Freddie McGregor - Truly a Class Act

Photography and Story by Diane "Livonn" Adam © 2003

When you think of classic roots reggae artists Freddie McGregor is a name that always appears right on the top of the list. An internationally celebrated singer, songwriter and producer he has been in the music business for more than 40 years and is one of Jamaica's most cherished and respected recording artists. Influenced by the legendary producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd at Studio One where he recorded songs like "Africa Here I Come" and the reggae masterpiece "Bobby Bobylon." His early career provided him with an impressive amount of guidance from masters that included Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, Bob Andy and Bob Marley. In the mid-sixties Freddie McGregor even teamed up with Ernest "Fitzroy" Wilson and formed the duo Freddie and Fitzroy and later he linked with the harmony group the Claredonias, which provided him with an opportunity to be exposed to a wider audience. It was not until 1975 that Freddie McGregor's soulful R&B tone transitioned to more roots and culture as he embraced the Rastafarian culture. His musical journey now continued with more serious songs like "Mark Of The Beast", "Rastaman Camp" and in 1977 with the release of the album Mr. McGregor expertly produced by Niney The Observer. He also began arranging and producing other Reggae artists including Judy Mowatt's album Black Woman. In 1981 his groundbreaking song "Big Ship" produced by Linval Thomas and Roots Radics hit the charts and remains one of reggae's most timeless recordings. In 1989 Freddie McGregor launched his Big Ship Recording Studio with the release of Jamaican Classics (Vol. I), which later prompted the successive birth of Vol. II & III all distributed in the U.S. by VP Records. Today you can find Captain Freddie McGregor's Big Ship Sailing On The Ocean as he launches another Reggae Cruise out of New Orleans on October 19-26, 2003 on Carnival Cruise Lines with shipmates Dean Fraser and Marcia Griffiths.

Ras Ghost Productions brought Freddie McGregor and the Millennium Band to San Francisco to rock StudioZ.TV with the bad boys of reggae Inner Circle on August 27, 2003. The Millennium Band opened Freddie McGregor's show with "Zion Gate" (I Don't Want To Be Left Out of Zion Gate) the Studio One hit popularized by Culture on their album Baldhead Bridge (1978). Then the band played a short retrospective of Freddie McGregor's greatest hit songs and welcomed the legendary vocalist on stage to thundering cheers and applause. Freddie McGregor opened his show with a medley of his songs "I See It In You", "If You Wanna Go," (written by Freddie and Dean Fraser and S.Smith) and "Africa Here I Come" from his album Signature on Big Ship Music, Inc./VP Records (2000). Never giving pause, he continued his set with some of his most wicked tunes including "Poor Is A Crime", "Prophesy" and the 1986 hit single "Push Comes To Shove" which was one of McGregor's biggest singles and his first to grace the British charts. Never letting go Freddie McGregor made the ladies swoon on "Stop Loving You" and bust a lick shot on his song "Big Ship" which promoted a sing-a-long with the audience. He slowed it down on "Loving Jah" from his 2002 VP Records release Anything For You. It was an enchanting night of music as Freddie McGregor continued his wonderful show singing "Uncle Sam", "Let Him Try" and "I Was Born A Winner." He gave a special tribute to Dennis Emanuel Brown and niced up the dancehall with "Love and Hate" (can never be friends), "Revolution" (pt. 1) as the crowed swayed and sang in unison. He also flexed his vocal cords on the Ska song "Carry Go Bring Come" (Justin Hinds) and the song "If I Had the Wings of A Dove" and "Bobby Babylon." Brought back on stage for an encore, Freddie McGregor did the soulful "Just Don't Wanna Be Lonely" his re-make of the Main Ingredients original song.

Freddie McGregor

You can also hear Freddie McGregor on Ras Records Reggae For Kids released in 1992 with the wonderful "Three Little Birds" and on the 1997 Ras Release, More Reggae For Kids with the songs "Big Ship" and "One Love." This album is a great addition to any reggae collection and is a great way to introduce your youngsters to Freddie McGregor and Reggae Music with songs especially produced with children in mind.

Inner Circle

Yes, it was the bad boys of reggae who opened the show on August 27 at StudioZ.TV in San Francisco and Inner Circle shocked out on "Looking For A Better Way Of Life", "Skylarking" (Horace Andy) which they melded with Bob Marley's "Hit Me With Music." They did a tribute to the great Jacob Miller with "Tired Fe Lick Weed In A Bush" and "Tenement Yard." Inner Circle also performed songs from their VP Records release Big Tings (2000) with the song "Sweet Jamaica" and switched gears into Sean Paul's "Like Glue." The crowd was jumpin' when they performed "Sweat" (A la la la la long) and when they blasted into the song we all know from the television show Cops, "Bad Boys" which they added a hardcore hip-hop section. Inner Circle was brought back on stage for an encore and lead singer Kris spoke to the crowd saying,

"The truth should be told that in a world with so many starving children the priority should not be to go and fight wars. In a world that AIDS still does not have a cure, we should not be spending billions fighting an enemy that does not exist. In the words of Bob Marley, 'you reap what you sow' if you sow animosity you reap aggression, if you sow love only one thing comes from love is more love. You know when the war first started in Iraq, I remember picking up a newspaper and on the cover there was a little girl who was killed, her eyes were wide open and I thought to myself, I have 3 sons and that could have been one of my sons, so this song I send out to the world because the world needs understanding."

Inner Circle then slowed it down and sailed into "Black Roses" (whatever happened to my garden of black roses/they say a stranger has treated them wrong). They did their brand new song, "Kool Operator" from their Kool Operator album and licked a Buju Banton stylee (filling in for Buju's remix). Inner Circle ended their set with "Reach Out And Touch Somebody's Hand" and flexed into Bob Marley's "Feel Alright." Lead singer Kris said that "Inner Circle has been doing this for more than 2 decades and the message stays the same, we believe that there is only one God, One Aim, One Destiny, United we stand, divided we shall not only fall, we will perish."

Opening the show was the group One Spirit who gave a beautiful performance of "Satta Massagna", also in the house was DJ Polo Mo'Xuuz and Jah Universal Sounds spinning the latest sounds and the Reggae MC for the night, Rocky Allan Bailey.

Blessed Love