tawasan: Earl sixteen

Earl Sixteen (b. Earl John Daley, 9 May 1958 Kingston Jamaïca is a reggae singer whose career began in the mid-1970s.

Earl '16' Daley's voice is unmistakeable - a cracked falsetto and a lazy delivery combine to make this voice most poignant particularly when riding a solid, roots rhythm.

Like Horace Andy and one or two other Jamaican singers and MCs, Earl has enjoyed recent crossover success by lending his vocal talents to some of the UKs leading contemporary dance producers such as Leftfield. Yet despite having recorded far fewer records than his peers since his career began in the mid-70s, Earl is well known on the reggae scene due to the unique sound of his voice.

At the age of 15 the strength of Earl's voice was publicly recognised when he won a singing contest beating serious contenders like Michael Rose (the former Uhuru man), Junior Moore (of the Tamlins) and Joy White along the way.