Linval Thompson is a seminal figure in the creation, spread and influence of dancehall reggae. He’s also a sweet singer and a prominent producer with a string of roots albums and dub versions.
He grew up between Kingston, Jamaica and New York, where his mother lived, and studied engineering there – the real bridge-building kind, not the music-studio kind. But music was his obsession.
Upon graduation he returned to JA and made his recording debut at 19 with producer Bunny Rugs (later a vocalist with Third World) on a sweet song called No Other Woman In This World, before recording some sides for a New York label called Mart’s, including Weeping And Wailing and Jah Jah Deh.
Returning to Jamaica later in 1974, he found himself the best mentor on the island at Lee Perry’s Black Ark Studio, singing on the Upsetters classic Kung Fu Man and Augustus Pablo’s Natty Dread A Pressure Them before teaming up with Bunny Lee for his first solo album, Don’t Cut Off Your Dreadlocks, in 1976.
Thompson recorded his next album, I Love Marijuana, at Channel 1 Studio backed by a rhythm section of Rockers’ drummer Leroy ‘Horsemouth’ Wallace and Wailers bassist Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett, and showcased his production skills on a dub version called Negrea Love Dub.
He continued to balance his own recordings, like the classic reggae anthem Cool Down Your Temper, with productions for Trojan, working with Dennis Brown, Eek-A-Mouse, Wailing Souls, Barrington Levy and many more, alongside his own labels Strong Like Sampson and Thompson Koos.
Thompson played a prominent role in the dancehall revolution in the early ’80s, working with Roots Radics and former King Tubby producer Scientist on a series of albums, while also constructing dubscapes under his name.
No fan of the new digital technology that dominated the genre in the wake of Wayne Smith’s massive dancehall hit Under Me Sleng Teng in 1985, Thompson took a back seat in music, dabbling in real estate and making only occasional visits to the studio, such as on Robbie Shakespeare’s 1988 album Starlight.
As he receded from the limelight, his older material began to see the light of day through reissues by labels like Blood and Fire and Trojan and Thompson’s reputation slowly began to rise, deservedly seeing him take his place alongside contemporaries like Johnny Clarke, Horace Andy and Cornel Campbell.
Here he is singing I Love Mariguana (sic) with The Revolutionaries, followed by his own excellent dub version.