Called reggae’s ‘Mellow Canary’ by virtue of his strong, pure vocal style, he’s renowned as the first original singer of the dancehall era, inspiring many imitators en-route. Barrington was born in West Kingston, but spent much time as a youth in Clarendon, where he developed his signature riff by experimenting with different vocalizations and bouncing the sounds off the surrounding hills.
With a plethora of original material and an outstanding, immediately recognisible voice, Barrington simply could not fail. After many trials and tribulations throughout his career from as far back as 1975 through to 1995 where her produced songs such as Under me Sensei, She’s mine, Dancehall Rock, Work and Vice Versa,
yet he never receivied that massive hit record he was seeking. In 1996 however Barrington came back larger than life with Bounty killer on the song “Living Dangerously” undisputedly the biggest reggae song of 1996, both in Jamaica and the United States, and for months held the #1 spot on the dancehall charts worldwide.
Throughout his professional career, Barrington has shared the stage with a veritable whos-who of the reggae and world music scene such as: Ken Boothe, Dennis Brown, John Holt, Gregory Isaacs, Maxi Priest, Shaggy, Snoop Doggy Dog, Stevie Wonder and Mutabaruka to name a few.
Barrington continues to record and tour extensively through out North America, Europe and Asia, and remains Jamaica’s #1 headliner.
