# Lord Tanamo

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**Joseph Abraham Gordon** (2 October 1934 – 15 April 2016), better known as **Lord Tanamo**, was a [Jamaican](/source/Jamaica)-Canadian singer and songwriter best known for his [mento](/source/Mento) and [ska](/source/Ska) work.

## Career

Born in [Kingston](/source/Kingston,_Jamaica) and raised in Denham Town in the West of the city, Gordon was influenced by [Lord Kitchener](/source/Lord_Kitchener_(calypsonian)), who lived in Jamaica in the 1940s.[1] His interest in music began at an early age when he heard a [rumba box](/source/Marimbula) being played by local musician Cecil Lawes.[2] He went on to perform locally as a teenager, singing calypsos accompanied by Lawes, and began performing in hotels in the early 1950s.[3]

He first recorded for Kingston businessman and [sound system](/source/Sound_system_(Jamaican)) operator [Stanley Motta](/source/Stanley_Motta), and later recorded with a backing band that included [Theophilus Beckford](/source/Theophilus_Beckford) and [Ernest Ranglin](/source/Ernest_Ranglin).[4] His early hits included "Blues Have Got Me Down" (1960) for producer Emil Shallit.[5]

He switched to ska in the early 1960s, and was a founding member of [the Skatalites](/source/The_Skatalites), singing with the band on tracks such as "Come Down" and "I'm in the Mood For Ska".[1][3][5][6] He recorded for [Clement Dodd](/source/Clement_Dodd), [Duke Reid](/source/Duke_Reid), and Lindon Pottinger in the 1960s, and had hits with adapted folk songs such as "Iron Bar" and "Matty Rag", and had further hits with songs such as "Ol' Fowl".[3] In 1965 he won the [Festival Song Contest](/source/Jamaica_Independence_Festival#Popular_Song_Contest) with "Come Down".[7] In 1970, he recorded a reggae [cover](/source/Cover_version) of [Tony Joe White](/source/Tony_Joe_White)'s "[Rainy Night in Georgia](/source/Rainy_Night_in_Georgia)", which was a [number one](/source/Chart-topper) hit in Jamaica for seven weeks. He was based in Canada from the mid-1970s, where he married a local woman and opened the Record Nook shop, selling Jamaican-produced records, although he returned to Jamaica to record.[1][2] During one of these trips back he recorded the 1979 [album](/source/Album) *Calypso Reggae*, for [Bunny Lee](/source/Bunny_Lee).[8]

In 1990, his ska cover of "[I'm in the Mood for Love](/source/I'm_in_the_Mood_for_Love)" gave him his only UK hit, reaching no. 58 in the [UK Singles Chart](/source/UK_Singles_Chart) after being featured in a television advert for [Paxo](/source/Paxo) in 1989.[9][10]

In 2002, Tanamo performed as part of the 'Legends of Ska' concerts in [Toronto](/source/Toronto), the performances recorded and released as a film in 2014.[11] Tanamo continued to perform with the Skatalites into the 21st century, including a set at the 2003 [Glastonbury Festival](/source/Glastonbury_Festival).[12]

In January 2008 it was stated in a Jamaican [newspaper](/source/Newspaper) that Tanamo was in a [nursing home](/source/Nursing_home) in Canada after suffering a [stroke](/source/Stroke) that had left him unable to speak.[13] He died in Toronto on 15 April 2016.[1]

## Discography

### Albums

- *Come, Come, Come To Jamaica – Independence Year 1962* (1964), [RCA](/source/RCA_Records) – Lord Tanamo and his Calypsonians
- *Festival Jump-Up* (1965), Gaydisc
- *Calypso Reggae* (1979), Third World
- *Rolling Steady* (2007), Motion — The Skatalites
- *Best Place in the World* (2000), Grover — Lord Tanamo with [Dr. Ring-Ding](/source/Dr._Ring-Ding) & The Senior Allstars

**Compilations**

- *Skament-Movement* (1992), Alpha Enterprise — Lord Tanamo with The Skatalites (reissued 1999 as *Skamento Movement*)
- *In the Mood For Ska* (1993), [Trojan](/source/Trojan_Records) – Lord Tanamo with The Skatalites
- *I'm in the Mood for Ska! The Best of Lord Tanamo* (2007), Trojan

## References

1. "[Lord Tanamo Dies in Canada](http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Lord-Tanamo-dies-in-Canada_58660)", *[Jamaica Observer](/source/Jamaica_Observer)*, 24 April 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016

1. ["NOW: Ska lessons, Jul 11 – 17, 2002"](https://web.archive.org/web/20071013111955/http://nowtoronto.com/issues/2002-07-11/music_feature.php). 13 October 2007. Archived from [the original](http://nowtoronto.com/issues/2002-07-11/music_feature.php) on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2018.

1. "Lord Tanamo's Switch to Ska Paid Off", *Jamaica Star*, 5 June 1964

1. Katz, David (2009) *People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee 'Scratch' Perry*, Omnibus Press, ISBN 978-1846094439, p. 20

1. Thompson, Dave (2002) *Reggae & Caribbean Music*, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6, p. 182, 263, 326

1. Augustyn, Heather (2013) *Don Drummond: The Genius and Tragedy of the World's Greatest Trombonist*, McFarland, ISBN 978-0786475476, p. 100

1. Gooden, Lou (2003) *Reggae Heritage: Jamaica's Music History, Culture & Politic*, 1st Book Library, ISBN 978-1410780621, p. 355

1. ["Lord Tanamo biography"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070928082150/http://www.tallawah.com/tanamo_bio.pdf). Archived from [the original](http://www.tallawah.com/tanamo_bio.pdf) on 28 September 2007.

1. Greene, Jo-Ann. ["I'm in the Mood for Ska"](http://www.allmusic.com/song/im-in-the-mood-for-ska-t1509861). AllMusic. Retrieved 15 September 2011.

1. "[Lord Tanamo](http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/26625/lord-tanamo/)", [Official Charts Company](/source/Official_Charts_Company). Retrieved 24 April 2016

1. Kerr, Euan (2014) "[Minnesotan's film captures the magic of Jamaican ska](http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/11/13/legends-of-ska)", mprnews.org, 13 November 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2016

1. "[Glastonbury 2003: One World Stage](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/may/30/glastonbury2003.glastonbury4)", theguardian.com, 30 May 2003. Retrieved 24 April 2016

1. "[\[1\]](http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/onhold/20090113T200000-0500_144784_OBS_LORD_TANAMO_SUFFERS_STROKE__ABANDONED_IN__CANADIAN_NURSING_HOME_.asp) [dead link]

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