Biography
Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell OJ (born 22 June 1937) is a Jamaican-British former record producer and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to which Blackwell was inducted in 2001, he is "the single person most responsible for turning the world on to reggae music." Variety describes him as "indisputably one of the greatest record executives in history".Having formed Island Records in Jamaica on 22 May 1959 when he was nearly 22, Blackwell was among the first to record the Jamaican popular music that eventually became known as ska. Returning to Britain in 1962, he sold records from the back of his car to the Jamaican community. His label became "a byword for uncompromised artistry and era-shaping acts".Backed by Stanley Borden from RKO, Blackwell's business and reach grew substantially, and he went on to forge the careers of Bob Marley, Grace Jones and U2 among many other diverse high-profile acts. He has produced many seminal albums, including Marley's Catch A Fire and Uprising, Free's Free and The B-52's' self-titled debut album in 1979.
Having sold Island in 1989, Blackwell embarked on ventures in "hotels, real estate, resorts, another record company, rum, and his Island Films released Kiss of the Spider Woman and Stop Making Sense, among others".
In 2022, he published a memoir, The Islander: My Life in Music and Beyond.
Filmography
all 25
Movies 24
Producer 11
self 11
TV Shows 1
TÍU (2022)
Marley (2012)
Toots and the Maytals Reggae Got Soul (2011)
Keep on Running: 50 Years of Island Records (2009)
Sun Dogs (2007)
John Martyn: Johnny Too Bad (2004)
Rebel Music - The Bob Marley Story (2001)
Inside 'Dr. No' (2000)
Classic Albums: Bob Marley & the Wailers - Catch a Fire (2000)
Ken Adam: Designing Bond (2000)
Ian Fleming: 007's Creator (2000)
Third World Cop (1999)
Dancehall Queen (1997)
Classic Albums (1997)
The Basketball Diaries (1995)
Big Time (1988)
Sweet Lies (1987)
Good to Go (1986)
Caribbean Nights: The Bob Marley Story (1986)
Choose Me (1984)
Countryman (1982)
The Harder They Come (1972)
Dr. No (1962)
Wimbledon 2006 Official Film
Dreadtown: The Steel Pulse Story
Ratings
Information
Known ForProduction
GenderMale
Birthday1937-06-22 (86 years old)
Birth PlaceLondon, United Kingdom
Height
MotherBlanche Blackwell
CitizenshipsUnited Kingdom
Also Known AsChristopher Blackwell
AwardsGrammy Trustees Award, MOJO Awards, Order of Jamaica, Musgrave Medal, Polar Music Prize
This article uses material from Wikipedia.
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