# Devon Russell

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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2012}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Devon Russell
| image           =
| caption         =
| birth_name      = Devon Barrant Russell
| alias           =
| birth_date      = 6 August 1948 
| death_place     =
| death_date      = 18 June 1997 (aged 49)
| origin          =
| instrument      =
| genre           = [Rocksteady](/source/Rocksteady), [reggae](/source/reggae)
| occupation      = Singer, record producer
| years_active    = Mid-1960s–1997
| label           =
| website         = 
}}

'''Devon Russell''' (6 August 1948 – 18 June 1997) was a Jamaican [rocksteady](/source/rocksteady) and [reggae](/source/reggae) singer and record producer who recorded between the 1960s and the 1990s, both as a solo artist and as a member of [The Tartans](/source/The_Tartans) and [Cultural Roots](/source/Cultural_Roots).

==Biography==
Russell's career began in the 1960s with the Tartans, a group which also included [Prince Lincoln Thompson](/source/Prince_Lincoln_Thompson), Linbergh "Preps" Lewis, and [Cedric Myton](/source/Cedric_Myton).<ref name="Hamilton">Hamilton, Andrew "[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p214570/biography|pure_url=yes}} Devon Russell Biography]", [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic), Macrovision Corporation</ref> When the Tartans disbanded, Russell embarked on a solo career, and for a time joined Cultural Roots as lead singer. He also recorded with Myton as Devon & Cedric.<ref name="Thompson">Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, {{ISBN|978-0-87930-655-7}}, p.418</ref> In the mid-1970s, Russell recorded 11 songs for [Lee "Scratch" Perry](/source/Lee_%22Scratch%22_Perry) that were never released. In the early 1980s he recorded for [Clement "Coxsone" Dodd](/source/Clement_%22Coxsone%22_Dodd)'s [Studio One](/source/Studio_One_(record_label)) label, and his debut solo album, ''Roots Music'', was produced by Dodd and released on Sweet Music Records in 1982.<ref name="Hamilton" /> In 1983 he was asked to join [The Congos](/source/The_Congos) for a European tour, and he eventually relocated to the United Kingdom.<ref name="Larkin">Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, {{ISBN|0-7535-0242-9}}, p.259-260</ref> He moved on to work with [Roy Cousins](/source/Roy_Cousins) on his second album, ''Prison Life''. In the early 1990s he worked with [Zion Train](/source/Zion_Train) and [Skaville Train](/source/Skaville_Train).<ref name="Larkin" /> In 1996 his fourth album, ''Darker Than Blue'', was a tribute to [Curtis Mayfield](/source/Curtis_Mayfield) wholly comprising Mayfield [cover version](/source/cover_version)s.<ref name="Hamilton" />

His productions include [Big Youth](/source/Big_Youth)'s 1978 album ''Isaiah First Prophet of the Old''.<ref name="Hamilton" />

Russell died from a brain tumour on 18 June 1997<ref name="Hamilton" /> a year after the release of ''Darker Than Blue''.

==Discography==
*''Roots Music'' (1982) Studio One
*''Prison Life'' Tamoki Wambesi
*''This Cloak and Dagger'' (1988) World Enterprise
*''Rougher Yet'' (1989) Greensleeves (with The Cultural Roots)
*''Money Sex & Violence'' (1991) Runn (Devon Russell & the Cultural Roots)
*''Devon Russell Sings Roots Classics'' (1993) Universal Egg (with Zion Train)
*''Bible and the Gun'' (1996) Fire House
*''Darker Than Blue'' (1996) House of Reggae
*''3 The Hard Way Roots'' (1996) Uptempo (with [Willi Williams](/source/Willi_Williams) and [Nitty Gritty](/source/Nitty_Gritty))
*''Showcase'' (2003) Reggae Retro (with Skaville Train)
*''Home Bound Train'' P-Vine

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090603215827/http://roots-archives.com/artist/211 Devon Russell] at Roots Archives

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Devon}}
Category:1948 births
Category:1997 deaths
Category:Jamaican male singers
Category:Jamaican reggae singers

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