Birth name Fitzroy Wilson Role Singer Name Ernest Wilson | Instruments Vocals Genres Reggae | |
Origin Clarendon Parish, Jamaica Similar People The Clarendonians, Freddie McGregor, Slim Smith, Delroy Wilson, The Hippy Boys | ||
Associated acts The Clarendonians | ||
Ernest Wilson (born Fitzroy Wilson, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica) is a reggae singer who found fame as a member of The Clarendonians before working as a solo artist.
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Biography
Wilson formed The Clarendonians in 1963 with Peter Austin, the duo going on to become one of the most popular groups of the ska and rocksteady era, and having several Jamaican number one hits. Wilson embarked on a solo career in 1967, releasing the "Money Worries" single. Further singles followed, with "Undying Love", "Storybook Children", and "If I Were a Carpenter" in 1968 (all produced by Coxsone Dodd), "Private Number" (for Joe Gibbs), and "Freedom Train" (for Lee "Scratch" Perry - one of the first Jamaican singles ever to be released in stereo) in 1969. In 1969, he got back together with sometime Clarendonian Freddie McGregor in the duo 'Ernest Wilson & Freddy', releasing the singles "Sentimental Man" and "Love Makes the World Go Round", and later "What You Gonna Do About It" and "Let Them Talk". One of Wilson's biggest International Hit single, "Let True Love Be", (1976), was done alongside Harold Butler & Four Corners. It was featured on Butler's 1978 Album, "The Butler Did It". Wilson was also briefly a member of The Techniques.
Wilson has continued to record as a solo artist to this day.
Wilson has contributed backing vocals to tracks by Beres Hammond, Inner Circle, Jimmy Reid, Jimmy Riley, Johnny Osbourne, and Kiddus I. He is also a multi-instrumentalist, having played piano on the Umoja album as part of the DEB Music Players, bass guitar on Gregory Isaacs' Cool Ruler album, and guitar on several recordings including tracks by Tinga Stewart and Kiddus I.