User:AgentGGD/WinstonJarrett

Winston "Flames" Jarrett is a Reggae musician from Jamaica.

Winston Jarrett was born in 1940 in Lime Tree Gardens in the parish of Saint Ann, Jamaica. He moved to Trenchtown where he met Alton Ellis who recruited him and Eggar Gordon (Baby Gee) and formed Alton & The Flames.

Alton Ellis & the Flames scored big with the hits "Girl I've Got a Date", "Cry Tough" and "Rock Steady", which was the first song to refer to the name of the newer genre. The Additional Flames classics include ‘Dance Crasher,’ ‘The Preacher’, and ‘I Have Got A Date.’ The Flames were recording for Duke Reid, but were lured away by Sir Coxsone. Alton moved to England in 1969 and Winston reformed the group as The Righteous Flames.

Jarrett says the Flames had a shifting lineup, with men such as Noel 'Zoot' Sims and Lloyd Charmers, occasionally take the place of Eggar Gordon. They took the name the Flames, he explains, 'because I was on a show with James Brown and the Flames, we perform together at the Carib Theater.'

In addition to 17 albums and dozens of solo and compilation recordings, Winston backed up Ken Boothe, Marcia Griffiths and Winston Francis. He also worked with Enid Cumberland and Larry Marshall. Winston recorded over a hundred titles during the early seventies for Joe Gibbs and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry among others. (People Funny boy, David Katz)

Winston, LiveOn ‘Zion’ and other Perry productions, he is joined by Danny Clarke, and the Meditations. Winston also produced a string of fine releases on his own Attra, Human Rights and Humble labels. In The late 70’s he cut fine albums for Brent Clarke (‘Kingston Rock’), Roy Cousins (‘Wise Man’), and two co-productions with Tony Shabazz (‘Man Of The Ghetto’ and ‘Ranking Ghetto Style’).

Until the late 1980’s, Winston had never had an album released in America and remained unknown even among hardcore reggae devotees. Nighthawk Records changed that situation with the release of the carefully crafted album ‘Jonestown,’ released in 1989. Winston came to the production with a fat songbook of tunes and supported by some of the finest musicians in Kingston. ‘Jonestown’ established a foothold for Winston as one of reggae’s great, unrecognized artists. "Jonestown’ has been widely hailed as a "Sufferer’s tour de force," with it’s compelling title track, and cuts like "Spanish Town Road,’ ‘Bad Boy,’ and ‘Babylon Broke Down Me House,’ or ‘Unity.’

Since the release of the ‘Jonestown‘ album, Winston produced an album for Alvin Ranglin’s GG’s Records that was released by Heartbeat. Subsequently and most recently he has had two albums for RAS as well as a number of releases both new and old overseas. The relationship between Nighthawk Records and Winston goes back to the early 80’s when we first met during the recording of the ‘Travel With Love’ album by Justin Hinds. It was Justin who first drew the label’s attention to Winston, calling us aside, he said, "See that lickle man deh? ‘Im is one of the original Alton and the Flames. ‘Im is a very great singer." Since that day we have maintained a warm and valued friendship both professionally and personally.

In 1997, Winston made his first visit to America, where he made a strong impression on local reggae audiences in a series of guest appearances. On stage, 'Flames' projects the confidence and authority of a veteran reggae soldier. Studio One released "Crucial Times" as part of it’s 50th Anniversary celebrations (2003). Produced by Coxsone Dodd, this album shows once again why this man from Trenchtown is still a Reggae Legend.

As the originator of the Righteous Flames, the fire still burns, and Winston "Flames" Jarrett continues to produce and release reggae music in his spiritually seasoned style of roots reggae. In 2005, he connected with Young Tree Records to produce, "Survival is the Game," a collection of classic works dating back to the 1960s. This dual disc set includes one of the original and dub versions of, "Shoulda Been Me" previously having never left Dodd's studio since Dodd confronted Winston on the song and took ownership of the recording.