Joseph Benjamin Higgs was a reggae musician from Jamaica.
14 Facts About Joe Higgs
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Joe Higgs was a popular artist in Jamaica for four decades and is known for his work tutoring younger musicians including Bob Marley and the Wailers and Jimmy Cliff.
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Joe Higgs was instrumental in the foundation of modern Jamaican music, first recording in 1958 for producer and businessman Edward Seaga, both as a solo artist and with Roy Wilson.
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Joe Higgs then concentrated on a solo career and worked with Carlos Malcolm and the Afro-Jamaican Rhythms, before joining Lynn Taitt's The Soul Brothers as lead vocalist.
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Joe Higgs mentored young singers in his yard and began working with Bob Marley in 1959.
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Marley acknowledged later on that Joe Higgs had been an influential figure for him, while Joe Higgs described their time together: "I am the one who taught the Wailers the craft, who taught them certain voice technique".
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Joe Higgs has been described as the "Father of Reggae" by Jimmy Cliff.
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Joe Higgs wrote "Steppin' Razor" in 1967 as his entry in the Festival Song Contest, later recorded by Tosh without crediting Joe Higgs.
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Joe Higgs later won a court case to establish his rights as composer but never received any profits from the song's success.
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Joe Higgs won the Jamaican Tourist Board Song Competition in 1972 with "Invitation to Jamaica", released as a single on his own Elevation label, and much of his best-known solo work was issued in the 1970s.
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Joe Higgs considered that it was out of the poverty and violence of Kingston's shantytowns such as Trenchtown and Johnstown that the reggae music had grown.
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Joe Higgs was the very first artist out the ghetto music scene to have lyrics which primarily dealt with everyday troubles.
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Joe Higgs died of cancer on 18 December 1999 at Kaiser Hospital in Los Angeles.
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Joe Higgs was survived by twelve children, including his daughter Marcia, who is a rapper, and son Peter, a studio guitarist.