By Howard Campbell—
BACK in 1975 when he attended basic school in Kingston, one of Ian Heywood’s favourite songs was Rhinestone Cowboy by Glen Campbell.
It was an international hit for the American country singer and the biggest of his storied career. Heywood, who is known as singer Ian Sweetness, recently covered Rhinestone Cowboy, reggae-style.
“I’m a fan of Glen Campbell, Rhinestone Cowboy is a song I used to hear in the morning going to school. I grow up on it,” said Sweetness, who lives in Fort Lauderdale.
His version of the pop-country song was co-produced by Natty Power Records and Audio Sweetness Productions. It was released digitally in August, and made the No.1 spot on the South Florida Reggae Chart for two weeks!
Sweetness, who is in his early 40s, hails from the east Kingston area of Mountain View and has been recording since 1988. After living for several years in New York City, he moved to South Florida two years ago.
He has recorded for different producers since moving to the Sunshine State. He spoke about the difference between that region’s reggae scene and the Big Apple’s.
“New York has more wider range by far but in Florida you can focus more and see where I want to go musically. I also have more access to my musicians,” he said.
Ian Sweetness has covered a lot of ground in his 26-year career, but admits that “I don’t have no successful song to the level my dream is”.
He hopes Rhinestone Cowboy, the song he first heard almost 40 years ago, will be his breakthrough.
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