Horatious Adolphus "Pat" Kelly   (6 August 1944 – 16 July 2019) [1]   was a Jamaican   rocksteady   and   reggae   singer, whose career began in the mid-1960s. [2]   He recorded as a solo artist and as a member of the vocal group   the Techniques .

Biography [ edit ]

The Techniques [ edit ]

Kelly was born in   Kingston   in 1944. After leaving school, he spent a year studying   electronics   in   Springfield, Massachusetts , United States during 1966, gaining a degree in audio electronics from   Massachusetts Institute of Technology , before returning to Jamaica. [2] [3]   He initially recorded as a solo artist for his former schoolmate, producer   Bunny Lee . [3]   In 1967, when   Slim Smith   left   The Techniques , Kelly was brought in to replace him, [4]   recording for   Duke Reid   in the   rocksteady   era when Reid's   Treasure Isle   studio/label was dominating Jamaican music. [2]   Kelly's   falsetto   voice, strongly influenced by the American soul singer   Sam Cooke , in combination with   Winston Riley   and   Bruce Ruffin , maintained the success that The Techniques had enjoyed with Smith. [2]   The Techniques first record with Kelly, "You Don't Care", adapted from   Curtis Mayfield 's "You'll Want Me Back", spent six weeks at number one in the Jamaican singles chart, and was followed by further hits. [2] [5]

Solo career [ edit ]

In 1968, Kelly went solo again, working again with Lee, and recording another Mayfield cover, "Little Boy Blue". [2] [4]   He also recorded for   Phil Pratt . [6]   Kelly's "How Long Will It Take" was the biggest-selling Jamaican single of 1969, and was the first Jamaican record to feature a string arrangement, which was   overdubbed   when it was released in the United Kingdom on the   Palmer Brothers '   Gas   label. [2]   An album followed, the   Lee "Scratch" Perry -engineered   Pat Kelley Sings   (sic), and Kelly was offered a £25,000 contract by   Apple Records , which he was unable to accept due to existing contractual commitments. [2] [5]   Kelly continued to record, having a big hits for   producer   Phil Pratt   in 1972 with "Soulful Love" and "Talk About Love", and returning to record with Duke Reid, having another hit with a cover of   John Denver 's "Sunshine". [2] [7]   He fell back on his earlier training, working as an engineer at several studios including   Channel One   and   King Tubby 's. [6] [8] [9]   He also moved into production, producing his own   Youth and Youth   album in 1978, and co-producing (with Holt)   John Holt 's   The Impressable John Holt (Disco Mix)   album in 1979. The late 1970s and early 1980s saw Kelly recording more regularly again, and he continued to record occasionally in the years that followed.

In the 1990s he was a member of a reformed Techniques, along with   Lloyd Parks   and Johnny Johnson. [3]   He continued to perform internationally up to 2018. [10]

Kelly died on 16 July 2019, aged 74, from complications of kidney disease. [11]   He was survived by widow Ingrid, one son and four daughters (Cheryl, Pamela, Padeane, & Terri-Ann). [1] [3]   He is buried at Dovecot Memorial Park and Crematory in St. Catherine. [1]

Discography [ edit ]

Studio albums [ edit ]

• Pat Kelley Sings   (1969),   Pama
• Give Love a Try   (1978), Third World
• Youth and Youth   (1978), Live & Love
• Lonely Man   (1978), Burning Sounds
• Lovers Rock   (1979), Third World (with   Johnny Clarke   and   Hortense Ellis )
• One Man Stand   (1979), Third World/Puff
• So Proud   (1979), Burning Rockers/Chanan-Jah
• Cool Breezing   (197?), Sunshot
• Wish It Would Rain   (1980), Joe Gibbs
• From Both Sides   (1980), Ita
• Sunshine   (1980), KG Imperial
• Srevol   (1983), Ethnic Fight UK
• Pat Kelly and Friends   (1984), Chanan-Jah
• One In a Million   (1984), Sky Note
• Ordinary Man   (1987), Body Music
• Cry For You No More   (1988), Blue Moon
• Are You For Real   (with Los Aggrotones) (2012), Interrogator Records

Compilation albums [ edit ]

• The Best of Pat Kelly   (1983), Vista Sounds
• Butterflies , Sonic Sounds
• Classic Hits of Pat Kelly   (1995), Rhino
• Classics   (199?), Super Power
• Soulful Love - The Best Of   (1997),   Trojan   (Pat Kelly & Friends)
• The Vintage Series   (2000),   VP
• Sings Classical Hits Galore , Striker Lee

References [ edit ]