Page 5 - BiTS_06_JUNE_2020

Earl Green: 11 February 1945; died 6 May 2020

Earl Green, who has died aged 75, was a Jamaican-born singer and
songwriter. He heard R&B on the radio and jukeboxes in his home
land. He moved to Lewisham, south-east London on his 13th
birthday.

He was a member of The Raisins (aka The Coloured Raisins) in the
late 1960s. The band later became Black Velvet.

The 1970s saw Earl fronting the band Ardon, performing original material, along
with guitarist Gary ‘Gus’ Jarreat and bass player Gwyn Hood. The three later formed The OT Band,
performing R&B/soul covers, which lasted
Earl Green 1993 over 30 years. Other bands he performed

with around this time include Sweet Rain
and Baby Grand.

Otis Grand guested with the OT Band from
time to time and recruited Earl and tenor
saxophonist Andy Dummett for his band, Otis
Grand and the Dance Kings. His stint with

Grand’s outfit (later Otis Grand and the Big
Blues Band) lasted eight years and resulted
in two albums, 1998’s ‘Always Hot’ and
1990’s ‘He Knows The Blues’.

In the latter half of the 1990s Earl formed his
own band and released his debut solo album,
‘Feel The Fire’. He joined my band, Bop
Brothers, for a five-year stint and was the
featured singer on the album ‘Bop Brothers
… and Sisters’, which saw Earl duetting with
© Bob Pearce Dana Gillespie, Ruby Turner, Connie Lush,

Taka Boom and Deitra Farr. He picked up
British Blues Awards for Male Vocalist of the Year in 1996 and 1997.

The new millennium saw Earl joining Paul Lamb and the King Snakes for a few years—he is
featured on the albums ‘Take Your Time And Get It Right’ and ‘Live At The 100 Club’. More solo

albums followed—‘A Different Picture’ and ‘New Day’, both recorded with guitarist-producer Jake
Zaitz. He spent the final years of his musical career fronting The Right Time, a south London blues
band, and his last recording was with this outfit, ‘Live At The Bronte Blues Club’.

Outside music, Earl had a passion for photography and maintained a career as a gardener up until
the late 1980s. Sadly he was forced into retirement in 2013, due to failing health. He is survived
by his wife Val, their daughter Helen and their son Joel.

Jon ‘T-Bone’ Taylor