The Paragons

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For the US doo-wop group, see Winley Records.

The Paragons were a ska and rocksteady vocal group from Kingston, Jamaica, initially active in the 1960s. Their most famous track was "The Tide Is High", written by band member, John Holt.[1]

Career

The Paragons were originally Garth "Tyrone" Evans, Bob Andy, Junior Menz, and Leroy Stamp. In 1964 Stamp was replaced by John Holt, and Howard Barret replaced Menz.[1]

The early Paragons sound used the tight vocal harmonies of Jamaican groups of the early 1960s. Beginning in 1964, the group recorded "Memories by the Score", "On the Beach", "Only a Smile", "Wear You to the Ball", and "Happy Go Lucky Girl" on the Treasure Isle record label with record producer, Duke Reid.[1][2]

The Paragons' recordings, most famously "Tide Is High", written by Holt, and featuring the violin of "White Rum" Raymond, are among the highlights of Jamaican popular music.[1] "The Tide Is High" was taken to the top of the UK and US charts by Blondie in 1980;[3] while Atomic Kitten's cover version also topped the UK Singles Chart in 2002.[4]

The group reformed in the late 1970s and released further albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Discography

Contributing artist

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Biography by John Dougan". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 15 November 2009. 
  2. ↑ O'Brien Chang, Kevin & Chen, Wayne (1998), Reggae Routes, Temple University Press, ISBN 978-1-56639-629-5, p. 41.
  3. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 64. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
  4. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 33. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 

External links

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