Roots reggae music is ageless and like a good wine, it gets better with time.
The same can be said of Donovan Carless and his smooth vocal style. The veteran singer
of the legendary Soul Syndicate Band has over thirty years of reggae experience to his
credit and a proven track record
in the recording business.
Born June 6 1953, in the Greenwich Town of Kingston, Jamaica, Donovan
- like most Jamaican youths, began singing in church at age 10 and was already promoting parties at the Catholic Youth Organization
by 1963.
“
I remember bringing Roy Shirley to a dance I arranged every Friday, only to see him steal
my girl,” remembers Donovan of his singing peer.
While attending St. Andrew Technical High School in Kingston (1967-71), Donovan
formed his first group, 'The Little Roys' with friend and singer, Earl
"Little Roy' Lowe. Little Roy later went on to record with Prince Buster and score heavily with "Tribal War" for
Lee "Scratch" Perry. It was with Donovan, that the two enjoyed their first successes, recording versions of the hit song,
"Bongo Nyah" for Lloyd "The Matador" Daley's label,
a song credited as one of the earliest recorded Rastafarian songs and one that spent six weeks at the top of the Jamaican
charts.
While still
in High School, Donovan joined the now famous Soul Syndicate Band that included a who’s-who of reggae: Fully
Fullwood on bass (later to join Peter Tosh’s Word Sound & Power Band), guitarist, Tony
Chin and Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace on drums.
After graduating from college in 1971, the band began recording for Vincent “Chin”
Randy’s Impact label where Donovan voiced, “Garden Party” (another top ten hit in 1972), “Love
Of The Common People, (1972)” “Sweet Caroline” (1972), “Be Thankful” (1972) and “How Can
I Tell Her” (1973).
Soul Syndicate went on their first tour in 1972, where they headlined the 10th Jamaican
Independence Day Anniversary concert at Guantanamo Bay. During 1974, the group made their first trip to the U.S. touring for
three months on the west coast with deejay sensation, Big Youth. Two years later, Soul
Syndicate returned again, only to share the stage this time with such famous names as Bob Marley,
Third World and U Roy. Donovan married in 1976 and
went into the studio again to rcord Soul Syndicate's first album, 'Harvest Uptown - Famine Downtown'
on Warren Smith's Epiphany Records Label. By 1978,
Donovan had moved to the U.S. where he started a family with his wife Hortense. The family relocated to Raleigh, N.C. in 1978
where Donovan still resides.
Donovan’s voice wasn’t heard again until 1993 where he was
co-announcer of the ‘Reggae Experience’ reggae show on WSHA 88.9 FM. Donovan has since been recognized as Red
Stripe’s key music promoter for the North Carolina region and Production Director of the annual ‘Reggae On The
Lake’ festival in Greenville N.C. He now sings with his own band ‘The Posse,’ and hit the headlines again
in 2002 with the re-release of his hit single “Be Thankful,” featured on a Randy’s compilation album. The
song reviewed well in Mojo Magazine.
During 2003, Donovan joined the Fully Fullwood Band to present The Peter Tosh Celebration Tour. The group featured Tony Chin and Andrew
McIntyre (ex-Wailers) on guitars and vocals, Jawge Hughes on keyboards,
Carl Wright on drums and Claudio Pepe (ex-Wailers)
on percussion. They toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe, headlining at such well-known events as The New
England Reggae Festival, Montana Music Fest and Sierra Nevada World Music Festival.
At the end of 2003, Donovan
and his band, The Posse headlined Raleigh, N.C.'s 'First Night Raleigh 2004' celebration in front of 10,000 onlookers and later
performed at the N.C. Museum of Art's 'Summer Showcase' during the summer of 2004.
Currently, Donovan is working
on a forthcoming album 'Be Thankful.' He will also be reuniting with the original
members of The Soul Syndicate Band, for a series of shows in Puerto Rico and South America.
By Trevor Holland
www.reggaewriter.com
