Frankie Wilmot

Wilmot was raised among the cane fields of rural Clarendon, Jamaica. He lived in a sparsely populated area where there was little contact with the outside world and he would sing to himself while herding goats. His vocal nurturing resulted in him being persuaded to perform at local concerts when he was eight years old. By his teens the singer joined Beenie Man having been employed to provide backing vocals on a number of the DJ’s early hits. Wilmot’s success with Beenie Man resulted in a number of solo releases for producers including King Tubby (‘My Sound’), Hyman Wright (‘Won’t Give Up’), Jimmy Cliff (‘Sensemilla’) and Coxsone Dodd (‘Stay With Me’). In 1991 he performed at a charity concert in Chernobyl and became the first reggae artist to perform in the Ukraine. His breakthrough in Jamaica arrived with the release of ‘The Lion In Me’, that reached the Star Top 40. When the single was released in Europe it topped a number of specialist charts throughout the continent. With Bobby Digital, Wilmot recorded ‘Face The Storm’, and demonstrated the influence of Bob Marley on the singer. Further hits followed including, a version of the ‘Stalag’ rhythm ‘Give Me Sensi’, the original ‘King Moses’ (later recorded by Garnett Silk) and a cover version of Bobby Russell’s ‘Little Green Apples’. Half the tracks on his debut album Vision, were produced by Barry O’Hare of Roof International. The opening track is a storming version of Bob Marley’s ‘Heathen’ entitled ‘Wake Up And Live’, and was produced by Shocking Vibes’ Patrick Roberts. Other notable tracks included the Philip ‘Fatis’ Burrell -produced ‘Sacrifice’ and ‘Full Stop’, a version of Little Kirk’s ‘Spread Love’ rhythm as well as ‘Face The Storm’ and the title track, produced by Delroy Collins. In 1999 the album was chosen as the year’s best reggae recording in the Canadian Juno Awards held in Toronto.