Post by messenger on Jun 7, 2004 23:54:43 GMT -5
Getting to know... Wayne
Wayne Wonder
THE STAR will be publishing sections of Wayne's bio over the next few days. This will be followed by questions that are taken from the published material. So if you are interested, collect all of these and be prepared to answer the upcoming questions.
Wayne's Bio
Wayne Wonder was born in July of 1972 in the rainy parish which brought us Bling Dawg and Louie Culture, Portland.
In his early days, the world knew him as Von Wayne Charles. His singing began as a youth who used to attend Sunday School. In those days, singing was compulsory, not just because his mother made him do it, but because she sang in church as well.
As a youth, Wayne and his family moved all over eastern Kingston, living in areas such as Dunkirk, Franklin Town and Rae Town, home of the weekly Sunday night oldies street dance. The exposure to vintage 45s at these dances apparently gave Wayne a richer, more soulful vocal approach to a Reggae rhythm track.
As his musical skills developed, so did other skills. He was a footballer at Camperdown High School, and stamped his class as a as a talented midfielder. Wayne told THE STAR that this is the real story behind how he got the name 'Wonder', seeing he was a 'wonder' on the field.
First love
But Wayne's first love became even stronger. He stuck with friends who traveled across Kingston to hang out at the popular studios at the time, praying for the day he would get the chance to record.
As Wayne recalls, getting the break to record was like winning the lottery. He had stressful days trying to convince producers to record him. With persistence, his break came in the late 80s.
The first producer Wayne recorded for was the legendary creator of dub, the late King Tubby. Wayne voiced three original songs for Tubby, but the one that caught the public's attention was his cover version of British heartthrob Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up.
In 1988, after the death of Tubby, Wayne linked up with producer Lloyd Dennis to voice the hit It's Over Now on the popular Cover Me rhythm for Dennis' Pickout label.
Wayne also recorded his debut album No More Chance on the Pickout label.
No More Chance contained seven original tracks and several obligatory cover versions, reflecting the view of Jamaican producers who at the time only wanted to record singers doing American R&B hits.
Around 1989, Wayne began collaborating with his childhood friend Dave Kelly. At the time, Kelly was an engineer for Donovan Germaine's Penthouse Records. Together Wayne and Dave created a steady stream of successful Penthouse tunes including I'm Only Human, Baby You and I and Saddest Day (which he re-recorded in combination with Foxy Brown on her 2001 Def Jam Records 'Broken Silence' CD).
Wayne became well-known for his 1991 cover version of the late Jamaican singer Delroy Wilson's I Don't Know Why re-titled Movie Star. The same song in combination with Buju Banton (whom Wayne brought to Penthouse Records) Bona Fide Love proved to be a huge success as well.
It was at Penthouse that Wayne achieved several of his earlier notorious hits. He covered the works of several American R&B artists such as Tracy Chapman's Fast Car, PM Dawn's Die Without You and En Vogue's Hold On, but in 1993 it seems Wayne was fed up of covering. He then pledged to himself and the world that he would only record original material.
See more later this week
see Pic...
www.jamaica-star.com/thestar/20040607/ent/ent2.html
Wayne Wonder
THE STAR will be publishing sections of Wayne's bio over the next few days. This will be followed by questions that are taken from the published material. So if you are interested, collect all of these and be prepared to answer the upcoming questions.
Wayne's Bio
Wayne Wonder was born in July of 1972 in the rainy parish which brought us Bling Dawg and Louie Culture, Portland.
In his early days, the world knew him as Von Wayne Charles. His singing began as a youth who used to attend Sunday School. In those days, singing was compulsory, not just because his mother made him do it, but because she sang in church as well.
As a youth, Wayne and his family moved all over eastern Kingston, living in areas such as Dunkirk, Franklin Town and Rae Town, home of the weekly Sunday night oldies street dance. The exposure to vintage 45s at these dances apparently gave Wayne a richer, more soulful vocal approach to a Reggae rhythm track.
As his musical skills developed, so did other skills. He was a footballer at Camperdown High School, and stamped his class as a as a talented midfielder. Wayne told THE STAR that this is the real story behind how he got the name 'Wonder', seeing he was a 'wonder' on the field.
First love
But Wayne's first love became even stronger. He stuck with friends who traveled across Kingston to hang out at the popular studios at the time, praying for the day he would get the chance to record.
As Wayne recalls, getting the break to record was like winning the lottery. He had stressful days trying to convince producers to record him. With persistence, his break came in the late 80s.
The first producer Wayne recorded for was the legendary creator of dub, the late King Tubby. Wayne voiced three original songs for Tubby, but the one that caught the public's attention was his cover version of British heartthrob Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up.
In 1988, after the death of Tubby, Wayne linked up with producer Lloyd Dennis to voice the hit It's Over Now on the popular Cover Me rhythm for Dennis' Pickout label.
Wayne also recorded his debut album No More Chance on the Pickout label.
No More Chance contained seven original tracks and several obligatory cover versions, reflecting the view of Jamaican producers who at the time only wanted to record singers doing American R&B hits.
Around 1989, Wayne began collaborating with his childhood friend Dave Kelly. At the time, Kelly was an engineer for Donovan Germaine's Penthouse Records. Together Wayne and Dave created a steady stream of successful Penthouse tunes including I'm Only Human, Baby You and I and Saddest Day (which he re-recorded in combination with Foxy Brown on her 2001 Def Jam Records 'Broken Silence' CD).
Wayne became well-known for his 1991 cover version of the late Jamaican singer Delroy Wilson's I Don't Know Why re-titled Movie Star. The same song in combination with Buju Banton (whom Wayne brought to Penthouse Records) Bona Fide Love proved to be a huge success as well.
It was at Penthouse that Wayne achieved several of his earlier notorious hits. He covered the works of several American R&B artists such as Tracy Chapman's Fast Car, PM Dawn's Die Without You and En Vogue's Hold On, but in 1993 it seems Wayne was fed up of covering. He then pledged to himself and the world that he would only record original material.
See more later this week
see Pic...
www.jamaica-star.com/thestar/20040607/ent/ent2.html