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Born in 1938 in Bridgetown, Barbados, Jackie Opel (his real name was Dalton Bishop) was a musical superstar in his homeland when he moved to Kingston, Jamaica, in 1962, quickly joining the legendary <a href="spotify:artist:4og9jrin5xH5JiFPbeGUPb">Skatalites</a> as an occasional vocalist and bass player. At ease in several genres, including calypso, ska, jazz, blues, gospel, R&B, soul, and the Barbados reggae/calypso mento-like hybrid he unwittingly helped create called spouge, Opel was rumored to have had a six-octave singing voice, not to mention considerable dexterity as a dancer, and he soon became known as "the <a href="spotify:artist:4VnomLtKTm9Ahe1tZfmZju">Jackie Wilson</a> of Jamaica."
Among his classic ska and early rocksteady hits for Coxsone Dodd's Studio One and <a href="spotify:artist:0kFdg5ethruWEFa01XZUil">Justin Yap</a>'s Top Deck labels are "Old Rockin' Chair," "Turn Your Lamp Down Low," "Sit Down Servant" (actually a version of the ribald "Push Wood," which was supposedly recorded in 1955, making it easily the first ska vocal record), "Turn to the Almighty," "Valley of Green," and two late-'60s recordings with the Wailers, "A Time to Cry" and "The Mill Man," both of which featured harmony vocals from <a href="spotify:artist:389zc5Rwe0MPcE6mSF4AjC">Bunny Wailer</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0oea1hwGMfUxZbLxJc1XUN">Peter Tosh</a>. Opel favored American soul and gospel inflections in his vocal approach, and with his <a href="spotify:artist:7GaxyUddsPok8BuhxN6OUW">James Brown</a>-like stage show, he was poised for international stardom when he died in a car accident while visiting his native Barbados in 1970. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi
Among his classic ska and early rocksteady hits for Coxsone Dodd's Studio One and <a href="spotify:artist:0kFdg5ethruWEFa01XZUil">Justin Yap</a>'s Top Deck labels are "Old Rockin' Chair," "Turn Your Lamp Down Low," "Sit Down Servant" (actually a version of the ribald "Push Wood," which was supposedly recorded in 1955, making it easily the first ska vocal record), "Turn to the Almighty," "Valley of Green," and two late-'60s recordings with the Wailers, "A Time to Cry" and "The Mill Man," both of which featured harmony vocals from <a href="spotify:artist:389zc5Rwe0MPcE6mSF4AjC">Bunny Wailer</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0oea1hwGMfUxZbLxJc1XUN">Peter Tosh</a>. Opel favored American soul and gospel inflections in his vocal approach, and with his <a href="spotify:artist:7GaxyUddsPok8BuhxN6OUW">James Brown</a>-like stage show, he was poised for international stardom when he died in a car accident while visiting his native Barbados in 1970. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi
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