Get Together: Original Recordings 1970-1979
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Also available in NYC at VP Records
170-21 Jamaica Avenue
Jamaica, NY 11432, U.S.A.
Tel: (718) 297-5802
As a young boy growing up in Westmoreland, Keith Smith had dreams of becoming a star. His neighbors in this western Jamaican town included such future legends as Peter Tosh, Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Ronnie Davis of the Itals. At the age of 17, like many aspiring artists, Keith headed to Kingston to find a vehicle for his talents. In 1968, he formed his own band, 'Rocking Horse,' and began playing at local clubs and festivals. After a string of singles with Rocking Horse, Keith's wide vocal range and dynamic studio presence soon earned him the nickname 'poppin', from the original slang verb poppin', as in "poppin' all the right notes.'' He worked with Lloyd Parks in the early seventies, and in 1973 released his first solo single 'Same Thing For Breakfast.' This roots classic marked the beginning of a long and successful recording career, topping the charts in England and Jamaica and selling over 50,000 records.Now performing as 'Keith Poppin,' his bittersweet wail took him to number one again with the underground anthem 'Envious' in 1974, another number one song in Jamaica, and led to the album of the same name released in 1975. Keith continued his string of international hits, with the top five releases 'Why Make Believe' and 'Someday Girl' followed by 'Who Are You' which cracked the top ten in the UK in 1976 and appeared on the 1977 album 'Pop Inn' on the Burning Rockers label. Pop Inn featured the legendary rhythm section of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, and also featured the work of none other than Aston 'Family Man' Barrett. After that came more singles for LLoyd Campbell's Spiderman Label, "Whenever There is Moonlight' on Eagle and 'Get Together,' which was produced by Glen Brown. Throughout the late seventies, Keith had many additional releases on a variety of imprints such as 'Hold Not Thy Peace' on Taurus and more singles on legendary labels like Impact, Pressure Disk, Chanan Jah, Galaxy and Pilgrim.
The collection 'More of Keith Poppin' was released by popular demand on Phil Pratt's Sunshot Records soon after. In 1980, Keith Poppin became the first reggae artist to be released on Peter Tosh's short-lived Intel-Diplo label, which only released a handful of singles including a groundbreaking duet featuring Peter Tosh and Mick Jagger. The internationally flavored song 'Jam Down Festival' was produced by Kay Claire and arranged by Dean Fraser. Following a brief hiatus from recording after the death of Peter Tosh, Keith Poppin reappeared on the Jamaican music scene with the song 'In My Hometown' which took him to the finals of the annual Jamaican Song Festival. He also began producing other acts and promoting concerts with Jungle Lion Promotions, putting together shows with artists like Barrington Levy, Tiger, Tony Rebel and Mad Cobra during the eighties and early nineties.A seasoned veteran and forefather of reggae music, Keith Poppin now lives with his wife Yvonne in Raleigh, North Carolina. His latest studio album 'Journeys' was recently recorded at Dwight Pickney's Abeng Studio in Kingston, ER Studios in Brooklyn and at NY South and 9th Hour Studios in Raleigh. Musicians include Dean Fraser, Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare as well as contributions from Jimmy London, the Tamlins, former Wailer Glen Adams, Johnny Lee, Glen Brown and even former Squirrel Nut Zipper saxman Tim Smith. With his latest album getting airplay from NYC to Sweden, a reinvigorated Keith Poppin is ready to take the world by storm once again, and take his rightful place as one of the top reggae singers in the world today. "When We Gonna Learn" was released as a single in 2005 on KP Productions. "Get Together: Original Recordings 1970-1979" was released in 2007.
