SINGER O.C. ROBERTS RELEASES HIS LATEST SINGLE “GAMBLING WITH OUR LIVES!”

Singer O.C. Roberts had taken a break from recording music after moving to Detroit in the 1990’s. Though he was lead singer for The Samaritans band, his studio output in the Motor City was far from prolific.
Just over 10 years ago he was prodded to return to the studio by his longtime friend Ansell Collins, one of Jamaica’s respected musicians.
“From dat wi nuh stop work together…every two weeks I do at least three songs ’cause Glen (Washington) an’ Ansell always sending me riddims,” said Roberts.

Gambling With Our Lives is Roberts and Collins’ latest joint production. Driven by the beat of Black Uhuru’s Shine Eye Gal, it was released two weeks ago by Tuff Gong International.
The single is produced for OCR Music, Roberts’ label.
“Is a thing (OCR Music) mi have fi a while but never get di chance fi expose it. But it in di musical burner fi some time,” Roberts explained.
Gambling With Our Lives — which takes shots at world leaders for targeting Africa with epidemics like Ebola and Coronavirus — is the second OCR Music/Tuff Gong International release for 2020. Lie, the first, was released in May.

Roberts is from Kingston, the Jamaica capital. That’s where he started his career in the early 1970’s working with bands like The Titans which also had Washington on drums and future Inner Circle member Charles Farqhuarson playing keyboards.
His first song, a cover of Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes’ Wake up Everybody, was released in 1975. Roberts and business partner Desmond Patterson started the Electro Sun label shortly after, producing songs like Funny Feeling and Hey You.

For years, the jocular Roberts was known in Detroit as a member of The Samaritans, which established itself on the regional reggae circuit. He also hosted the long running Reggae Sound Blast on WDTR FM, a public radio station. 
When his radio gig ended, he was encouraged to return to recording by Collins, best known as the composer of the classic instrumentals, Double Barrel and Stalag.

O.C. Roberts’ comeback was complete last year with the release of the Tuff Gong International-distributed Made in Jamaica, an album which included several of the songs he and Collins collaborated on over the years.