Steely & Clevie

{{Short description|Jamaican production duo}} {{Use British English|date=September 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox musical artist  | name = Steely & Clevie | image = | caption = | image_size =  | background = group_or_band | alias = | origin = [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]], Jamaica | genre = {{hlist|[[Dancehall]]| [[reggae]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/steely-clevie-mn0000011887/discography|title = Steely & Clevie Albums and Discography|website = [[AllMusic]]}}</ref>}} | years_active = 1973–2009 | label = Steely & Clevie<br />[[Profile Records|Profile]]<br />[[Rounder Records|Rounder]]<br />[[VP Records|VP]] | associated_acts = [[Dave Kelly (musician)|Dave Kelly]], Louis “Flabba” Malcolm, Steven “Lenky” Marsden, [[Sly & Robbie]], [[Jeremy Harding]], [[King Jammy]], Mr. Doo | website = [https://www.myspace.com/steelyandclevie Myspace]<br />[http://www.steelyandclevie.com/ Website]

| current_members = Cleveland "Clevie" Browne | past_members = Wycliffe "Steely" Johnson }}

'''Steely & Clevie''' was a [[Jamaica]]n [[dancehall|dancehall reggae]] production duo that was composed of members Wycliffe Johnson and Cleveland Browne.<ref name="Larkin80">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2003|edition=Third|isbn=1-85227-969-9|page=442}}</ref> The duo worked with artists such as [[the Specials]], Gregory Peck ("Poco Man Jam," 1990), [[Bounty Killer]], [[Elephant Man (musician)|Elephant Man]], and [[No Doubt]].

Steely debuted as a keyboardist with [[Sugar Minott]]'s Youth Promotion collective in the 1970s, playing the keyboards on Minott's 1978 album, ''Ghetto-ology''.<ref name="Larkin80"/> Clevie pioneered the use of [[drum machine]]s in reggae. Steely and Clevie first played together at [[Lee "Scratch" Perry]]'s Black Ark Studios during the late 1970s. In 1986, the duo was the house band at King Jammy's Studio, which became the center point of late-1980s reggae, by which time Steely & Clevie were established production leaders with an immense slew of 12-inch and dub singles. The duo formed the Steely & Clevie label in 1987, a year in which reggae [[riddim]]s and dub-influenced hip-hop production by Ced Gee and [[KRS-One]] in the Bronx became prominent.<ref name="Larkin80"/>

In 1993, Steely and Clevie produced and co-wrote three tracks from [[Billy Ocean]]'s eighth studio album ''[[Time to Move On (album)|Time to Move On]]'', including the single "[[Pressure (Billy Ocean song)|Pressure]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/time-to-move-on-mw0000095853|title=Time to Move On - Billy Ocean | Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=9 November 2019}}</ref> In 1994, Steely and Clevie produced a new version of the 1967 track "[[You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)]]" by [[Dawn Penn]] for the album ''Steely and Clevie Play Studio One Vintage''. The track was released as a single that same year and became a US [[Billboard Hot 100]] hit.<ref name="Inc.1994">{{cite magazine |title=Billboard Hot 100 Singles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QggEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA94 |access-date=7 May 2013 |date=16 April 1994 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |page=94}}</ref>

In 2004, Steely was charged with dangerous driving after being involved in an accident in which high-school student Shakara Harris was fatally injured.<ref>[http://www.jamaica-star.com/thestar/20050107/ent/ent1.html "Going against the Norm."] ''The Jamaica Star''. Retrieved 16 April 2007.</ref> Steely was cleared of all charges in November 2005.<ref>[http://www.yardflex.com/archives/2005_11.html "Steely Freed of Dangerous Driving—Victim Died"] ''YardFlex''</ref>

On 1 September 2009, Steely died in a hospital in [[East Patchogue, New York]]. He had been suffering from pneumonia after having recovered from kidney complications in December 2008. He had surgery for a blood clot in the brain shortly before he died.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kenner |first=Rob |date=2009-09-06 |title=Wycliffe Johnson, Boisterous Reggae Producer and Musician, Dies at 47 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/arts/music/06steely.html |access-date=2023-05-12}}</ref> Clevie continues to produce and record.

In 2021, Steely’s estate and Clevie filed a lawsuit in California’s central district court against [[Universal Music Group]] and [[Warner Chappell Music]] for ownership of over 1,800 [[reggaeton]] songs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://worldmusicviews.com/more-songs-brought-into-evidence-in-steely-and-clevie-estate-copyright-case-including/|title=Drake Among Those Named As More Than 1000 Songs Are Brought Into Evidence In The Steely And Clevie Vs Reggaeton Copyright Case|first=Donovan|last=Watkis|website=Worldmusicviews.com|date=23 April 2023|access-date=9 October 2025}}</ref> The Fish Market [[riddim]], produced by the duo in the 1980s, became the basis for reggaeton's [[Dem Bow]] riddim, which has been used in over 1,800 tracks according to the suit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://worldmusicviews.com/music-power-move-steely-clevie-seek-ownership-of-1800-reggaeton-tracks-through-dem-bow-registration/|title=Music Power Move: Steely & Clevie Seek Ownership of 1800 Reggaeton Tracks With Newly Obtained "Dem Bow" Registration|first=Donovan|last=Watkis|website=Worldmusicviews.com|date=9 August 2023|access-date=9 October 2025}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/music-obituaries/6175377/Wycliffe-Steely-Johnson.html Wycliffe "Steely" Johnson]—Daily Telegraph obituary * {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p2941}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steely and Clevie}} [[Category:Jamaican reggae musical groups]] [[Category:ROIR artists]] [[Category:Electronic music duos]] [[Category:Jamaican record producers]] [[Category:Jamaican musical duos]] [[Category:Reggae duos]] [[Category:Profile Records artists]] [[Category:Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica]] [[Category:Record production duos]]