Gladstone Anderson, known by his nickname "Gladdy", was a Jamaican pianist, keyboard player, and singer, who played a major part in the island's musical history, playing a key role in defining the ska sound and the rocksteady beat, and playing on hundreds of recordings as a session musician, a solo artist, and as leader of Gladdy's All Stars, featuring bassist Jackie Jackson, drummer Winston Grennan, guitarist Hux Brown, and keyboardist Winston Wright.
12 Facts About Gladstone Anderson
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Gladstone Anderson was born in 1934 in Jones Town, and was taught piano at home by his uncle, the keyboardist and bandleader Aubrey Adams.
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Gladstone Anderson became a prominent studio pianist in the late 1950s, when he began working for Duke Reid.
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Gladstone Anderson worked at Reid's Treasure Isle studio, generally replacing Jackie Mittoo when The Skatalites recorded there, working for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd and Leslie Kong, and was a member of Lynn Taitt's group The Jets, playing on many of the key ska and rocksteady recordings, and helping to define the ska sound and the rocksteady beat.
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Gladstone Anderson was even credited with coming up with the name "rock steady", when he used the term to describe Hopeton Lewis's "Take it Easy", when the recording was played back.
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Gladstone Anderson played on key early rocksteady recordings including Roy Shirley's "Hold Them", and major hits of the genre including Alton Ellis's "Girl I've Got a Date".
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Gladstone Anderson went on to work with producer Harry Mudie, leading Gladdy's All Stars, who were known by different names when working with other producers, including The Aggrovators, Rupie's All Stars, The Crystallites, and The Dynamites, and would later become the Upsetters when they worked with Lee "Scratch" Perry.
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Gladstone Anderson had success as a singer in the late 1960s working with Stranger Cole as Stranger and Gladdy, including the singles "Just Like a River" and "Seeing is Knowing".
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Gladstone Anderson continued to work with Mudie, working on the late 1970s dub album series Harry Mudie Meet King Tubby's in Dub Conference.
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Gladstone Anderson released a vocal album in 1982, Sings Songs For Today and Tomorrow.
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Gladstone Anderson was one of several keyboard players to play in the Roots Radics.
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Gladstone Anderson worked as a producer, his roots reggae recordings appearing on the Rite Sound label.