Exit

8 tracks · 1986

Hold Tight

2 tracks · 1986

Revolution

8 tracks · 1985

Wild Fire

8 tracks · 1985

Wake Up

1 tracks · 1985

Love's Gotta Hold on Me

5 tracks · 1984

The Prophet Rides Again

10 tracks · 1983

Love Has Found Its Way

10 tracks · 1982

More

4 tracks · 1982

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

3 tracks · 1982

Foul Play

9 tracks · 1981

Joseph's Coat of Many Colours

7 tracks · 1980

Spellbound

6 tracks · 1980

Words of Wisdom

10 tracks · 1979

West Bound Train

4 tracks · 1978

Visions of Dennis Brown

10 tracks · 1977

Most played

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Riddims Dennis Brown voiced

Riddim Guide →

Answer Riddim

33 versions · 1993

Real Rock Riddim

33 versions · 1995 · Sony Music Entertainment Inc

Sleng Teng Riddim

23 versions · 2013

Shank I Sheck Riddim

21 versions · 1981 · Greensleeves

Heavenless Riddim

20 versions · versions from 1983

Far East Riddim

17 versions · versions from 1972

Cuss Cuss Riddim

17 versions · 2002

Darker Shade Of Black Riddim

16 versions · 2001 · VP Records

Songs on JamaicansMusic

481 playable tracks in the catalog.

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From the archive

Career timeline

Stories about Dennis Brown from the JamaicansMusic archive, oldest first · 1968–1994

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  1. 1968

    Music

    From Chocomo Lawn to Brentford Road: Dennis Brown at Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd’s Studio One, 1968–1970

    A nine-year-old who sang atop beer crates with Byron Lee and the Dragonaires follows the same path as Bob Marley to Studio One on Brentford Road. By twelve, Dennis Brown is cutting sides for Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd — the sessions that would yield No Man Is an Island and If I Follow My Heart.

  2. 1969

    Music

    Child Prodigy: Dennis Brown’s ‘No Man Is an Island’ Breaks Through, 1969

    At eleven, Dennis Brown scores his first hit with a cover of the Van Dykes’ ‘No Man Is an Island.’ Recorded at Studio One when he is twelve or thirteen, the song and its parent album announce a voice Jamaica will never tire of hearing.

  3. 1972

    Music

    The Crown Prince of Reggae: Bob Marley’s Favourite Singer and a Title That Stuck

    Bob Marley calls Dennis Brown the best reggae singer in the world and dubs him the Crown Prince. The nickname follows Brown from his teenage years at Studio One through three decades of recording — and outlives him.

  4. 1977

    Music

    Wolves and Leopards: Dennis Brown’s Roots Turn and the Birth of ‘Here I Come,’ 1977

    Recorded with Niney the Observer and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry at the Black Ark, Wolves and Leopards marks Brown’s transformation from child star to full-fledged Rastaman. ‘Here I Come’ becomes his signature; ‘Wolf & Leopards’ condemns criminals who hide behind dreadlocks.

  5. 1978

    Music

    Visions of Dennis Brown: Joe Gibbs, Errol Thompson and the Conscious Roots Peak, 1978

    The first album from Dennis Brown’s second stint with Joe Gibbs pairs lovers rock with militant roots — ‘Malcolm X,’ ‘Repatriation,’ ‘Deliverance Will Come.’ Engineered by Errol Thompson at Joe Gibbs Studio, it establishes both men at the top of late-1970s reggae.

  6. 1979

    Music

    Money in My Pocket: Dennis Brown’s Joe Gibbs Recut Conquers the UK Charts, 1979

    Brown first cut ‘Money in My Pocket’ for Joe Gibbs in 1972. The 1978 Joe Gibbs–produced update breaches the UK pop charts in March 1979 — his only UK Top 10 hit — and his Montreux Jazz Festival performance that year introduces the Crown Prince to a new audience.

    Music

    Sitting and Watching: Dennis Brown and Sly & Robbie’s Taxi Label in the 1980s

    A Sunday studio visit becomes ‘Sitting and Watching’ — recorded in one take for Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare’s Taxi label. Brown follows with ‘Have You Ever,’ ‘Hold On to What You Got’ and ‘Revolution,’ collected on the 1986 Taxi LP Brown Sugar.

  7. 1994

    Music

    Grammy Nomination: Dennis Brown’s Light My Fire Earns a Best Reggae Album Nod, 1994

    Released in May 1994 on Heartbeat/Rounder, Light My Fire earns Dennis Brown his first solo Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards — recognition for a catalogue that already spanned more than seventy-five albums.

6 more stories about Dennis Brown in the archive →

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