DENNIS ALCAPONE BIOGRAFIA

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DENNIS ALCAPONE BIOGRAFIA

Biography

Born Dennis Smith in Clarendon, Jamaica on August 6, 1947, he initially trained to become a welder and did a stint in the Jamaica Public Services. Inspired by various sound systems that he had visited, including those of Prince Buster and Bruce Reid, Dennis Alcapone teamed up with two friends to set up the El Paso Hi-Fi sound system in 1969. The venture proved immensely successful and its popularity soared rapidly. Dennis’ unique performances caught the attention of producer Clement ‘Coxsonne’ Dodd, who had just lost one of his best artistes, the iconic U-Roy, to rival producer Duke Reid
U-Roy was dominating the Jamaican music charts and Dodd was on the lookout for a suitable replacement who would knock U-Roy off his perch. With Dodd’s studio music archives at his command, Dennis got to work and soon began to churn out versions of hit singles by Alton Ellis, John Holt, Delroy Wilson, The Heptones and Carlton & The Shoes. Alcapone's ‘Forever Version’ of the hit single ‘Love Me Forever’ titled his debut album, which compiled many of these hits.
However, Alcapone was not working exclusively for Dodd. He made a number of well-received singles, among them ‘Spanish Amigo’, a version of Ken Boothe’s ‘Old Fashioned Way’ for producer Keith Hudson. By now, several producers were trying to lure Alcapone away from Dodd to work for them. Finally, in 1971, Alcapone moved out of Dodd’s stable and joined forces with Bunny Lee, a partnership that saw the release of several memorable hits. ‘Ripe Cherry’, a version of ‘Cherry Oh Baby’, ‘Horse and Buggy’, a version of ‘Mule Train’ and ‘Lorna Banana’ a duet with fellow DJ Prince Jazzbo, all dominated the music charts. It was here that Dennis came out with one of biggest hits, ‘Guns Don’t Argue’, a version of Eric Donaldson’s ‘Love Of The Common People’. Many of the singles made in partnership with Lee were brought together in the1971 album ‘Guns Don’t Argue.
Dennis soon parted ways with Bunny Lee and joined the label Treasure Isle, headed by producer Duke Reid, from where he continued to belt out hit after hit. ‘The Great Woggie’, a version of The Technique’s ‘You Don’t Care’, was released in 1971 and followed soon after by another hit, ‘Teach The Children’. This last song was so popular that it was adopted by Jamaican radio literacy shows for a very long time.
By 1972, Dennis Alcapone’s fame had reached the shores of Europe and he embarked on a successful tour of Britain later that year. He was awarded Best DJ Of The Year by Swing magazine and soon toured Britain once again, this second tour proving to be even more successful that the first. Over a three-year period, between 1970 and 1973, Alcapone released a staggering 130 singles. He worked with several prominent producers, releasing hit versions of several classic numbers. ‘This is Butter’, ‘Out the Light’, ‘Go Johnny Go’, ‘Fine Style’, ‘King of Kings’, ‘Africa Stands’ and "My Voice Is Insured for Half a Million Dollars," were just some of the spectacular hits released during this period.
In 1974, Alcapone shifted to London, a move that saw his career graph begin to decline. The album ‘Belch It Off’ did not enjoy any significant success. A move to the U.K label Magnet resulted in the release of the album ‘King Of The Track’, which compiled hits produced with Bunny Lee and some new tracks produced in collaboration with Count Shelly. Magnet soon lost interest in the project and back home; a new set of DJs had taken over the Jamaican music scene, effectively relegating Alcapone to the backburner of public memory.
His collaboration with the Third World Label saw the release of three albums, Dead Capone, Six Million Dollar Man and Investigator Rock. However, none of them made much of an impact. The album ‘Universal Rockers’, released by music label RAS also did not do any better, and Alcapone took a sabbatical from music.
He returned to the stage in 1988, taking the WOMAD festival by storm a year later. Returning to Jamaica in 1990, he began to work once more with Bunny Lee. His releases during this period however, had little impact on the Jamaican music scene. However, his 1997 album ‘21st Century Version’, released in collaboration with The Mad Professor, received a fair amount of acclaim. He continues to record and appear live.

Debut Year
1970

Discography

• Forever Version (1971, Studio One)
• Guns Don't Argue (1971, Attack/Trojan)
• Soul To Soul DJ's Choice with Lizzy (1973, Treasure Isle/Trojan)
• King Of The Track (1974, Magnet) aka Musical Liquidator
• Belch It Off (1974, Attack)
• Dread Capone (1976, Third World)
• Investigator Rock (1977, Third World) aka Peace and Love
• Six Million Dollar Man (1977, Third World) aka Universal Rockers
• My Voice Is Insured For Half A Million Dollars (1989, Trojan) (compilation)
• Babariba Skank with Lizzy aka Wake Up Jamaica
• 21st Century Version (1996, Ariwa)


Awards
Best DJ of The Year- Swing Magazine


Trivia/ Quotes
Dennis got his nickname ‘Alcapone’ after watching a gangster movie with his friends. The name stuck and he subsequently adopted it when he joined Dodd’s studio.