Alright, Hardworlders. You should definitely KNOW this guy. Ultra smooth voice. Seductive. Looking for his Night Nurse. Unfortunately, the man died 2 days ago. Long battle with lung cancer, which I thought wasn't too surprising since I'm sure he loved the ganja, but then I found out he had a decades long battle with 'other' drugs. Cocaine and crack and crap like that. He'd also been arrested a bunch of times for various crimes. Perhaps he did these crimes because he is the ultimate "lonely lover". Anyway, his eighties stuff is some of my favorite, but he was working in the scene since the sixties. He also penned the first "lovers rock" track called "My Only Lover". Now, I haven't heard that song, but surely it can't be the first "lovers rock" song. There's been tons of rockin' love ballads inna reggae style before. What I normally associate lovers rock with is 1980s-early 90s England. I guess mostly English Jamaicans. However, listening to Gregory Isaacs stuff from the eighties, he definitely pioneered the sound, and it is a wonderful sound. It's a shame that he went as young as he did.
Gregory Isaacs: July 15, 1951 - October 25, 2010.
Below is all the Isaacs I have on my computer here in Korea. Back home, I have "Lonely Lover" and "More Gregory" on LP, as well as "Night Nurse" which is below. The other tracks are from several compilations that date 1979-1993.
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