Pat Kelly – Pat Kelly Sings

One of the finest voices of the rocksteady era, Pat Kelly is known for his prolific and influential work with legendary engineers King Tubby, Bunny Lee, and Scientist. Kelly originally rose to fame as a member of the Duke Reid-produced rocksteady group The Techniques, replacing Slim Smith with his smooth falsetto voice, strongly influenced by the American soul singers Curtis Mayfield, Smokey Robinson and Sam Cooke. 1969’s Pat Kelly Sings is a rocksteady masterpiece engineered by Bunny Lee and a young Lee “Scratch” Perry. Opener “Since You Are Gone” is a big favorite with its slower rocksteady groove. “American music had two sides of the record – the fast side and slower side. We gravitate to the slower side, which wasn’t a hit, and made them a hit. I think that’s what fitted our sort of music in the Caribbean.”