Pat Kelly, the man with the golden voice, ended his earthly experience and is winging his way to join that ever-expanding orchestra in the Great Beyond.
He left the world a much richer place than he found it.
Born in 1949 in Kingston, Jamaica, Pat Kelly was one of the island's leading purveyors of the rocksteady genre. The Curtis Mayfield sound-alike took Slim Smith's place alongside Bruce Ruffin & Winston Riley in the Techniques around 1966. The group recorded some fine covers of soul music especially Impressions tunes. The new Technique lineup debuted with "You Don't Care" a remake of the Impressions' "You'll Want Me Back," which they later recorded under the correct title. "Minstrel & Queen," another Impressions oldie, followed, and the Techniques were rolling with chain of hits that included "My Girl" and "Love Is Not A Gamble."
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Kelly was born in Kingston in 1949. After leaving school, he spent a year studying electronics in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States during 1966, before returning to Jamaica.[1] In 1967, when Slim Smith left The Techniques, Kelly was brought in to replace him, recording for Duke Reid in the rocksteady era when Reid's Treasure Isle studio/label was dominating Jamaican music.[1] 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.[1] 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 with "Queen Majesty", "My Girl", "Love Is Not a Gamble", "It's You I Love", and "Run Come Celebrate".[1][2]
A message for today:
It's hard to build a better nation with different races
When every day we're at war with newly [sic] faces
No godly love, but there is always a daily grace
And nothing could erase each night's horrible traces
Yet they talk about love, they talk about love
They talk about love, they talk about love, love, love, sweet love
Day in, day out, the nation fights for more power (brotherly love)
But it's easier to write a story in a longer hour
No brotherly love, no sisterly love for their own
And it took a miracle to put love into heritage
.
To fully appreciate the beauty of Pat Kelly’s voice, one just must take a few minutes to listen to this next song. Pure beauty, undiluted beauty, effortless beauty.
Rock Steady at its best, baby! Just listen:
Is this Pat Kelly or Sam Cooke? Regardless, this is a Skinhead favorite.
I’m in the mood for love…
Queen Majesty:
For emphasis...because I really, really want to talk with you:
Well yes, they really want to have a chat with Her Majesty. :)
Rest in peace, Mr. Kelly. You brought joy, you brought beauty, and you paved the way for so many others. You did your job and you did it beautifully. Thank you.