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Augustus Pablo

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Augustus Pablo
Birth nameHorace Michael Swaby[1]
Born(1953-06-21)21 June 1953
St. Andrew, Jamaica
Died18 May 1999(1999-05-18) (aged 45)
Genres
Occupation(s)Record producer and multi-instrumentalist
Instruments
Years active1970s–1999

Horace Michael Swaby (21 June 1953 – 18 May 1999),[2] also known as Augustus Pablo, was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer and a multi-instrumentalist that was active from the 1970s until his death.

Biography

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He was born in St. Andrew, Jamaica, and learned to play the organ at the Kingston College School, where a girl lent him a melodica. He also met Herman Chin Loy, who after working at his cousin Leslie Kong's Beverley's record shop, had set up his own Aquarius store in Half Way Tree. Swaby recorded several tracks, including "Higgi Higgi", "East of the River Nile", "Song of the East" and "The Red Sea" between 1971 and 1973, for Chin-Loy's Aquarius Records.[3] Chin Loy had previously used the name Augustus Pablo generically for keyboard instrumentals recorded by Lloyd Charmers and Glen Adams,[4][5] and Swaby took the name for this recording.

He soon joined Now Generation (Mikey Chung's band) and played keyboard with them while his friend Clive Chin began his own career as a record producer. Pablo and Chin recorded "Java" (1972) together[3] after Pablo quit Now Generation. He has recorded with Chin and Chin's uncle, Leonard Chin, and Lee Perry. Pablo formed the labels Hot Stuff, Message and Rockers (named after his brother's soundsystem, Rockers). Pablo's 1974 album This Is Augustus Pablo was recorded with Clive and Pat Chin. This was followed by a collaboration with King Tubby in their 1975's Ital Dub.

Pablo produced a number of songs in the 1970s, including "Black Star Liner" (with Fred Locks).[6] He has also worked with Dillinger, I-Roy, Jacob Miller, The Immortals, Paul Blackman, Earl Sixteen, Roman Stewart, Lacksley Castell, The Heptones, Bob Marley, Delroy Wilson, Junior Delgado, Horace Andy and Freddy McKay.

With Jacob Miller, he recorded "Baby I Love You So" in 1974. Pablo's dub version of the song, titled "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown", was mixed by sound engineer King Tubby. It was named the 266th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone.[7]

Pablo later released a few LPs, including King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown (1976) and Hugh Mundell's Africa Must Be Free by 1983. This was followed by East of the River Nile (1978), Original Rockers (1979) and another album, Rockers Meets King Tubbys in a Firehouse. In 1980, he appeared on the soundtrack of the documentary DOA. He released Rising Sun in 1986. He also toured throughout the world, recording a live album in Tokyo in 1987.

In 1997, he played melodica on Primal Scream's single "Star".[8]

Augustus Pablo died as a result of a collapsed lung on 18 May 1999.[9] He had been suffering for some time from the nerve disorder myasthenia gravis.[10]

Personal life

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Pablo was a Rasta.[11] His son, Addis Pablo, followed him into a career in music, as did his daughter, Isis Swaby.[12]

Selected discography

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Albums

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Contributing artist

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References

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  1. ^ "A JAVA INSTRUMENTAL". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  2. ^ Thompson, Dave (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6, pp. 200–202
  3. ^ a b Larkin, Colin: The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae, 1998, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9
  4. ^ Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter: Reggae: The Rough Guide, 1997, Rough Guides, ISBN 1-85828-247-0
  5. ^ Teacher & Mr. T. "Article: In memory of... Augustus Pablo". Reggae Vibes Productions. Archived from the original on 21 June 2013.
  6. ^ Greene, Jo-Ann. "Augustus Pablo Biography". AllMusic.
  7. ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 16 February 2024.
  8. ^ Tim Sendra (16 June 1997). "Star - Primal Scream | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  9. ^ Masouri, John. "Augustus Pablo & Various Artists – The Definitive Augustus Pablo". elrockers.org. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2010. He died in a Kingston hospital on Wednesday may 19th 1999 after being admitted the previous week with a collapsed lung and spending the interim period on a life support system.
  10. ^ Pareles, Jon (20 May 1999). Augusto Pablo, 46, Musician; Helped Shape Reggae's Sound. The New York Times (Arts).
  11. ^ Hendley, Dave. "Augustus Pablo". Trojan Records. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  12. ^ Campbell, Howard (2012) "Journey continues – Addis Pablo keeps his father's legacy alive", Jamaica Observer, 5 July 2012, retrieved 13 July 2012
  13. ^ "Augustus Pablo – Blowing with the Wind". Discogs. 19 June 2020.
  14. ^ "Augustus Pablo – Heartical Chart". Discogs. November 2022.
  15. ^ "Augustus Pablo – Let's Get Started / Eastman Dub". Discogs. 22 June 2018.
  16. ^ "Augustus Pablo – Born to Dub You". Discogs. 2014.
  17. ^ "Augustus Pablo – Augustus Pablo Presents Rockers International". Allmusic.
  18. ^ "Augustus Pablo – Augustus Pablo Presents Rockers International 2". Discogs. 18 January 2022.
  19. ^ "Augustus Pablo – Augustus Pablo Original Rockers". Discogs. 31 July 2020.
  20. ^ "Augustus Pablo – One Step Dub". Discogs. 31 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Augustus Pablo – Ancient Harmonies". Discogs. 19 June 2020.
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