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Wilfred Edwards

 
Artist: Jackie Edwards
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Similar Artists:

Desmond Dekker, Johnny Osbourne, John Holt, Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe

Followers:

Gregory Isaacs

Formal Connection With:

The Caribs
  • Born: 1938, Jamaica
  • Died: August 15, 1992, Jamaica
  • Active: '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s
  • Genres: Reggae
  • Instrument: Vocals
  • Representative Albums: "This Is My Story: A History of Jamaica's Greatest Balladeer," "I Feel So Bad: The Soul Recordings," "Best of Jackie & Millie"
  • Representative Songs: "Do It Sweet," "Let Me Go Girl," "On the Run (With a Gun)"

Biography

Jackie Edwards has been called the Nat King Cole of Jamaica, and in many ways it is an apt description for this smooth and versatile singer, who was also a gifted songwriter. Born Wilfred Gerald Edwards in 1938, he was a star on the island by the late 1950s, when he was discovered by future Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, who persuaded Edwards to relocate to the U.K. in 1962. Edwards had a huge talent, and although some critics have dismissed him as too smooth and sentimental (he was the original "cool ruler"), he recorded solid material in all of Jamaica's evolving musical modes, including ska, rocksteady, roots and lovers rock (a style for which his approach was clearly a prototype), but also made contributions in straight pop styles, even recording a marvelous gospel album. He wrote the first three chart hits for the Spencer Davis Group in the mid-1960s, including the classics "Keep on Running" and "Somebody Help Me," and his "Get Up" formed the compositional base for The Clash's "Revolution Rock." When Blackwell began steering his Island imprint more in the direction of rock in 1972, Edwards returned to Jamaica, where he recorded what is arguably his best work with producer Bunny Lee, who paired him with The Aggrovators. Somewhat forgotten today, possibly because he was more main- stream than the typical dreaded-out Jamaican singers of his era, Edwards was as versatile a performer (and as good a songwriter) as the island ever produced. He died on August 15, 1992 of a heart attack. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: Wilfred Edwards
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Wilfred Edwards VC (1893 – 1972) was a British soldier, and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award of the British Commonwealth for gallantry "in the face of the enemy", during the First World War.

Biography

Edwards was born on 16 February 1893. He was 24 years old, and a private in the 7th Battalion, The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, British Army during the First World War, and was awarded the VC for his actions on 16 August 1917 at Langemarck, Belgium: "when all the company officers were lost, Private Edwards, without hesitation and under heavy machine-gun and rifle fire from a strong concrete fort, dashed forward at great personal risk, bombed through the loopholes, surmounted the fort and waved to his company to advance. Three officers and 30 other ranks were taken prisoner by him in the fort. Later he did most valuable work as a runner and eventually guided most of the battalion out through very difficult ground. Throughout he set a splendid example and was utterly regardless of danger."

Edwards was commissioned a second lieutenant in December 1917 and was demobilised in June 1919. He re-enlisted in the KOYLI when World War II broke out and rose to the rank of major.

He died 4 January 1972, and his medals are currently displayed in the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Museum, Doncaster, England.

References

External links


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Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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