# Carl Malcolm

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{{Short description|Jamaican reggae singer and percussionist (born 1952)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Carl Malcolm
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1952|07|18|df=y}}
| birth_place     = [Black River](/source/Black_River%2C_Jamaica), [St. Elizabeth](/source/Saint_Elizabeth_Parish), Jamaica
| death_date =
| instrument      = Vocals, drums
| genre = [Ska](/source/Ska), [rocksteady](/source/rocksteady), [reggae](/source/reggae)
| occupation =
| years_active = 1965–present
| label =
| associated_acts = The Volcanoes<br />Big Relations
| website = 
}}

'''Carl Malcolm''' (born 18 July 1952) is a Jamaican [reggae](/source/reggae) and conscious roots singer and percussionist.

==Biography==
Malcolm initially learned the keyboard, picking up skills on the instrument at his local [Methodist](/source/Methodist) church.<ref name="Larkin">Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, {{ISBN|0-7535-0242-9}}, p. 179</ref> He attended St. Elizabeth Technical High School before moving to [Kingston](/source/Kingston%2C_Jamaica), where he worked for a shoe company and was a reservist in the [Jamaica Defence Force](/source/Jamaica_Defence_Force).<ref name="Larkin" /> In 1965 he joined his first group, The Volcanoes, alongside Al Brown, the pair staying together until 1969.<ref name="Larkin" /> Malcolm then gave up music while he continued his studies, but returned when he joined the group Big Relations, led by [Sister Mary Ignatius Davies](/source/Sister_Mary_Ignatius_Davies) of [Alpha Boys' School](/source/Alpha_Boys'_School) protege, the trumpet & flugelhorn player, Jo Jo Bennett.<ref name="Larkin" /> Malcolm recorded briefly as a solo artist, recording the [social consciousness](/source/social_consciousness)-aware liberation tune, ''Father Free Us,'' with [Cedric Brooks](/source/Cedric_Brooks) versioning ''Satta'' on the 'b' side, for [Clement "Coxsone" Dodd](/source/Clement_%22Coxsone%22_Dodd)'s [Studio One](/source/Studio_One_(record_label)) label, before spending time in the United States.<ref name="Larkin" /> 

On his return to Jamaica he was employed by [Rupie Edwards](/source/Rupie_Edwards) as the branch manager of the ''Success Records'' shop at [Half Way Tree](/source/Half_Way_Tree). He also began recording again, including the 1973 [Clive Chin](/source/Clive_Chin) production ''No Jestering'' (also versioned by [Augustus Pablo](/source/Augustus_Pablo), [Big Youth](/source/Big_Youth) and [Pablove Black](/source/Pablove_Black) ), and the follow-up on [Randy Chin](/source/Randy_Chin)'s ''Impact!'' record  label, ''Miss Wire Waist'', which topped the UK reggae chart when it was issued there in 1975, backed by [Lloyd Parks](/source/Lloyd_Parks)' Skin, Flesh and Bones band, who later became [The Revolutionaries](/source/The_Revolutionaries). ''Miss Wire Waist'' was versioned much later in the 1990s as a digital [lovers rock](/source/lovers_rock) [discomix](/source/discomix) by [Scotty (reggae vocalist)](/source/Scotty_(reggae_vocalist)) and [Mafia & Fluxy](/source/Mafia_%26_Fluxy), produced by [Tapper Zukie](/source/Tapper_Zukie)'s brother, "Blackbeard" Sinclair and The Ring Craft Posse.<ref name="Larkin" />

Malcolm had his greatest success in September 1975 with ''Fattie Bum-Bum''. This was picked up for release by independent label UK Records after Dave Cash started to play it on his Capital Radio programme, and it quickly got to number 2 on the station's 'Hitline' listeners' chart. It eventually reached number 8 on the [UK Singles Chart](/source/UK_Singles_Chart).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/carl%20malcolm/|title=Carl Malcolm|publisher=Official Charts Company|accessdate=28 May 2013}}</ref><ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= British Hit Singles & Albums
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited 
| location= London
| page= 344
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5}}</ref> It remained in the [chart](/source/record_chart) for eight weeks.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> The track was written by Malcolm and [produced](/source/record_producer) by [Clive Chin](/source/Clive_Chin), son of [Randy Chin](/source/Randy_Chin). It had been copied in a [cover version](/source/cover_version) by UK group The Diversions (a band featuring [New wave music](/source/New_wave_music) chanteuse [Lene Lovich](/source/Lene_Lovich)) on [Gull](/source/Gull_(record_label)), which also charted (reaching #34), diverting some sales away from Malcolm's version.<ref name="Larkin" /> It was also covered in 1976 by Finnish band, [Musakatit](/source/Musakatit).<ref>Who Sampled - [https://www.whosampled.com/cover/147191/Musakatit-Lihava-on-L%C3%A4mmin-Carl-Malcolm-Fattie-Bum-Bum/ Musakatit > Lihava on Lämmin > Musakatit cover of Carl Malcolm's 'Fattie Bum-Bum']</ref><ref>Swiss Charts - [http://www.swisscharts.com/song/Musakatit/Lihava-on-laemmin-2523063 Musakatit – Lihava on lämmin]</ref>  Although this was Malcolm's only mainstream chart success, his vocal and dub [discomix](/source/discomix) records made a significant impact on the reggae charts in 1977 with his releases ''[Repatriation](/source/Repatriation)'' and ''Take a Tip From Me'', both recorded with [Ranking Trevor](/source/Ranking_Trevor) for [King Sounds](/source/King_Sounds)' ''Grove Music'' conscious [roots reggae](/source/roots_reggae) record label, securing his reputation with the [Lloyd Coxsone](/source/Lloyd_Coxsone) and [Jah Shaka](/source/Jah_Shaka) sound system followers of the time.<ref name="Larkin" />

Carl Malcolm is also a percussionist and drummer, whose Rockers, [One drop rhythm](/source/One_drop_rhythm) and Steppers styles can be heard on [The Melodians](/source/The_Melodians)' ''Swing & Dine'';,<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r127177|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic.com – album credits 1]</ref> [Pat Kelly](/source/Pat_Kelly_(musician))'s ''Butterflies'';<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r292381|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic.com – album credits 2]</ref> and on [Glen Brown](/source/Glen_Brown)'s album, ''The Way to Mt. Zion''.<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r223998|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic.com – album credits 3]</ref>

==See also==
*[Fatty Boom Boom](/source/Fatty_Boom_Boom)

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malcolm, Carl}}
Category:1952 births
Category:Living people
Category:People from Saint Elizabeth Parish
Category:Jamaican male singers
Category:Jamaican male songwriters

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Carl Malcolm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Malcolm) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Malcolm?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.