Flabba sings from the heart
For over 40 years, Errol “Flabba Holt” Carter has played bass guitar on some of the biggest hit songs recorded in Jamaica, but not many people know that before he began playing the four-string, he was a singer with some popular songs to his name.
Holt polished off his vocals recently to record Singing Life, an EP produced by Negril Music out of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The five-song project is distributed by Tuff Gong International.
Holt was backed by LGDG (Los Guardianes de Gregory), house band at Negril Music. Feda Soto Roland, who led production on Singing Life, told the Jamaica Observer about its genesis.
“We met Flabba in Buenos Aires around April 2018 while he was touring with Israel Vibration and the Roots Radics. After the show we invited him to our studio to record some bass lines for an Israel Vibration Spanish tribute that we were producing, and that night we surprised him with our instrumental version of My Heart in Danger (his first song). He loved it and decided to sing it right there… and that was the beginning of this amazing project,” he explained.
Holt, who started the Roots Radics in 1977, was just as enthused about singing again.
“I loved to work with Feda and LGDG, and I love the sound of the album. For me it’s a very special moment, as it’s the first time in more than 30 years that I am launching an album as a singer,” he said. “This will let many people hear me not as a bass player, but as a lead singer — and I love it.”
My Heart in Danger was released in 1975 and became a favourite at dances. Who Have Eyes to See and Gimmie Gimmie are other songs Holt is known for as a vocalist.
The West Kingston-raised Holt switched to bass shortly after playing on singer David Isaacs’ 1977 hit song Just Like The Sea. He then formed the Roots Radics, which played on countless hit songs at Channel One studio in Kingston during the 1980s when they worked with producer Henry “Junjo” Lawes.
Holt’s lines can be heard on songs such as Gunman (Michael Palmer), Big Ship (Freddie McGregor), Night Nurse (Gregory Isaacs), Police In Helicopter (John Holt) and Wa Do Dem by Eek A Mouse.
The Roots Radics also recorded and toured with Bunny Wailer.
