Respect | B.B. Seaton

B.B. Seaton

B.B Seaton christened Harris Lloyd Seaton, born September 3rd under the star sign Virgo, is a rare combination of talent. A singer with a soulful voice, a qualified musician, producer and one of the most prolific song writers in the history of Jamaican music.

B.B started singing and writing songs from his high school days, and grew up listening to groups like The Platters, The Drifters, The Temptations and The Four Tops to name but a few.

He had his first big hit in Jamaica when teaming up with Delano Stewart and Maurice Roberts to form ‘The Gaylads’. They recorded the hit single ‘Lady with the red Dress’ on Clement Dodd’s Studio One label in 1967. A series of hits like ‘You Should Never Do That’, ‘No Good Girl’, ‘Chipmunk Ska’, ‘Stop Making Love Beside Me’, ‘Love Me With All Your Heart’, ‘Red Rose’, ‘You’ll Never Leave Him’, ‘Africa’ followed including two albums ‘Soul Beat’ and ‘Gaylads Sing Folks’.

At Wirl Records they gave us tracks like ‘Joy In The Morning’ and ‘She Want It’. At Tip Top Records, ‘Hard To Confess’, ‘Over The Rainbows End’, ‘I Need Your Loving’, ‘ABC Rocksteady’ and at Beverley’s Records, ‘My Jamaican Girl’, ‘There’s A Fire’, ‘Soul Sister’, ‘Fire & Rain’, ‘We Three Kings’.

Going Solo…

After ten years of working with companies in Jamaica like Studio One, Tip Top Records, Beverley’s Records and Treasure Isle Records as either A & R, Producer, Writer, Musician and Backing Vocalist, B.B. decided to go solo.

In 1972 he recorded his first solo single ‘Accept My Apology’ which was an instant hit and there was no turning back from then on. His version of Bill Withers ‘Lean On Me’, ‘Persuaders’, ‘Thin Line Between Love & Hate’, ‘Rainbow Love’, ‘One Thing Leads To Another’, ‘God Bless Our Love’, ‘Can’t Hide The Feeling’, ‘Sweet Caroline’, ‘All The Best’, ‘Miss My Schooldays’ and ‘My Jamaican Girl’, ‘Everyday People’, ‘Born Free’, were also hits.

B.B has also written songs for top Jamaican and English artists like Ken Boothe, Marcia Griffiths, Joy White, Merlyn Brooks, Jennifer Laura, Mike Brooks, Dennis Brown, Delroy Wilson, The Chosen Few, Home T 4, Freddie Mc Gregor, Aswad, UB40, Beats International, Jimmy London, The Melodians, The Uniques, Saint & Campbell, Busty Brown, Maxi Priest, Judy Boucher, The Inner Circle, Winston Francis, Denzil Dennis, AJ Franklyn , Earl Sixteen and Ruddy Thomas.

As A & R at Studio One, Tip Top Records and Beverley’s Records, he auditioned and passed artists like The Heptones, The Melodians, Kingstonians, Lloyd Parks (as The Termites), Fredlocks (as the Lyrics), Dudley Sibbles and introduced Jackie Mittoo to Coxsone at Studio One. He served as executive member and Vice President for the Jamaica Federation of Musicians, he received the El Suzie award as best song writer and the Jamaican Cultural Development award, in 1981 – 1982 for pioneering Jamaican music as a singer and songwriter.

In 1997 he received the MKB – Desnoes & Geddes award for his 38 years of invaluable contribution to the development and growth of Jamaican music since 1959, he received the IRWMA (International Reggae & World Music Award) Hall of Fame / Lifetime Award in 2007, he received the Reggae Heritage Award in 2008. …from the gallery with the Astronauts on guitar with Slim Smith in London 1976 working in Treasure Isle
studio with Errol Brown and Willie Lindo, 1976 on stage with the reunited Gaylads.

Now…

BB is now releasing some of his vintage productions on his Soul Beat Record label in London, whilst his son Richard is releasing Hip-Hop music on the Soul Beat Record label USA.

His ambition is to write a song that the whole world will sing..