Cornell Campbell

Perhaps best known for the series of "Gorgon rock" records he cut with legendary producer <a href="spotify:artist:79gBZXBZwJs2cBerjhgAxI">Bunny Lee</a>, reggae singer Cornel Campbell was born in Jamaica in 1945. As a pre-teen he recorded his first material for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Studio+One%22">Studio One</a>, cutting a series of ska sides both as a solo artist and as one-half of a duo with Alan Martin; from 1964 to 1967 Campbell seemingly disappeared from the music business, finally resurfacing as a member of the short-lived rocksteady harmony trio <a href="spotify:artist:2vnmWPg9yLXtO3u9P8SBmA">the Uniques</a>. As the decade ended, he helmed the Eternals, scoring a number of <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Studio+One%22">Studio One</a>-generated hits including "Queen of the Minstrels" and "Stars," but in 1971 he again went solo after teaming with <a href="spotify:artist:1IOaYT0kBhd9DGymD2gwcL">Lee</a>, a pairing which spotlighted Campbell's distinctive falsetto to stunning effect. Despite earning acclaim for a self-titled LP issued on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Trojan%22">Trojan</a> two years later, in 1975 he shifted from the lovers rock sensibility of recent efforts to the more explicitly Rastafarian approach of records like "Natty Dread in a Greenwich Farm" and "Natural Fact," both of which emerged among his biggest hits to date. Later that year, Campbell and <a href="spotify:artist:1IOaYT0kBhd9DGymD2gwcL">Lee</a> also launched "The Gorgon," a boastful smash which yielded a series of hit sequels. While 1977's "The Investigator" heralded a successful return to lovers rock, Campbell's commercial clout waned in the years to come, and in 1980 he and <a href="spotify:artist:1IOaYT0kBhd9DGymD2gwcL">Lee</a> parted ways; subsequent pairings with producers including <a href="spotify:artist:0MzVii4VFShJDVer6ULBHM">Winston Riley</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1eM04Kj9DckOUmU1LOfj8j">Niney the Observer</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:1AMMMSq3rJdZtFGnBXEkz7">King Tubby</a> failed to re-create the excitement of past sessions. In 2005, his career experienced a renaissance when he joined the German techno-dub team <a href="spotify:artist:5e5DeHuHjgcj0DbdrdYKMo">Rhythm & Sound</a> on their single "King in My Empire." In 2013 he teamed with the London-based dub band <a href="spotify:artist:4iJspDSUsyFWGNada2wdVx">Soothsayers</a> for the album Nothing Can Stop Us, part of the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Strut%22">Strut</a> label's collaborative series Inspiration Information. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi