About Lizzy
Artist Biography
b. Jamaica, West Indies. The DJ phenomenon began in the early 60s, but it was the unprecedented success of U-Roy that signalled the turning point in the development of Jamaican music. By 1970 there was a considerable number of new DJs, including Dennis Alcapone, I. Roy, Big Youth and Lizzy. The young DJs were inspired by the scat toasting of Count Machuki, Sir Lord Comic and King Stitt, but the newcomers took the art to a different level. Lizzy recorded in the innovative ‘sing talk’ style for Duke Reid, initially enjoying hits with ‘Love Is A Treasure’, which employed Freddie McKay’s original rocksteady hit, and ‘I See Your Face (Version)’, which utilized the John Holt hit. Inspired by this success, Duke Reid encouraged Lizzy to join forces with his sparring partner, Dennis Alcapone, for a string of classic combination hits, notably ‘Ba-Ba-Ri-Ba Skank’ (based on Ken Parker’s ‘I Can’t Hide’), ‘The Right Song’ (the Paragons’ ‘Same Song’) and the excellent ‘Cry Tough’, which further embellished the Alton Ellis classic.
In 1973, Lizzy’s association with Alcapone ended when the El Paso DJ relocated to the UK. Lizzy remained in Jamaica where he embarked on sessions with Joe Gibbs, who produced the hit ‘Aquarius’ and a remake of the Paragons’ ‘Wear You To The Ball’ aka ‘Harmony Hall’. Lizzy continued to release sporadic hits, including ‘Double Attack’ with Delroy Wilson. Although he was often considered as a sidekick of Dennis Alcapone, Lizzy’s individual efforts were recognized in the mid-90s. He enjoyed a revival and interest in his early work resulted in the release of two similar compilations.
Hometown
Jamaica
Genre
Reggae
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