eMusic

Start Your Trial

Frankie Paul

Frankie Paul

Rate it!

(0 ratings)

  • Born: 1965
  • Years Active: 1980s, 1990s, 2000s

Biography

Frankie Paul is often referred to as Jamaica's Stevie Wonder, and not just because of his visual impairment; like Wonder, he was a talented multi-instrumentalist with a tremendous vocal range. He was also extraordinarily prolific; part of the first wave of dancehall artists, he started his recording career in earnest during the early '80s, and has since flooded the market with product, releasing countless singles and well over 30 albums. That's made his career difficult to track for all but the most ardent fans, but it's also ensured that he's never been too far out of the spotlight on a constantly changing reggae scene. Paul was born Paul Blake in 1965. He was blind at birth, but an operation on a hospital ship succeeded in giving him a small visual capacity; he later went to New York to obtain a pair of high-powered glasses that helped even further. He attended a Salvation Army school for the blind, where he first began singing. When Stevie Wonder visited the school, Paul sang for him, and an impressed Wonder encouraged him to go into music. Paul learned the piano, drums, and guitar while still in school, and was most influenced as a singer by Dennis Brown in his early days. As Frankie Paul, he made his first recording, "African Princess," in 1980, when he was still just 15. In 1983, he appeared on two volumes in Channel One's Showdown series, one with Sugar Minott and the other with Little John. The former LP contained Paul's first major hit, the Henry "Junjo" Lawes-produced "Worries in the Dance," which aligned him with the emerging dancehall sound. Lawes also produced 1984's Pass the Tu-Sheng-Peng, whose title cut -- an ode to ganja -- was a huge, star-making hit in Jamaica. Paul reached his prime in the mid-'80s, cutting excellent albums like the George Phang-produced Tidal Wave (1985) and Alesha (1987), and the Philip "Fatis" Burrell-produced Warning (1987). His hit singles included "Tidal Wave," "Alesha," "Cassanova," "Sara," "Fire Deh a Mus Mus Tail," "Slow Down," and many others. Paul continued to record for a variety of labels in the '90s, with LP highlights including 1991's Should I and 1994's Hard Work. To keep up his prolific recording pace, he came to depend heavily on covers, whether of reggae classics or contemporary American R&B material. He continued into the new millennium as a tremendously active presence on the reggae scene.
— Steve Huey , All Music Guide

Playlists If you like Frankie Paul, check out these member playlists

Explore music recommended by Frankie Paul fans

“ The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.”


Rolling Stone
Start Your Trial

Recently Viewed

Back
Forward

© 1998-2009 eMusic.com Inc. eMusic and the eMusic logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks in the USA or other countries. All rights reserved.

All Music Guide © 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC
Portions of content provided by All Music Guide, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC

Facebook®, YouTube, Flickr™ and Wikipedia® are registered trademarks of their respective owners, Facebook Inc., Google, Inc., Yahoo! Inc. and Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Neither Facebook Inc., Google, Inc., Yahoo! Inc. nor Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. are partners or sponsors of eMusic. eMusic uses the Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia API but is not endorsed or certified by Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia. eMusic does not pre-screen, monitor, endorse nor assume any liability for websites, contents, products, services or claims made by Facebook, YouTube, Flickr™ and Wikipedia®.

Legal or copyright question regarding Facebook, YouTube, Flickr or Wikipedia content on eMusic? Please email us.