Little Roy

Little Roy

Also known as: Earl Love, Earl Lowe, Little Ian Rock, Mark & Luke

Little Roy (born Earl Lowe, 1953, in Whitfield Town, Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae artist.

Biography
Little Roy began his career at the age of 12 years in 1965 recording a few unsuccessful tracks with producers Coxsone Dodd and Prince Buster. He was the first to record a song with the word 'reggae' in the lyric, with producer Prince Buster who named him Little Roy. He had his first number one hit with "Bongo Nyah" (1969) at the age of 16 years for Lloyd Daley ("the Matador"), the first song about the Rastafari movement to be successful commercially in Jamaica. For his song "Don't Cross the Nation" (1970), Little Roy worked with the Wailers and producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. Roy worked with the late Dennis Brown on the bass and Leroy Sibbles on the song "Tribal War". Starting in 1972, Roy worked with Maurice "Scorcher" Jackson and his brother Munchie. Roy wrote and recorded the influential and well-received songs "Tribal War" and "Prophecy" in the 1970s. George Nooks and John Holt recorded their own roots Rockers discomix takes on Roy's "Tribal War" original composition, and the rhythm from "Prophecy" was later used by Steely & Clevie in 1990, leading to a hit record for Freddie McGregor. Roy decided to re-issue some of his old material on an album titled Prophesy. A new album, Live On, was released in 1991, and he worked with Adrian Sherwood, 'Crucial' Tony Phillips, Carlton 'Bubblers' Ogilivie, Eskimo Fox, Mafia and Fluxy and B.B. Seaton on the 1996 roots rock album Long Time, which featured a new take on an earlier single, "Righteous Man", which Roy had originally recorded in 1973 for Bullwackie Lloyd Barnes. Roy released another album in 2005, Children of the Most High. In May 2011 Little Roy collaborated with Prince Fatty and the Mutant Hi-Fi to record "Sliver/Dive" cover of Nirvana's early single. An album of Nirvana songs, Battle for Seattle, was released in September 2011 on Ark Recordings.

Discography (5)

Artist Album Release Type Label Rec Rel
Tribal War Little Roy Tribal War MJLP 1001 LP Aires 1975 1975
Columbus Ship Little Roy Columbus Ship COP LP 5001 LP Copasetic 1981 1981
Packin House Little Roy & Various Artists Packin House PSCD 26 CD Pressure Sounds 197X 1999
Prophesy Little Roy Prophesy SC 448 LP Tafari 197X
Tafari Earth Uprising Little Roy Tafari Earth Uprising PSCD 06 CD Pressure Sounds 197X 1996

Credits & Appearances (5)

Production
Producer 2
Artist Album Release Type Label Rec Rel
Prophesy Little Roy Prophesy SC 448 LP Tafari 197X
Columbus Ship Little Roy Columbus Ship COP LP 5001 LP Copasetic 1981 1981
Musicians
Backing Vocals 1
Artist Album Release Type Label Rec Rel
Ghetto-ology Sugar Minott Ghetto-ology TRLS 173 LP Trojan 1979 1979
Vocals 2
Artist Album Release Type Label Rec Rel
Tribal War Little Roy Tribal War MJLP 1001 LP Aires 1975 1975
Tafari Earth Uprising Little Roy Tafari Earth Uprising PSCD 06 CD Pressure Sounds 197X 1996

Also Appears On (34)

Artist Album Release Type Label Rec Rel
Arise Rootsman Various Artists Arise Rootsman TJDDD 118 CD Trojan 1965-83 2003
Trojan Reggae Brothers Box Set Various Artists Trojan Reggae Brothers Box Set TJETD 072 CD Trojan 1967-77 2003
Lloyd Daley's Matador Productions 1968-72 Various Artists Lloyd Daley's Matador Productions 1968-72 CDHB 92 CD Heartbeat 1968-72 1992
A Live Injection Various Artists A Live Injection CDTRD 455 CD Trojan 1968-79 2001
King Scratch Lee Scratch Perry King Scratch TJDCD 605 CD Trojan 1969-2002 2022
From Matador's Arena Vol 2 Various Artists From Matador's Arena Vol 2 JMC 200.223 CD Jamaican Gold 1969-70 1994
Give Me Power Various Artists Give Me Power CDTRL 254 CD Trojan 1969-73 1988
The Trojan Story Vol 1&2 Various Artists The Trojan Story Vol 1&2 TALL 100-200 LP Trojan 196X-7X
Something Sweet The Lady Various Artists Something Sweet The Lady PMP 2003 LP Pama 1970 1971
Complete UK Upsetter Singles Collection Vol 3 Various Artists Complete UK Upsetter Singles Collection Vol 3 CDTAL 904 CD Trojan 1970-71 1998
Boat To Progress Various Artists Boat To Progress GREL 602 LP Greensleeves 1970-74 1989
Presents Confusion Lee Scratch Perry Presents Confusion DB2CD161 CD Doctor Bird 1971 2025
Straighten Up Various Artists Straighten Up PMP 2002 LP Pama 1971 1971
This Is Reggae Vol 2 Various Artists This Is Reggae Vol 2 PMP 2005 LP Pama 1971 1971
The Trojan Albums Collection Lee Scratch Perry & The Upsetters The Trojan Albums Collection TJDCD 565 CD Trojan 1971-73 2017
From Matador's Arena Vol 3 Various Artists From Matador's Arena Vol 3 JMC 200.224 CD Jamaican Gold 1971-79 1994
Burning Up Vol 1 Various Artists Burning Up Vol 1 CDTRL 336 CD Trojan 1973-83 1994
Tafari History Various Artists Tafari History CD Sunshine 1974-79 2001
Love & Harmony Fred Locks & Friends Love & Harmony FORM 1091 LP Form 1978 1978
Way Back When Various Artists Way Back When LP Matador 1979 1979
Nebuchadnezzar King Of Babylon Fred Locks & The Steppers Nebuchadnezzar King Of Babylon REV 001 LP Revelations 197X
Rebel Music Various Artists Rebel Music CDTRD 403 CD Trojan 197X 1989
Scandal Various Artists Scandal LP Matador 197X
Sounds And Pressure Vol 1 Various Artists Sounds And Pressure Vol 1 PSCD 05 CD Pressure Sounds 197X 1995
Sounds And Pressure Vol 2 Various Artists Sounds And Pressure Vol 2 PSCD 10 CD Pressure Sounds 197X 1996
The Twelve Tribes Of Israel Various Artists The Twelve Tribes Of Israel DSR 9734 LP Orthodox 197X 1980
Tighten Up Vol 5 Various Artists Tighten Up Vol 5 TBL 165 LP Trojan 197X 1971
Trojan Roots Reggae Boxset Various Artists Trojan Roots Reggae Boxset TJETD 296 CD Trojan 197X 2005
Trojan Seventies Box Set Various Artists Trojan Seventies Box Set TJETD 192 CD Trojan 197X 2004
Uprising Various Artists Uprising DKR 252 LP DKR 197X 2019
A Place Called Africa Various Artists A Place Called Africa TJDDD 041 CD Trojan 197X-8X 2002
Burning Up Vol 2 Various Artists Burning Up Vol 2 BS 1059 LP Burning Sounds 197X-8X 1984
From Studio One To Drum Street Vol 2 Willi Williams From Studio One To Drum Street Vol 2 CD M 10 197X-8X
Knotty Vision Various Artists Knotty Vision NH 306 LP Nighthawk 1983 1983
5 albums
5 credits
5 labels
1975 - 1996