Third World Biography

Overview

Biography

Songs

Similar Artists

CDs

DVDs

Vinyl

Movie Cast / Crew

All The Way Strong

Third World

Tuff Mi Tuff [Import]

Journey to Addis

The Best of Third World

Ultimate Collection

Prisoner in the Street

Reggae band blending roots and soul, comprising Michael "Ibo" Cooper (keyboards), Stephen "Cat" Coore (6 April 1950, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies; guitar/cello), Richard Daley (bass), Willie "Roots" Stewart (drums), Irvin "Carrot" Jarrett (percussion), Bunny Rugs (b. William Clarke, 6 February 1948, Mandeville, Jamaica, West Indies; lead vocals/guitar) and Milton "Prilly" Hamilton (vocals). Coore and Cooper first played together at the end of the 60s, and the early years of the band saw the line-up in a state of flux. Coore, Cooper and Daley, plus drummer Carl Barovier (later replaced by Cornell Marshall and Willie Stewart), had all played with Inner Circle, a band that pursued a similar "uptown reggae" course. Their mellow, carefully crafted debut, Third World, found them signed to Island Records and supporting Bob Marley at his breakthrough concerts at London's Lyceum in the summer of 1975. 96 Degrees In The Shade found the band and the new singer, Bunny Rugs, in fine form, and delivered a huge international hit in the shape of a cover version of the O'Jays/Gamble And Huff song, "Now That We've Found Love". The Journey To Addis album offered more of the same - a mix of roots and sweet soul. Further hits, "Cool Meditation" (1979), "Dancing On The Floor" (1981) and "Try Jah Love" (1982), the latter two for a new label, CBS Records, kept their name in the public eye. A lone record for Winston "Niney" Holness in Jamaica accurately summarized their attitude: "Roots With Quality". The late 80s saw the band increasingly lauded in the USA, attracting album contributions from Stevie Wonder, Stetsasonic's Daddy-O, the Brecker Brothers and Jamal-Ski. In the late 90s the line-up comprised Clarke, Coore, Daley, Tony Williams, Leroy Romans and Rupert Bent Jnr. In 1999, the band released, "Reggae Party", featuring the DJ skills of Bounty Killer, and enlisted Mikel Wallace to replace the departing Romans.

Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.