Burning Spear

Infobox musical artist

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Name = Burning Spear
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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Winston Rodney
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Born = March 1, 1945
Died =
Origin =
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Genre = Reggae
Occupation =
Years_active = 1969 – present
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URL = [http://www.burningspear.net/ www.burningspear.net]
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Winston Rodney, OD (born March 1, 1948Thompson, Dave:"Reggae & Caribbean Music", 2002, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6] [Larkin, Colin: "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", 1998, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9] ), also known as Burning Spear, is a Grammy Award winning Jamaican roots reggae singer and musician. Like many famous Jamaican reggae artists, Burning Spear is known for his Rastafari movement messages. Rodney was born in Saint Ann's Bay, Saint Ann, Jamaica, as were Bob Marley and Marcus Garvey; who both had a great influence on Rodney's life: Garvey in his philosophy, which Burning Spear greatly took to, and Marley in directly helping Burning Spear get started in the music industry by introducing him to Clement Dodd. Burning Spear was originally Rodney's group, named after Jomo Kenyatta, the first Prime Minister and President of an independent Kenya, and initially including bass singer Rupert Willington, later expanding to include tenor Delroy Hinds. As fame took hold the name of the group gradually became synonymous with Rodney.

Burning Spear is one of the strongest proponents of Marcus Garvey's self-determination and self-reliance for all African descendants, thus leading to several album releases in commemoration of the Jamaican activist.

In 2002, Burning Spear and his wife, Sonia Rodney who has produced a number of his albums, founded Burning Spear Records. [ [http://www.darmik.com/web/free_text.php?id=77 Darmik ] ]

Burning Spear advocates messages of honesty, peace, and love, which tie in with his religious and political messages of Rastafarianism and black unity. Along with his musical message, the Spear continues to tour all over the world. His concerts often last 2 hours long with several bongo drum solos by Burning Spear himself.

Burning Spear was awarded the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer on October 15, 2007. [ [http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/html/20071015T230000-0500_128382_OBS_ARTISTES_PRESENTED_WITH_NATIONAL_AWARDS.asp Artistes presented with national awards - JAMAICAOBSERVER.COM ] ]

Awards

Burning Spear won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album at the 42nd Grammy Awards in 2000 for Calling Rastafari. He has been nominated for a total of 11 Grammy Awards. [ [http://theenvelope.latimes.com/factsheets/ Fact Sheets - The Envelope - LA Times ] ]

Nominations for Best Reggae Album
*1986 Resistance
*1988 People of the World
*1990 Live in Paris Zenith '88
*1991 Mek We Dweet
*1994 The World Should Know
*1996 Rasta Business
*1998 Appointment with His Majesty
*2000 Calling Rastafari
*2004 Free Man
*2005 Our Music
*2008 The Burning Spear Experience

References

Discography

External links

* [http://www.burningspear.net/ Official site of Burning Spear]
* [http://www.burningspear.net/blog/ Winston Rodney's Blog]
* [http://www.burning-spear.com/ Unofficial site of Burning Spear]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fifuxqq5ldfe Bio site at allmusic.com]
* [http://www.musicbox-online.com/bspr-int.html Our Music: Past, Present, and Future with Burning Spear] - The Music Box, Vol. 12, #11
* [http://brucecmoore.com/pages/burningspear.html Live performance images]