Hopeton Lewis obit

R.I.P Hopeton Lewis

 

He was not on the list.

Hopeton Lewis who was known as one of the great singers of the Rocksteady era passed away on September 4th in Brooklyn, New York at the age of sixty six. Lewis who was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica was known for his hits throughout his career. His song Take It Easy was recorded in 1966 with Lyn Tait and the Jets. The song is widely regarded as one of the first rocksteady singles. He is also known for hits like The Right Track done with Phyllis Dillon, Tom Drunk, Sounds and Pressure, Grooving Out of Life and Boom Shaka Lacka which won Jamaica’s festival contest in 1970. In the early nineties he became a Christian and started recording gospel. He released several gospel albums including This is Gospel and (1966) and Reaching out to Jesus in 2000.

He sang in church from an early age, and started performing as a youth, forming a singing group called the Regals. By the mid-1960s, he began recording and had one of the earliest rocksteady hits with "Take It Easy" in late 1966. The track was recorded with Lynn Taitt and the Jets, and is regarded as one of the first rocksteady singles. He had several more Jamaican hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including the first 'herb' song ever recorded there, "Cool Collie". He worked for Duke Reid as an arranger and backing vocalist, and won the Festival Song Contest in 1970 with "Boom Shaka Lacka". He began working as a singer with Byron Lee & the Dragonaires, and in 1971 had a hit with "Grooving Out On Life"