Clancy Eccles

b. December 9, 1940 - Dean Pen, Jamaica
d. June 30, 2005 - Spanish Town, Jamaica

Born in Dean Pen in St Mary’s near Highgate on December 9th 1940, Clancy was raised in the Jamaican countryside before going out on the road aged 15. He gained his musical apprentiship under the tutalidge of showman and music impresario, Lord Messam, who also worked with such luminaries as the Blues Busters, Higgs & Wilson and Busty Brown.

After a spell serving drinks and singing R&B, Calypso and mento numbers at a club in Ocho Rios, he moved to Kingston, where he promptly made his first contribution to the local music scene with his recording of "Freedom" for leading producer, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd. The song was subsequently heavily featured on the producer's "Downbeat" sound system, although it was another two years before it saw official release. Over the next few years, Clancy cut a series of singles for Dodd, including "River Jordan", "I Live And I Love", "Glory Allelujah", "Rock Of Ages" and "Leave Earth". In 1963, he recorded Judgement' and "Baby Please" for Leslie Kong's business partner, Charlie Moo, prior to cutting "I Am The Greatest" (aka "Cassius Clay") and "I Need Your Love" for Mike Shadeed. The following year, he moved on to work with Lyndon Pottinger, who issued a handful of sides by the young singer, including "Roam Jerusalem", "Miss Ida" and "Sammy No Dead".

Financial remuneration for his recorded work proved fitful , however, and around 1965, Clancy moved to Annotto Bay, where he worked for a while as a tailor. The following year he decided to reactivate his singing career, supervising the production of two of his own recordings, "Darling Don't Do That" and "Guns Town" at Coxsone Dodd's studio, which appeared in limited numbers in Jamaica on a blank label "pre" release.

The following year he hired Duke Reid's famed Treasure Isle studio, where he produced "Say What You're Saying" by local singer, Eric "Monty" Morris, which he issued on the newly launched New Beat label. The disc proved a major hit on the island and over the next few years, Clancy enjoyed considerable success as one of Jamaica's most influential producers, with a slew of hits featuring himself, and artists such as including Larry Marshall, Busty Brown, Joe Higgs, King Stitt, the Dynamites, Lord Creator and the Fabulous.

Clancy's charitable nature also led to a number of others making their mark in the Jamaican music industry, as he assisted Lee Perry launch his Upsetter label in 1968 and lent Niney the money to press copies of his hit, "Blood And Fire" in 1971. He also ensured artists received all the money they were due, as Kirk Salmon of The Fabulous Flames recalled in an interview with journalist, Dave Kingston of Canadian magazine, "Reggae Quarterly":

"Clancy wasn't one of those rip-off producers. Clancy treated us good... cause at that time a lot of the artists were suffering. We could have suffered too, like the rest of them, but Clancy is more humanitarian than a lot of them...we always have money. Clancy opened a bank account for us in Jamaica when we were in Canada and put money in, so that when we came back we had money. He did a lot more than what a normal producer would do, because of the type of person he is. He's kind-hearted."

Clancy continued to record material, ranging from heartfelt love songs, to stinging social commentary right up to 1977,when he ceased work in disgust at the rising price of records on the island. His output over the years that followed was erratic, although although singles such as "Mash Up The Country" and "Iniquity Worker" from the mid-eighties rank alongside such classics as the pro-Michael Manley 1972 election anthem, "Rod Of Correction" and the magnificent "Generation Belly" from the mid-seventies.

With his passing, Jamaican music has lost yet another of its greats, whose musical talents were equalled by his kindness, warmth and sincerity.

-- Courtesy (Laurence Cane-Honeysett, Trojan Records UK) --

Though not nearly as well known as Duke Reid or Coxsone Dodd, producer and sometime vocalist Clancy Eccles made a lot of rocksteady in the late '60s and early '70s, much of it on his Clandisc label. As a singer, Eccles had started recording back in the late '50s, when he cut some ska for Dodd. After bouncing around the ska and early reggae scene for a while, he became more active in the studio in the late '60s, overseeing tracks by Alton Ellis, Joe Higgs, Beres Hammond, and several less-famed artists. Not as distinctive as the works of Reid or Dodd, Eccles' oeuvre nonetheless included some solid and enjoyable material that contributed to the peak of the rocksteady movement. The record label he started in 1967, Clandisc Records, helped pave the way for greater recording independence for Jamaican musicians. Perhaps his greatest achievement took place outside of the studio: in the early '70s, he organized a traveling stage show to contribute to the successful campaign of Jamaican socialist politician Michael Manley. Clancy Eccles passed away in 2005 at the age of 64, leaving behind a legacy of fine recordings both as a singer and as a producer.

-- Courtesy (Richie Unterberger, All-Music Guide) --