AFTER 55-YEARS IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS, AUDLEY ROLLEN IS STILL GOING STRONG!

By Howard Campbell—

Audley Rollen

In 1967 when Audley Rollen started his recording career, rocksteady was still the craze in Jamaica. The singer has seen, and undergone, his share of changes over those 55 years.

On May 25, he released I Need You, his 11th album which he co-produced with keyboardist Jason Farmer. It contains Never Knew Love Till You, a rocksteady ballad that topped reggae charts in South Florida and New York in 2021; and Close to You, another chart-topper in those regions.

But for a cover of Mel Carter’s 1965 yearning Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Rollen maintains his commitment to original material.

“As far as covers are concerned, it’s not really my thing. Now, don’t get me wrong because I’ve done a few, but I learnt a long time ago if you can’t cover a song as good as the original or better, then don’t do it. When you cover a song, it should have a new, creative twist that reveals a different approach that makes it interestingly different but enjoyable,” said Rollen. “Folks should know the song but they should be taken on a new journey hearing the song as never before.”

Rollen’s debut came as a backing vocalist on Summertime Rock, a song by The Progressions. In 1968, he went solo on Whisper A Little Prayer for producer Keith Hudson, with whom he recorded a handful of songs.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Rollen lived in east Kingston, a period which defined his maturity as an artiste. While there, he recorded and performed with The Hippy Boys, The Emotions and Youth Professionals which included artistes and musicians such as Milton Henry, Aston “Family Man” Barrett, Carlton Barrett, Robbie Shakespeare, Benbow Creary, and Bernard “Touter” Harvey.

Now an ordained minister of religion in Florida, Rollen stays fresh while sticking to the musical principles he learned early in the music business.

“In my opinion, when you stop growing as an artiste you become stagnant and irrelevant, and you tend to resort to the easy way out by consistently putting something on an old rhythm, or just covering songs without adding new twists to them — and that’s not me,” he said. “I strive to create and grow every day by formulating new chord progressions and vocal phrases to use in my music.”