Ranking Joe

Ranking Joe a.k.a. Little Joe (born Joseph Jackson, 1 July 1959, Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae deejay who rose to prominence in the 1970s and had continuing success in the 1980s.

Biography

Jackson was initially inspired towards a musical career by his father, who operated a sound system. He attended secondary school with Winston McAnuff, U Brown and Earl Sixteen, and they would perform concerts. After starting out by toasting on the Smith The Weapon sound system, Jackson progressed to the El Paso sound system, where he performed under the name Little Joe (inspired by the character from Bonanza), inspired greatly by U-Roy. He first recorded for Coxsone Dodd's Studio One in 1974, releasing "Gun Court". Initially unsuccessful as a recording artist, he studied electronics before returning to recording in the mid-1970s with greater success, having a hit with "Honda 750", which was followed by singles such as "Psalm 54", "Natty Don't Make War" and the Bionic Man-tribute "Steve Austin". "Stop Your Coming and Come" provided the first deejay hit for Sly & Robbie's Taxi label. In the latter half of the 1970s he released three albums and also returned to sound system work with U-Roy's King...

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