UNSUNG - Junior Byles's hits never 'Fade Away'

Friday, February 10, 2012

In commemoration of Jamaica's 50th anniversary of independence from Britain, the Jamaica Observer's Entertainment section recognise 50 persons who made significant, yet unheralded, contributions to the country's culture. Today, our third feature is Junior Byles.

WHILE not as prolific as some of his contemporaries, Junior Byles touched the nerve of a restless generation with his powerful message in the early 1970s.

A former fireman, Byles recorded regularly for producer Joe Gibbs during the late 1960s, but hit his stride at the dawn of the 1970s with a handful of socially conscious songs produced by the eccentric Lee 'Scratch' Perry.

The diminutive Perry had become the go-to producer after making magic with The Wailers on sessions that produced songs like Soul Rebel, Duppy Conqueror and Small Axe.

With Byles, he was just as successful. A Place Called Africa is a sombre ode to the Motherland while Beat Down Babylon reflected the pressure Jamaica's working-class were still feeling 10 years after Independence from Britain.

Curly Locks may be Junior Byles's most potent song. The 'two roads before you' he sings about perfectly captured the alienation Jamaican youth of the day faced when they embraced the Rastafarian faith.

It is ironic that Byles left Perry's Upsetters camp in the mid-1970s when the latter's productions (most notably Police and Thieves) were making inroads in the British market.

During that period, Byles's psychological problems increased and he slowly drifted into obscurity. However, he still had one more moment of magic in him.

Fade Away, recorded at Channel One in 1975, is not only Junior Byles's last hit song but his most enduring. Inspired by a Psalm, the heavily sampled Fade Away remains a favourite on mainstream radio and among die-hard dancehall fans.

Sadly, Junior Byles is one of Jamaican music's tragic figures. His mental issues derailed his career and although he has made sporadic concert appearances, he has roamed the streets aimlessly for nearly three decades.

In 1997, the American independent company, Heartbeat Records, revisited Junior Byles's checkered career with the album, Curly Locks: Best of Junior Byles and The Upsetters (1970-76). It is a fitting tribute to a singular talent.