Day 194 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Roy Shirley - Get On The Ball
Ainsworth Roy Rushton Shirley AKA Roy Shirley, with his distinctive style and delivery, was definitely one of Jamaica's greatest voices... starting out in talent contests in Kingston when he was a teenager, Roy Shirley was discovered by Byron Lee who got him work with his band in the early 1960s. His first tune "Oh Shirley," produced by Leslie Kong and co-mixed by his friend Jimmy Cliff, was released in 1965 and became a hit. The next year he recorded "Hold Them," which many consider to be one of the first rocksteady records, for Joe Gibbs and again he had another huge hit. Well to make a long story short, Roy Shirley's career lasted from the ska era, through rocksteady and well into reggae... in fact all the way up until his final performance at the Sierra Nevada Music Festival in June of 2008, a month before he passed away. Today's tune, the 194th in the 365 Jamaican Music Challenge, is "Get On The Ball," originally recorded and released in 1967 as a single on the Caltone label. more
The Cheers Travel World / Day 194 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Roy Shirley - Get On The Ball
