Kiddus I

Kiddus I (born Frank Louis Dowding Jr, December 1944) is a reggae singer and musician, best known for his appearance in the film Rockers.

Biography

Dowding was born in 1944 in Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica. His mother, Maria Cathcart Dowding a home maker and his father, Frank Dowding, a bookkeeper. He adopted the stage name Kiddus, which is Amharic for "blessed one", after becoming a Rastafarian. In 1971, he set up a Rastafarian commune and craft centre located between uptown and downtown Kingston, which became a unique feature of a city generally divided by social class.

Dowding was a member of Ras Michael's Sons Of Negus from 1971 to 1978, singing and playing funde drums. He recorded several self-productions in 1972 with Aston Barrett at Joe Gibbs' studio, but these were not released due to lack of funds. Rockers director Theodoros Bafaloukos had seen Kiddus recording "Graduation In Zion" in 1976, two years before the film was made, and decided to film Kiddus recording the track as part of the movie.

Kiddus had by then released a few singles on his own Shepherd label, including "Security In The Streets" which was recorded with Lee Perry at his Black Ark studio. Dowding was a prominent...

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