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Horace Faith

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Horace Faith
Birth nameHorace Smith[1]
BornJamaica[1]
Died(2015-03-07)7 March 2015
GenresReggae
OccupationSinger
InstrumentVocals
Years active1970s
LabelsB&C, Trojan, A&M, DJM

Horace Faith (born Horace Smith) was a Jamaican reggae singer. He is best known for his cover of the Checkmates, Ltd. song, "Black Pearl", which reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart in 1970.[1]

Released by Trojan Records (TR 7790),[2] "Black Pearl" spent ten weeks on the UK Singles Chart in the latter half of 1970, peaking at number 13 in October that year.[1] Coincidentally, the original version of the song by Checkmates, Ltd., peaked at number 13 in the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1969.[3] The track was written by Irwin Levine, Phil Spector and Toni Wine.[4] The B-side of Faith's single was "Help Me Help Myself", which was written by Johnny Arthey and Phil Swern.[2] The single was released in the United States by Bell Records.[5]

"Black Pearl" subsequently appeared on numerous compilation albums.[4]

Faith's later recordings included the self-penned "I Can't Understand It", arranged by Richard Anthony Hewson and produced by Swern.[6]

Faith died on 7 March 2015.[7]

Discography

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Year Title Record label UK
[1]
1969 "Spinning Wheel" B&C
1970 "Black Pearl" Trojan 13
"Susie Is Tomorrow" Trojan
1972 "Shame and Scandal in the Family" A&M
1976 "I Can't Understand It" DJM
1978 "Rich Man Poor Man" Ultra
"Looking" Anansi
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 193. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. ^ a b "Horace Faith – "Black Pearl"". Discogs. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2000). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (7th ed.).
  4. ^ a b "Black Pearl". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  5. ^ "Horace Faith – "Black Pearl"". Toniwine.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  6. ^ "Horace Faith – "I Can't Understand It"". NME. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  7. ^ Lily Fierro (13 April 2015). "Bovine Ska and Rocksteady 4/8/2015: Horace Faith – LILY & GENEROSO 4EVER!". Lilyandgeneroso4ever.com. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Horace Faith – Discography". 45cat.com. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
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