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Garth Dennis - Trenchtown 19 3rd Street

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Garth Dennis - Trenchtown 19 3rd Street

Garth Dennis - Trenchtown 19 3rd Street

By Howard Campbell on Saturday, October 24, 2015 - Comment

Member of Black Uhuru and Wailing Souls released his first solo album this year.

Sampler

With roots steeped in historic Trenchtown where he rubbed shoulders with the Wailers, Joe Higgs and Alton Ellis, Rudolph 'Garth' Dennis earned his stripes as a member of Black Uhuru and the Wailing Souls.

Garth Dennis - Trenchtown 19 3rd Street In February, the veteran singer opened a new phase of his career --- solo artiste. He released Trenchtown 19 3rd Street, his first solo album.

The 64-year-old Dennis worked with some key musicians like longfriend friend, drummer Sly Dunbar, on the 15-song set.

He started work on it in 2005, completed the album in early 2014. Three of his sons, Gyasi (drums), Saaed (keyboards) and Shaka (bass) also played on the project.

"There's a reason why I named this Trenchtown 19 3rd Street," said Dennis. "This is about a street where the greats like the Wailers, Mortimo Planno and Joe Higgs use to gather...it was like Heaven!"

'Trenchtown 19 3rd Street' contains the song Wondering Now, on which Dennis sings with his older sister Joey. She first recorded it in the 1960s as a ska singer at Studio One.

Most of Dennis' promotional dates for the album have been in Los Angeles where he has lived for over 25 years.

Garth Dennis is a founding member of Black Uhuru and the Wailing Souls, two of roots-reggae's fabled groups. With the latter, he scored a number of hits at Channel One in the 1970s, including Jah Jah Give us Life and Things and Time.

In the 1990s, he re-joined Black Uhuru along with original members Duckie Simpson and Don Carlos. They earned four Grammy Award nominations for Best Reggae Album before a nasty legal split that decade.

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