By Andrew Clunis,
Freelance Writer
JAMAICA'S MUSICAL luminary and philanthropist Chris Blackwell was on Monday night inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at a ceremony held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. The ceremony is to be aired tonight at 9:00 on VH1.
Blackwell was the only non-performer inducted at the 16th annual induction event.
Other inductees were performers Solomon Burke, Aerosmith, The Flamingoes, Michael Jackson, Queen, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Ritchie Valens and sidemen guitarist, James Burton and pianist, Johnnie Johnson.
Leaders in the music industry created the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1983 to honour persons who have made significant contributions to the development of the genre. Artistes become eligible 25 years after the release of their first record. Non-performers are chosen from among professionals who have made significant contributions to the development of rock and roll.
Blackwell is world renowned for his work with Bob Marley, but his musical exploits go a lot further. As his biography attests, the founder of Island Records, Chris Blackwell is the man most responsible for introducing reggae to the world, as well as one of rock and roll's most creative executives. He is responsible for signing and shaping the careers of such influential artists as Steve Winwood, U2, Bob Marley, Cat Stevens and Roxy Music. Blackwell was born in London, but largely grew up in Jamaica, where his mother had ancestral roots.
With an initial investment of $1,000, he formed a record label in 1959, calling it Island. Island debuted with a jazz album by blind Bermudian pianist, Lance Haywood. By 1962, the budding young record producer had issued two albums and 26 singles on his Island imprint.
Blackwell formally incorporated Island Records that year, returning to England to oversee the business. He began having success in Britain with Jamaican music. His first big hit was My Boy, Lollipop, by Jamaican teenager Millie Small. He next signed the Spencer Davis Group, featuring teenage singer Stevie Winwood. In 1967, Winwood left the band to form his own group, Traffic.
This innovative band became Island's first rock act and prompted Blackwell to move from ethnic music to rock and roll. He signed a number of influential British groups in the late 1960s, including Free, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Robert Palmer, Cat Stevens and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Blackwell returned to Jamaican music in the early 1970s, placing Jimmy Cliff, whom he managed, in the classic film The Harder They Come and signing Bob Marley to Island in 1971.
During that era, Island also signed such reggae masters as Toots and the Maytals, Third World, Black Uhuru and Burning Spear. Blackwell kept his hand on the pulse of rock, too. Such innovative artists as Roxy Music, Brian Eno, John Cale, Kevin Ayers, Nico, Marianne Faithfull, Tom Waits, Melissa Etheridge and U2 have been among those on Island's impressive artist roster.
In 1989, Blackwell sold Island to PolyGram Records, but Blackwell has remained active in the music business through his ownership of Palm Pictures and RykoPalm Records.
