Lee "Scratch" PerryOD (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936[1] – 29 August 2021[2][3]) was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style.[4] Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development of dub music with his early adoption of remixing and studio effects to create new instrumental or vocal versions of existing reggae tracks.[5] He worked with and produced for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Marley and the Wailers, Junior Murvin, The Congos, Max Romeo, Adrian Sherwood, Beastie Boys, Ari Up, The Clash, The Orb, and many others.
Early life
Rainford Hugh Perry was born on 20 March 1936 in Kendal, Jamaica, in the parish of Hanover, the third child of Ina Davis and Henry Perry.[1] His mother had strong African traditions originating from her Yoruba ancestry that she passed on to her son.[1] His parents were both laborers, but his father later became a professional dancer.[citation needed]
Lee left school at age 15 and lived in Hanover, working as a labourer to help build the first road in Negril.[6] He eventually wound up in Clarendon where he got into the dance and music scene and earned the nickname "The Neat Little Thing". Lee later moved to Kingston after experiencing a mystical connection to stones ("When the stones clash, I hear like the thunder clash... and I hear words... These words send me to Kingston. Kingston means King's Stone, the Son of the King... the stone that I was throwing in Negril send me to King Stone for my graduation.") where he apprenticed at Studio One.[7]
Career
Early work
Perry's musical career began in the late 1950s as a record seller for Clement Coxsone Dodd's sound system. As his sometimes turbulent relationship with Dodd developed, he found himself performing a variety of important tasks at Dodd's Studio One hit factory, going on to record nearly thirty songs for the label.[3] Disagreements between the pair due to personality and financial conflicts led him to leave the studio and seek new musical outlets. He soon found a new home at Joe Gibbs's Amalgamated Records.[3]
Working with Gibbs, Perry continued his recording career but, once again, financial problems caused conflict. Perry broke ranks with Gibbs and formed his own label, Upsetter Records, in 1968. His first major single "People Funny Boy", which was an insult directed at Gibbs, sold well with 60,000 copies sold in Jamaica alone.[6] It is notable for its innovative use of a sample (a crying baby) as well as a fast, chugging beat that would soon become identifiable as "reggae". Similarly his acrimonious 1967 single as Lee "King" Perry, "Run for Cover", was likewise aimed at Sir Coxsone.
From 1968 until 1972, he worked with his studio band the Upsetters. During the 1970s, Perry released numerous recordings on a variety of record labels that he controlled, and many of his songs were popular in both Jamaica and the United Kingdom, where his instrumental "The Return of Django" was a top five hit in 1969. He soon became known for his innovative production techniques as well as his eccentric character.[3]
In 1970, Perry produced and released the Wailers track "Mr. Brown" (1970) with its unusual use of studio effects and eerie opening highlighting his unique approach to production.
The Black Ark
In 1973, Perry built a studio in his back yard, the Black Ark, to have more control over his productions and continued to produce notable musicians such as Bob Marley and the Wailers, Junior Byles, Junior Murvin, the Heptones, the Congos, and Max Romeo. He also started the Black Ark label, on which many of the productions from the studio appeared.[8] With his own studio at his disposal, Perry's productions became more lavish, as the energetic producer was able to spend as much time as he wanted on the music he produced. Virtually everything Perry recorded in The Black Ark was done using basic recording equipment; through sonic sleight-of-hand, Perry made it sound unique. Paul Douglas mentions:
"Scratch had a particular sound and everybody was fascinated by his sound. He had this way of putting things together; it was just his sound and it influenced a lot of people. I’ve even gone to the Black Ark with Eric Gale for that Negril album; I remember myself and Val Douglas, we laid some tracks there, Eric Gale overdubbed stuff on there, but I honestly don't remember what happened to it."[9]
Perry remained behind the mixing desk for many years, producing songs and albums that stand out as a high point in reggae history. He was known to remain in the studio for days at a time when mixing, taking no visitors or calls, and very little food or drink.[10]
By 1978, stress and unwanted outside influences began to take their toll: both Perry and the Black Ark quickly fell into a state of disrepair. Eventually, the studio burned to the ground. Perry has constantly insisted that he burned the Black Ark himself in a fit of rage.
After the Black Ark (1980s and 1990s)
Perry performing in 1998
After the demise of the Black Ark in the early 1980s, Perry spent time in England and the United States, performing live and making erratic records with a variety of collaborators.[3] His career took a new path in 1984 when he met Mark Downie (Marcus Upbeat[original research?]) with whom he worked on the 1986 album Battle of Armagideon for Trojan. It was not until the late 1980s, when he began working with British producers Adrian Sherwood and Neil Fraser (who is better known as Mad Professor), that Perry's career began to get back on solid ground again. Perry also attributed a later resurgence of his creative muse to his deciding to quit drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis. In his earlier days, the act of producing for Perry was a frenzied and ritualistic one where he stated that "he blew smoke into the microphone so that the weed would get into the song."[11] Perry stated in an interview that he wanted to see if "it was the smoke making the music or Lee Perry making the music. I found out it was me and that I don't need to smoke."[12]
In 1998, Perry reached a wider global audience as vocalist on the track "Dr. Lee, PhD" from the Beastie Boys' album Hello Nasty.[13]
Later career
In 2003, Perry won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album with the album Jamaican E.T. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Perry number 100 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[14] He teamed up with a group of Swiss musicians and performed under the name Lee Perry and the White Belly Rats, and toured the United States in 2006 and 2007 using the New York City-based group Dub Is a Weapon as his backing band.
In 2008, Perry reunited with Adrian Sherwood on The Mighty Upsetter. Between 2007 and 2010, Perry recorded three albums with British producer Steve Marshall who he met at Pyramid Arts Development in Hackney. The albums featured performances by Keith Richards and George Clinton. Two of these albums, End of an American Dream (2008) and Revelation (2010), received Grammy nominations in the category Best Reggae Album.
Perry in 2009
In 2009, Perry collaborated with Dubblestandart on their Return from Planet Dub double album, revisiting some of his material from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as collaborating on new material with Dubblestandart, some of which also included Ari Up of the Slits. In 2008, leading up to this release, Perry's first foray into the dubstep genre was released on 12" vinyl, a collaboration with Dubblestandart and New York City's Subatomic Sound System called "Iron Devil".[17] That record was followed by several more reggae-oriented dubstep collaborations with Dubblestandart and Subatomic Sound System on digital and vinyl, first Blackboard Jungle volumes 1 and 2 (2009), featuring dancehall vocalist Jahdan Blakkamoore, then Chrome Optimism (2010),[18] which also featured American filmmaker David Lynch. Following that, in 2010, Perry and Ari Up of the Slits collaborated on a limited-edition Subatomic Sound System 7" called "Hello, Hell Is Very Low", a rootical dubstep release that would turn out to be one of Ari Up's last recordings and the final release during her lifetime.
In 2010, Perry had his first ever solo art exhibition at Dem Passwords art gallery in Los Angeles, California.[19] The show, titled "Secret Education", featured works on canvas, paper, and a video installation.
In 2012, Perry teamed with the Orb to produce The Orbserver in the Star House, which was recorded in Berlin over a period of several months.[25] The album earned critical acclaim,[26][27] and featured the single "Golden Clouds", named after the historic property located near Perry's hometown in Jamaica. The recording sessions were filmed by Volker Schaner and were part of the documentary Lee Scratch Perry's Vision of Paradise.
In August 2012, it was announced that Perry would receive Jamaica's sixth highest honour, the Order of Distinction, Commander class.[28]
Perry is featured as the DJ on the dub and reggae radio station "The Blue Ark" in Grand Theft Auto V. The station includes a number of dubs by Perry and the Upsetters including "Disco Devil" and "Grumblin' Dub".[29]
Perry recorded an album with Daniel Boyle in London, released in May 2014 as Lee "Scratch" Perry – Back on the Controls.[31] The album received a Grammy nomination later that year.[32]
Perry remixed the "Thor's Stone" single by UK producer Forest Swords in November 2013.[33]
In 2015, the documentary Lee Scratch Perry's Vision of Paradise had a worldwide release in cinemas as well as on DVD and VOD after premiering at the East End Film Festival in London. The film followed Perry for 15 years through his home in Switzerland and travels abroad.[34]
Perry signing an autograph for a fan after a performance at Bumbershoot in 2015.
In September 2015, Perry and Subatomic Sound System launched a 40th anniversary tour for Perry's 1976 album Super Ape. The tour began as part of Dub Champions Festival and continued over the next two years with more than 50 dates in North America and some isolated dates in Europe. Nearly every show was sold out on the 2015 and 2016 tours. It culminated with the release of the Super Ape Returns to Conquer album in September 2017 which debuted at number 2 on iTunes US reggae chart behind Bob Marley's remastered Legend album, and on number 3 on the Billboard reggae chart. Larry McDonald performed as part of the band and on the recorded album. A Kickstarter campaign was organized in 2015 by Emch of Subatomic Sound System to raise funds to build a custom 15-foot-tall gorilla similar to the one on the original album cover art.[35] The Kickstarter campaign reached its goal and the gorilla appeared on stage during 2015 and 2016 tour dates.[36]
In October 2018, Perry and Subatomic Sound System launched a 45th anniversary tour for the 1973 album Blackboard Jungle Dub, produced by Perry. The tour began in North America and tour posters includes the tag line "World's 1st dub album, Live for the first time". Rolling Stone published a preview of the tour.[37]
2019 saw the release of The Revelation of Lee "Scratch" Perry, a film about the making of his 2010 album Revelation, directed by Steve Marshall for State of Emergency. The film features intimate behind the scenes footage of Perry at work in his home studio in the Swiss Alps and an in depth interview with him.[citation needed]
In April 2019, hip hop producer Mr. Green announced that he would be doing a record made out of Perry's famous audio stems. In July 2019, Perry announced that the record is entitled Super Ape vs. 緑: Open Door and that it would release through Tuff Kong Records on 19 August 2019. The record combined over 20 different genres of music.[38] Hypebeast said it was "Perry's best work in years" and that it "pushes boundaries of various genres. The record reached the Top 10 on the iTunes reggae chart and the Top 100 on the Billboard reggae chart.[39]
A couple of weeks prior to his death, Perry released his last song, "No Bloody Friends". The song was a collaboration with Ral Ston, and it was released on 13 August 2021.[40]
Perry's final album was with New Age Doom, titled Lee "Scratch" Perry's Guide to the Universe (2021). Perry's final dub production was for Sly & Robbie vs. Roots Radics, The Dub Battle (2021). The song was "The Gates of Dub" with Max Romeo and The Roots Radics band produced by Hernan "Don Camel" Sforzini.[41]
Personal life
Perry resided in Einsiedeln, Switzerland, with his wife Mireille and their two children. He had four other children by the names of Cleopatra Perry, Marsha Perry, Omar Perry, and Marvin (Sean) Perry in various parts of the world.[citation needed] In 2015, his new studio in Switzerland, the "Secret Laboratory", was damaged by a fire that also destroyed his stage costumes and unreleased recordings.[42][43]
Death
Perry died on 29 August 2021[44] at the Noel Holmes hospital in Lucea, Jamaica, from an unspecified illness, aged 85.[45][46]
Note: Perry has had numerous compilations come out under his name, with many being illegitimate. This list tries to round up a few more "essential" compilations.
Frayed Moon Magic Man & Man in The Baloon Feat. Lee Scratch Perry
Appears on the album Sly & Robbie vs Roots Radics - The Final Battle (2019) by Sly & Robbie and Roots Radics produced by Hernan "Don Camel" Sforzini [55]
Appears on the album Sly & Robbie vs Roots Radics - The Dub Battle (2021) by Sly & Robbie and Roots Radics produced by Hernan "Don Camel" Sforzini [56]
Films
Lee Perry: Return of the Super Ape (BA BA ZEE) – Rick Elgood and Don Letts (UK)
Lee Scratch Perry's Vision of Paradise (2015) – directed by Volker Schaner, produced by Daniela Schmid
Scratch in Deutschland (1992) (10 minutes)
Ich sende aus dem All (1995) (30 minutes), directed by Peter Braatz
Collingwood, Jeremy (2010) Lee 'Scratch' Perry: Kiss Me Neck – The Scratch Story in Words, Pictures and Records, Cherry Red Books, ISBN978-1-901447-96-5
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