With over 19 years of generating and releasing hits tunes, South Florida based Joe Fraser Records is still going strong.  At the helm sits Lloyd Campbell – producer extraordinaire and the mastermind behind the some of the best Lover’s Rock music over the years.  His passion for music has led him to work some of Reggae’s top vocal artists and garnered him several industry related awards of recognition, including Producer of the Year in both South Florida and New York’s Tri-State area.

Compilation albums within the Joe Fraser Records stable are eagerly anticipated each season, from the Lovers Forever and Sweet Love series to last years ‘Best Reggae Compilation Album’ winner in the Reggae Soca Music Awards - Uncle Sam, which have all further ignited the labels name in the Reggae Hall of Fame.

Their winning formula for bringing the hits home time after time is their ability to work with traditional lovers rock artists both old and new, and to continually move with the times in this ever changing reggae arena.  A passion for music and good musical ears, have given them the edge in an area that brings forth new talent on a daily basis.

Born at Jubilee Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica, the young Lloyd Campbell got into music from an early age.  He moved to England in his mid-teens and worked with the Palmer brothers, Jeff, Carl and Harry, of the now famous Jet Star Phonographics Ltd.; in their Soundville Records store. He also got a spot deejaying at the infamous Ram Jam Club, as well as linked himself with a sound system called Tom the Sebastian, before getting his own set - Lloyd Matador. Venues were flush back in those ‘Blues’ days, and Lloyd Matador would often play out at spots where the big sounds of those times, such as Sir Coxsone or Duke Reid had also spun tracks.  Music production was the next natural step for him, and along with two good friends, they would regularly visit a local recording studio and dabble with the controls until eventually Campbell’s first rhythm was created followed by his first production recording.

A move back to Jamaica followed some years later as his experience and expertise grew in the studio, and after spending invaluable time around many top artists and producers, such as Slim Smith, Pat Kelly, Stranger Cole, Bunny Lee, Winston Riley, Prince Buster, and Leslie Kong, his ear for good production only intensified.  His inspirations came from many of these players, especially Bunny Lee - due to the type of music he was making, and Leslie Kong.  “They recorded a certain type of song, and I think I fall into the category of those guys with my recordings too - some culture, some love songs. I loved the slow one-drop rhythms that Duke Reid was making, and Sir Coxsone Dodd’s music out of Studio One,” reveals Campbell.

 

Back in those early days, Campbell’s most prominent recording label was Spiderman; nonetheless, he also recorded on the Eagle, LACE, and the Rattie Soul labels, as it was not uncommon for producers to do this while attempting to establish themselves in the hope of making several hits songs. The Joe Fraser label was created just before he left Jamaica for New York, as a second label to Spiderman, and it was around this time also that his daughter, Michelle Campbell, joined him in the recording studio and became a permanent fixture on the record label with the boxing gloves logo.  Although residing in England and not being a creative force within the studio like her father, Michelle took control of the UK market as the Marketing Executive, ensuring that prominent radio disc jockey’s and music distributors always had access to the most recent Joe Fraser releases

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The Joe Fraser repertoire of singles and albums includes recordings by some of reggae’s outstanding names over three decades.  Along the way they have included Jimmy London and his hit song ‘I’m Your Puppet,’ The Itals, Keith Poppin, George Faith, Barbara Jones, Marcia Griffiths, one of the first songs for Joy White – ‘Dread Out Deh,’ which became a monster hit for her, Yellowman, Merlene Webber, Delroy Wilson, Pam Hall, Lloyd Brown, Dean Fraser, Sanchez, Glen Washington, Fiona, Don Campbell, Tinga Stewart, Mikey Spice, Reggae Grammy nominee Freddie McGregor, and Gospel artist Claudelle Clark, amongst others.  Musicians have included Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, and Ansel Collins, and a vital part of the Joe Fraser Production team is Sound Engineer, Jason Sterling, who has worked alongside Campbell in the studio for just over 15 years.

One of Campbell’s career highlights is the creation of Ronnie Davis & Keith Porter as a team and named the Itals. The first song recorded with them as a group was called ‘In A Dis A Time’, and was selected by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones for their ‘Artist Choice: Rolling Stones, Music That Matters to Them The Most’ compilation.’  In the album’s linear notes, Richards says that the song was basically the perfect Reggae track and a song that really hit him.“I remember when the song came out, and I visited Moodies Records in the Bronx in New York.  They told me that Keith Richards had been in the store and bought 100 copies of the single and I felt great knowing that a member of this huge band - the Rolling Stones - embraced the song and felt its potential,” says Campbell.  “Sly (Shakespeare) used to be around the them from time to time, and I remember him telling me that they apparently recorded a version of the song some years ago, and even though I don’t think it was ever released, I still feel elated that they re-recorded it.”

Now residing in sunny state, both Lloyd and Michelle Campbell, the father and daughter team, continue to create and churn out musical masterpieces that are pleasing to the ear and warming to the heart, as well as promote and project the artists recorded under it’s protective umbrella.  With no plans to stop the music any time soon, the dream team wants to ensure that their music will be heard and appreciated by many generations to come.