Hopeton Lewis

Hopeton Lewis (born 3 October 1947, Kingston, Jamaica [ [http://www.emusic.com/artist/MP3-Download/11564713.html Emusic.com] ] ) is a Jamaican singer. Lewis' rich baritone has had a profound impact on Jamaican music, and his mixture of gospel and soul elements helped set the template for early rocksteady.

Career

Lewis began recording in the mid-1960s, and had one of the earliest rocksteady hits with "Take It Easy" in late 1966.Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9] Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide To Reggae", Rough Guides, ISBN 1-84353-329-4] He had several more Jamaican hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including the first 'herb' song ever recorded in Jamaica, "Cool Collie". He worked for Duke Reid as an arranger and backing vocalist, and won the Festival Song Contest in 1970 with "Boom Shaka Lacka". He began working as a singer with Byron Lee & the Dragonaires, and in 1971 had a hit with "Grooving Out On Life".

Lewis continued to release records, but his success after the early 1970s was limited. Lewis started his own record label, Bay City Music, in the late 1980s and turned increasingly to gospel music, releasing "This Is Gospel" in 1996, followed by "Reaching Out to Jesus" in 2000. Since then Lewis stuck with gospel, and has released a prolific series of albums, including "Lay Your Hands on Me Jesus", "Caribbean Gospel Jubilee", "Inner Peace", "Hopeton Lewis Sings Country Gospel", "The Many Moods of Gospel" and "The Inspirational Hopeton Lewis". [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=HOPETON|LEWIS&sql=11:j9fpxqwhldke~T1 Allmusic.com biography - accessed August 2008] ]

Albums

*"Take It Easy" (1968) Island
*"Grooving Out On Life" (1973) Trojan
*"Dynamic Hopeton Lewis" (1974) Dragon
*"Classic Gold Collection" (1998) Rockstone
*"Reaching Out to Jesus" (2000) Orchard
*"Take It Easy" Musicrama
*"This Is Gospel" Sun Moon & Stars
*"Love Life & Music" (2007) Quartz

References

External links

* [http://www.roots-archives.com/artist/733 Hopeton Lewis at Roots Archives]