By Howard Campbell—
With hit songs on radio and a strong presence in the dancehall, 1980 was a banner year for General Echo. But 40 years ago (November 22), the deejay and two colleagues were controversially killed by police in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital. Echo, who was 24, had arguably the biggest song in Jamaica that year with Arleen, produced by Winston Riley.
He was driving with Leon “Big John” Johns of the Stereophonic sound system, and Flux, selector for Echo’s Echo Tone sound system, when they were killed. The incident, which has never been resolved, ended the life of a promising toaster who transformed the dancehall from ‘culture’ to ‘slackness’ with a number of risque songs. Papa Michigan of Michigan and Smiley fame grew up in the working-class Allman Town community of Kingston with General Echo, who actually was a selector with Echo Tone when they first met. “He was very calm, very humble, soft-spoken; not flamboyant. Echo did jus’ love music,” Michigan recalled. Michigan began his career as a 16 year-old deejay on Echo Tone with Echo as selector. By the late 1970’s, Echo branched out as an artist with songs like Drunking Master for producer George Phang.
He also developed a reputation with not-fit-for-airplay songs such as Bathroom Sex and Lorna She Love Young Boy Banana. Those singles were played at dances and helped spark the beginning of dancehall’s slackness era. Echo’s finest moment, however, was Arleen, recorded on the powerful Stalag rhythm. It went, and stayed number one, for multiple weeks in Jamaica in 1980. By that time, Michigan and Smiley were hot with Nice up The Dance and One Love Jamdown.
Michigan says he last saw General Echo at a show in St. Catherine parish in 1979. He was shocked to hear of his death, but not at the impact his friend has on the dancehall 40 years later. “All a dem deejay who do slackness learn from Echo. Him show that yuh don’t have to be aggressive on a riddim to make it,” he said.
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