Lengthy earlier than reggae captivated the world, Joe Higgs was quietly laying its basis. Born Joseph Benjamin Higgs on June third, 1940, in Kingston, Jamaica, and raised in Trench City’s third Road tenement yard, Higgs was greater than a musician. He was a self-taught producer, singer, songwriter, trainer, and cultural activist whose affect on Jamaican music is each far-reaching and largely under-acknowledged.
Higgs and Wilson
Higgs’ musical journey started within the late Fifties as one half of the pioneering duo Higgs and Wilson. Their breakout hit, “Manny Oh”, produced by Edward Seaga’s West Indies Information Restricted, was among the many first information ever pressed in Jamaica and reportedly bought over 50,000 copies—a staggering determine on the time. The success of this single helped spark the native recording business and established Higgs as a rising determine in Jamaica’s musical panorama. The duo went on to launch hits like “How Can I Be Certain” and “There’s A Reward”, produced by Coxsone Dodd.
When the duo disbanded in 1964 after Wilson’s migration to the U.S., Higgs continued as a solo artist, becoming a member of key bands corresponding to Lynn Taitt’s The Soul Brothers. However maybe his most profound contribution lay not simply in what he carried out, however in what he handed on.
The Mentor Behind Reggae’s Giants
Within the coronary heart of Trench City, Joe Higgs held casual vocal lessons the place younger aspiring singers gathered—together with the trio that may turn into The Wailers. Having skilled Bob Marley for years, Higgs taught the fledgling group essential skills corresponding to concord, breath management, songwriting, and what he referred to as “sound consciousness.” It was throughout one in all these classes that Marley and Bunny Wailer met Peter Tosh, forming The Wailers below Higgs’ steerage as he ready them for his or her first auditions. He would later additionally present vocal coaching to the Melody Makers, whose members included Marley’s kids.
A long time later, the affect of these early classes stays profound. Marley himself acknowledged Higgs’ affect, saying, “Joe Higgs helped me perceive music, he taught me many issues.” Higgs wasn’t only a trainer of method—he instilled self-discipline, goal, and creative integrity. His biographer, Roger Steffens, described him as a fancy and self-taught perfectionist.
Different reggae legends who got here below Higgs’ mentorship embrace Bob Andy, Derrick Harriott, and The Wailing Souls, all of whom developed their craft below his watchful eye.
Toured with the Wailers and Jimmy Cliff
Higgs was so instrumental in shaping the Wailers that in 1973, when Bunny Wailer refused to tour america, Bob Marley turned to the person who had skilled all of them—Joe Higgs. Higgs joined the group on their first U.S. tour, becoming in so seamlessly he earned the title “the Fourth Wailer.”
His affect additionally prolonged to the legendary Jimmy Cliff, serving as his bandleader within the mid-Seventies. Higgs co-wrote tracks corresponding to “Pricey Mom”, “Sound of the Metropolis”, and “Sons of Garvey”, and opened Cliff’s exhibits whereas serving to to form the band’s sound on the worldwide stage. His position behind the scenes additional cemented his standing as one in all reggae’s most significant but underappreciated architects.
The Reality Behind “Steppin’ Razor”
Certainly one of Higgs’ most iconic but misattributed works is “Steppin’ Razor”. Written in 1967 as his entry for the Nationwide Competition Tune Contest, the music was later recorded and popularised by Peter Tosh—with out crediting Higgs. For years, many believed Tosh was the unique creator. Higgs fought a prolonged authorized battle to show his authorship, finally succeeding. With the help of Minister Olivia Grange, the copyright was transferred, and Higgs lastly acquired recognition and compensation for the music that had outlined Tosh’s militant picture.
A Voice of Reality and Resistance
Regardless of serving to to form a few of reggae’s most celebrated voices, Joe Higgs struggled to attain mainstream success himself and, in some ways, was by no means totally recognised or rewarded for his immense contributions. His music—deeply private and politically acutely aware—typically clashed with business gatekeepers and the institution.
In 1983, his launch “So It Go”, a pointy critique of Jamaica’s political management and the plight of the poor, was banned from radio. Higgs confronted threats and blacklisting, leaving him unable to carry out or earn a dwelling in Jamaica. He entered self-imposed exile in Los Angeles, the place he remained for the remainder of his life. There, he continued to mentor rising artists and recorded critically acclaimed albums together with Triumph, Household, and Blackman Know Your self.
A Scholarly Musician and World Collaborator
Higgs’ genius prolonged far past Jamaica’s shores. He was an encyclopaedia of music historical past, equally fluent in ska and jazz, blues and soul. Within the late Nineties, he collaborated with Irish musicians together with Hothouse Flowers, mixing Jamaican rhythms with Celtic melodies. This resulted within the posthumous Godfather of Reggae album—his remaining musical assertion earlier than his loss of life from most cancers on 18 December 1999.
His musical requirements have been excessive, his self-discipline unwavering. He demanded excellence not solely from himself, however from these he mentored. “Music is a matter of battle,” he as soon as stated. “Reggae is a confrontation of sound… freedom, that’s what it’s asking for; acceptance, that’s what it wants.”
Demise & Legacy
Joe Higgs handed away from most cancers on 18 December 1999 in Los Angeles. Although his contributions have been huge, Higgs died nearly penniless. He left behind twelve kids, a number of of whom have adopted in his footsteps as skilled musicians. His legacy, whereas typically unsung, has not been forgotten.
In 2006, the Joe Higgs Music Awards have been launched to honour reggae artists throughout each mainstream and impartial areas. Annually on June third, the Joe Higgs Legacy Tribute is held on his birthday, organised by the Joe Higgs Basis, to rejoice his contributions and proceed his mission of musical training and empowerment.
A Legacy Nonetheless Awaiting Its Reward
Joe Higgs wasn’t only a participant in reggae’s rise—he was its compass. A perfectionist and a prophet, he believed within the energy of music to uplift, problem, and rework. He skilled the greats, held the road for creative integrity, and refused to bend within the face of business neglect or political strain. However
His spirit stays embedded in each concord sung by Marley, each militant lyric from Tosh, and each acutely aware observe that dares to problem the system. He’s the godfather, the unheralded basis, the trainer who gave reggae its instruments.
