| Chokey Taylor |
His real name: Mark Anthony Taylor. Ever heard of him? Perhaps not. Maybe the name Chokey Taylor rings a bell. Although Chokey Taylor has been writing and recording songs for over two decades, and has been doing the tourism circuit up and down the north coast for as many years, somehow his name is not a household one. Even though he's as popular as they come, his singing is mellifluous and his stage pattern exciting and catchy. Chokey wants more Jamaicans to know about him. So he and Mr&Ms Records are mounting a major local marketing and public relations blitz to sell himself to his fellow Jamaicans in a big way. It figures for Chokey has something to tell, something to sell. He's from Grange Hill in Westmoreland -just a stone's throw from where Peter Tosh was born. Chokey has come a long way from singing on the church choir at Grange Hill. The magic of his music and sincerity of his talent have taken him around the world many times. But always back to his native Jamaica - and brash, glittering Montego Bay where he lives in a hill-top villa overlooking the Caribbean, surrounded by all the trappings success brings. It's been hard work for this wafer-thin, dreadlocked young man whose booming voice completely belies his fragile frame. But the hard work and sacrifice have paid off hugely. He's had a number of bands: SAHABA (translated in one of those African tongues as 'the medicine man') Liberation Force, The Swamp Band and The Solid Foundation. "The music in me has always propelled me to do something musical!" says the smooth-talking, articulate Chokey. He's written over 100 songs many of which he's recorded on three CDs and tapes since 1990. One of Chokey's CD "Jamaica Connection", a CD of 14 melodious reggae cuts done with 'Sundance Kid's' out of Holland, release the hit "Sylvia's Mother", originally made famous by the American group, Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show. 'Chokey and Sundance Kid's' treatment of the songs is a beautiful blend of soft reggae and pulsating, easy-listening rock. He's done credit to the songs, critics acclaim. Each summer Chokey takes off from Montego Bay for Europe, Holland, in particular, to do the concert circuit and jump into the recording studio. He's had one song "Girl" that reached as far as #30 on the Dutch top 100 national charts a few years ago.
