The Tamlins are a Jamaican reggae vocal group formed in the late 1960s, known for their hits such as "Baltimore", and their work with artists such as Peter Tosh.

History

The group originally comprised Carlton Smith, Junior Moore and Winston Morgan. They recorded in the 1970s for producers such as Ed Wallace, and worked as backing vocalists for the likes of John Holt, Delroy Wilson, Pat Kelly, Marcia Griffiths, Barry Biggs, Gregory Isaacs, and Dennis Brown.

Having released their debut album, Black Beauty, in 1976, they came to prominence in the late 1970s by releasing 12" singles in Jamaica for Channel One Studios, usually covering earlier rocksteady hits such as "Hard to Confess".

They worked for several years with Peter Tosh, both on recordings an international tours, before parting ways with him in 1983. Morgan left the group the same year, to be replaced by Derrick Lara, who had enjoyed some success as a solo artist in the early 1980s. They went on to work with Rita Marley and more recently Julian Marley, with whom they collaborated on his 2019 album As I Am.

They gained wider attention for their Sly and Robbie-produced version of the Randy Newman song "Baltimore", which gave them one of the biggest hits in Jamaica in 1979. The arrangement on that single was strongly influenced by that used on Nina Simone's cover of the song, released the previous year. They also recorded "Go Away Dream" for the same producers. In 1981 they were called in by producer Henry "Junjo" Lawes to complete the Israel Vibration album Why You So Craven, after the producer and the latter group fell out.

The group appeared in the 2009 documentary film Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae.

Album discography

Black Beauty (1976), Weed Beat

Red Rose (1983), Vista Sounds

I'll Be Waiting (1987), Live & Learn

Love Divine (1988), SKD

No Surrender (1995), VP

Back2Back (1999), Jet Star - with The Mighty Diamonds

Re-Birth (2010), JDF

Crossroads (2014), Zojak World Wide