Below is a collection of information and interviews about Lloyd Daley "The Matador" and the release of "The Matador" book by me, Rich Lowe. For a more in depth interview with Daley, you can read our post by clicking here.
The Revised Edition of "Lloyd Daley, The Matador - Sonic Pioneer of Jamaican Music" can be purchased
in multiple formats on Amazon. The cost is super reasonable at (US) $15.25.
Be sure NOT to purchase any overpriced "used" versions that have been posted on Amazon.com.
Just click the button below to purchase!
in multiple formats on Amazon. The cost is super reasonable at (US) $15.25.
Be sure NOT to purchase any overpriced "used" versions that have been posted on Amazon.com.
Just click the button below to purchase!
"Lloyd Daley, The Matador – Sonic Pioneer of Jamaican Music"
PRESS RELEASE
(January 14, 2020)
Lloyd Daley, reclusive and prolific Jamaican music producer, featured in revealing new biography The Matador by Rich Lowe
Lloyd “The Matador” Daley passed away on March 18, of 2018. Now - two years after his passing, a new book The Matador – Sonic Pioneer of Jamaican Music reveals the impact he made on Jamaican music that continues to this day. Author Rich Lowe revisits Daley’s memories of building some of the most powerful amplifiers on the island of Jamaica, forming the Matador Sound System, and becoming a top selling music producer in the golden eras of Jamaican Boogie-Shuffle, Ska, Rock Steady and Reggae music. Daley spent the last four years of his life working on this book project with Rich Lowe.
Lloyd Daley produced Jamaican music that was consistent and brimming with quality. He recorded artists of the era who have come to be recognized over time: Members of The Skatalites, Dennis Brown, The Gladiators, The Wailing Souls, The Heptones, Little Roy, Freddie McKay, Alton Ellis, The Ethiopians, The Hippy Boys, The Abyssinians, Count Ossie, The Viceroys, and many more. As a sound system owner, Daley battled with giants of the day like King Edwards, Coxson Dodd, Duke Reid, and Bells the President.
Unlike many other producers of the era, Daley was deeply involved in many of the technical aspects of Jamaican music production. He was reclusive, and in later years, reportedly angry over violations and piracy that he had experienced. Rich Lowe shares, “I was aware that even after sixty years since the start of his musical journey, that there was the possibility of speaking with Mr. Daley directly about his music. I decided to attempt contact. It was a long shot, and I don’t know what made him decide to engage in a dialogue. Much later, he would describe it as ‘vibes.’”
Mr. Daley put his trust in this book. Sound system owner Prince Jackie Robinson noted to the author, “You must be a special person for Mr. Daley to share this information with you. He never does that.” Robinson then laughed heartily and continued: “The Matador was The Matador. Is a man that never stand for no foolishness.”
The Matador – Sonic Pioneer of Jamaican Music is now available internationally via Amazon in paperback, Kindle and eBook formats.
(January 14, 2020)
Lloyd Daley, reclusive and prolific Jamaican music producer, featured in revealing new biography The Matador by Rich Lowe
Lloyd “The Matador” Daley passed away on March 18, of 2018. Now - two years after his passing, a new book The Matador – Sonic Pioneer of Jamaican Music reveals the impact he made on Jamaican music that continues to this day. Author Rich Lowe revisits Daley’s memories of building some of the most powerful amplifiers on the island of Jamaica, forming the Matador Sound System, and becoming a top selling music producer in the golden eras of Jamaican Boogie-Shuffle, Ska, Rock Steady and Reggae music. Daley spent the last four years of his life working on this book project with Rich Lowe.
Lloyd Daley produced Jamaican music that was consistent and brimming with quality. He recorded artists of the era who have come to be recognized over time: Members of The Skatalites, Dennis Brown, The Gladiators, The Wailing Souls, The Heptones, Little Roy, Freddie McKay, Alton Ellis, The Ethiopians, The Hippy Boys, The Abyssinians, Count Ossie, The Viceroys, and many more. As a sound system owner, Daley battled with giants of the day like King Edwards, Coxson Dodd, Duke Reid, and Bells the President.
Unlike many other producers of the era, Daley was deeply involved in many of the technical aspects of Jamaican music production. He was reclusive, and in later years, reportedly angry over violations and piracy that he had experienced. Rich Lowe shares, “I was aware that even after sixty years since the start of his musical journey, that there was the possibility of speaking with Mr. Daley directly about his music. I decided to attempt contact. It was a long shot, and I don’t know what made him decide to engage in a dialogue. Much later, he would describe it as ‘vibes.’”
Mr. Daley put his trust in this book. Sound system owner Prince Jackie Robinson noted to the author, “You must be a special person for Mr. Daley to share this information with you. He never does that.” Robinson then laughed heartily and continued: “The Matador was The Matador. Is a man that never stand for no foolishness.”
The Matador – Sonic Pioneer of Jamaican Music is now available internationally via Amazon in paperback, Kindle and eBook formats.
“One of the unsung heroes at the time of course was Lloyd ‘The Matador.’ He was very, very good because Lloyd used to build all these sound system amplifiers.”
- Graeme Goodall, Federal Recording Studio Engineer
“Big sounds were never, ever friendly with each other. They only pretended until they meet in the same dance hall and then it is a different thing.”
- Lloyd “The Matador” Daley
- Graeme Goodall, Federal Recording Studio Engineer
“Big sounds were never, ever friendly with each other. They only pretended until they meet in the same dance hall and then it is a different thing.”
- Lloyd “The Matador” Daley
Biography of Lloyd Daley "The Matador"
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Lloyd David Edward Daley (born 12 July 1939, died 18 March 2018), produced Ska, Reggae, Rock Steady, and Dancehall music in Jamaica under the title of “The Matador.” In addition to music production, Daley was an electronics engineer and he operated a dance hall sound system in Kingston, Jamaica, starting in the mid-1950s. Lloyd Daley operated this dominant sound system in the city where dancehall music was born – Kingston, Jamaica.
At a young age, Mr. Daley formed his own electronics business where he repaired televisions and radios, built amplifiers, repaired motors, and installed video cameras, among many other projects. Over time, Mr. Daley created his sound system“Lloyd’s The Matador,” by employing sophisticated engineering techniques and selecting specific songs for play, and this system, with its tremendous capabilities, would ultimately play in every parish in Jamaica. As Lloyd’s The Matador Sound System played, Mr. Daley “clashed” with greats of the 1950s and 1960s, such as like Duke Reid, Sinclair “The Lion,” Bells the President, Count Boysie, King Edwards, and Coxson. Mr. Daley was always in search of something more, and he was a determined man who often sought out challenges and competition. Defiance often led to conflict, and The Matador—by definitionas suggested by his name—was prepared to manage this conflict to his advantage. Mr. Daley operated at the center of the sound system eruption in the mid 1950’s in Jamaica, recording as a producer in the golden eras of Jamaican Boogie-Shuffle, Ska, Rock Steady and Reggae music. As a producer, Daley had consistency, quality, and was selective. Lloyd Daley recorded artists of the era who have come to be recognized over time: Members of The Skatalites, Dennis Brown, The Gladiators, The Wailing Souls, The Heptones, Little Roy, Freddie McKay, Alton Ellis, The Ethiopians, The Hippy Boys, The Abyssinians, Count Ossie, The Viceroys, and many more. As a sound system owner, Lloyd Daley battled with giants of the day like King Edwards, Coxson Dodd, Duke Reid, and Bells the President. In addition to Daley’s music accomplishments, he also had a close connection with iconic Jamaican orchestra leader Eric Deans, whose daughter Deanna Deans, married Daley in 1967. The “Deans” name is legendary, Eric Deans was a multitalented musician who earned a reputation as the top orchestra leader in the 1940s and 1950s Kingston club scene. |
Early Matador 18" Speaker Box with lettering created by "Fergie" Ferguson. (Photo Courtesy of EMP)
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NPR Ideastream Interview - "Cleveland Writer Unearths Story Of Reggae Great The Matador "
In early February I was interviewed by Cleveland's NPR Ideastream about my conversations with Lloyd Daley and the new release of "The Matador". You can read the interview below or click here to read it on Ideastream.
Cleveland Writer Unearths Story Of Reggae Great ‘The Matador’
By Dan Polletta
PUBLISHED - February 7, 2020
TOPICS - Arts & Culture
IDEASTREAM E-NEWS
In 1982, Rich Lowe was a student at John Carroll University hosting a reggae program on the campus station, when a recording he had purchased at a record convention caught his eye.
“I was playing some of these Jamaican seven-inch singles. One of them had a hand stamp that said, ‘Daley’s Television and Radio Repair Service.’ It was just very, very intriguing to see a hand stamp on a record. I didn't understand what that was until years later,” Lowe said.
Lowe, who spent nearly four decades as the host of the weekly reggae program, “Night of the Living Dread,” on Case Western Reserve University station WRUW, began looking into the story behind the name stamped on the recording. Lowe discovered that “Lloyd,” was Lloyd Daley, an important sound system operator, producer and electronics engineer, who, beginning in late 1950s, was one of the first to document Jamaican music during what was known as the “shuffle period.” Lloyd continued to produce recordings into the 1980s and worked with many important performers including Dennis Brown, Count Ossie and Alton Ellis.
However, Lowe found that almost no interviews existed with Lloyd himself. Lowe learned why, as he began the research that led to his new book about Lloyd, "The Matador" (Jamaica Way Publishing).
Lowe described Daley as a "middle-class, clean cut well-dressed guy who produced deep Rastafarian music," who became disillusioned with the music business. Daley said others had pirated his work, as well as that he feeling that he didn't receive the credit he deserved as an important figure in Jamaican music. There were also numerous run-ins with powerful figures who tried to eliminate Daley from the scene, including destroying his equipment, according to Lowe.
Daley’s strong personality often led him to butt heads with others, which earned him his nickname.
“He was feisty. He was the type of person who had great willpower, so that's where he got the name, ‘The Matador,’ because he was this young guy taking on these other powerful people, like a bullfighter would take on a bull,” Lowe said.
Despite numerous requests from major music publications, Daley retreated from public view, refusing to do interviews. Though he knew Daley wasn’t amenable to interviews, in 2014, Lowe sent a letter to Daley’s home in Kingston asking for the opportunity to speak to him in the hopes of writing a book about him. To Lowe’s surprise, he received a reply a week later.
“I don't know why he opened up to me. In some sense, I think he was waiting for the right person to come along with what he called ‘the vibes.’ He said ‘it was the vibes that caused me to open up to you more.’ We talked for four years almost on a daily basis. He told me just about everything,” Lowe said.
During their frequent phone conversations and email correspondence, Lowe witnessed firsthand why Daley was known as “The Matador.”
“He was always feisty. If I asked a question the wrong way, he might get really mad at me. That's who he was, and that's why he didn't open up to others. He would flatly refuse to communicate with other people,” Lowe said.
Lowe came to understand quickly the best way to speak to Daley.
“I was polite. I was honorable. I never did anything to offend his position in music. I was very delicate in how I dealt with things, but also, conversely, very honest and open and blunt sometimes. I would ask him the direct questions, Lowe said.
In addition to his extensive conversations with Daley, Lowe interviewed numerous musicians as well as Daley family and friends for his book. Time after time in those interviews, Lowe’s subjects told him they couldn’t believe that Daley was willing to speak with him, given his reluctance to share details of his life.
Although Daley died prior to the completion of “The Matador” in 2018, Lowe feels the reggae great appreciated the opportunity to share his story.
“He was pleased with the progress of this book. I think he got a chance to share his history. I think he was very happy about it. I know that this is part of his legacy,” Lowe said.
Advertisement for Daley's radio/television service and nightclub.
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"The Matador" book.
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The Matador - Sonic Pioneer of Jamaican Music book is now available in the form of "expanded distribution" for order at Book Stores and distributors via Amazon - worldwide.
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