Tony Chin... The rhythm in Soul Syndicate: Jamaica Observer
Tony Chin... The rhythm in Soul
Syndicate
Howard
Campbell
Jamaica
Observer
Friday, January 31,
2003
Tony
Chin
FOR much of the 1970s, one of the
leading show and recording bands in Jamaica was the Soul Syndicate Band. It was
a top-notch unit that included drummer Carlton "Santa" Davis, bass player George
"Fully" Fullwood, and guitarists Earl "Chinna" Smith and Tony
Chin.
Chin was born in Kingston; he grew
up in Trench Town and Greenwich Farm, areas bursting at the seams with musical
talent in the late 1960s when Chin began his recording career. An original
member of the Soul Syndicate Band, one of Chin's best-known songs from the early
years was Bob Marley's Mr Brown; but by 1972, the band had linked with upcoming
producer Winston "Niney" Holness and a fast-rising teenaged singer named Dennis
Brown.
Chin and the Soul Syndicate
played on several of Brown's hits for Holness, including Westbound Train and
Cassandra. As their reputation grew, so did the demand for them to play for
other acts including Ken Boothe (Silver Words); Johnny Clarke's Move Outa
Babylon; My Heart Is Gone by John Holt; Green Bay Killing by Big Youth and
Uptown Top Ranking, a smash hit in Jamaica and the United Kingdom in 1977 for
Althea and Donna.
His rhythmic runs can
be heard on albums such as Burning Spear's Marcus Garvey, Jimmy Cliff's Follow
My Mind and Judy Mowatt's classic Black Woman.
Chin migrated to the United States in
1981 where he continued to record and play the club scene in Los Angeles. In
1994, Chin and Davis helped a California band called Big Mountain to the top of
the Billboard charts with a remake of the Peter Frampton song, Baby I Love Your
Way.
Now in his late '40s, Chin
continues to record. In 2000, his first album, Music & Me, was released.
Posted: Tue - March 4, 2003 at 10:15 PM