I’m not sure how you get to sing like Junior Murvin. He wasn’t quite clear either. When he was asked about it, he replied, I have a “real-setto”, not false. Anything false can not come from your body. So I correct that: it is a “real-setto”! I’m a disciplined singer. I do things that are disciplined: I jog, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I don’t have a lot of women, I go to bed early and I keep singing and basically I’m talented from God.” This is the singer equivalent of Hulk Hogan telling you to “say your prayers and eat your vitamins.” But no matter how many marathons you run to build stamina, you and I will never be able to hit the high notes of the reggae star who passed away at 67, reportedly due to diabetes and hyper-tension.
There was always a major interplay between Jamaican reggae and American rhythm and blues, and like Bob Marley, the most obvious antecedent to Murvin’s sky-dusting style was Curtis Mayfield. Murvin once described his biggest vocal influence as a “spiritual singer. He sang for the people, to help them to live better.” This is probably the best way to remember Junior Murvin. Born to a tailor and ballad singer, the Montego Bay-bred Murvin eventually moved to Kingston where he linked up with Lee Perry. The pair co-wrote the track that allowed Murvin to see worldwide fame, 1976’s”Police and Thieves”- which was indelibly covered by The Clash on their self-titled debut. A celestial lament of gang warfare and police brutality, Murvin had that same ability as the singer of Superfly to confuse people into believing that hell could sound like heaven. In Murvin’s words, “that song is a song that just came to me. It was like a messenger, an angel of some sort, sent that to me. The rest is history. I went to Lee Perry and we sorted it out together. Sometimes I sing songs and don’t even realize the impact they might have until afterwards. It was like that with ‘Police And Thieves’; they called it a social comment.”
But the whole album is a classic. Murvin coos earthly laments and offers sage advice to cool out. He maligns bad weed and celebrates biblical prophets with backing from The Upsetters and production from Scratch Perry. It’s one of the greatest roots records ever made, cut at the Ark, ordained by anyone with ears. Wherever he rests, may he only be blessed with the absence of stress and an avalanche of the finest smoke.
Download:
MP3: Junior Murvin – “Tedious”
MP3: Junior Murvin -“Cool Out, Son”
