Peter Broggs

Henry James A.K.A Peter Broggs was born in 1954 in the rural community of Richmond - Lucea in Hanover - Jamaica. Peter and his ten siblings survived much like most of the island’s population, suffering especially from poverty, as Peter Broggs himself put it:\r\n\r\n...when many times we didn’t even have food, the best we could do was sing, trying to keep a positive attitude toward life...”\r\n\r\nIn the early 1970s Peter, like many young people from rural communities, moved to the Jamaican capital, Kingston, seeking better living conditions and some money to help his parents. In Kingston, influenced by the Rastafari religion and reggae music, Peter used some savings to rent studio hours and, together with the respected Roots Radics, recorded his first single, "Vankout", in 1975.\r\n\r\nHe sold the single well, according to Broggs. In the following months he worked and wrote lyrics for future songs until Bim Sherman gave him the opportunity to work with him daily in the studio — an experience that, according to Peter Broggs, taught him a lot. With 500 copies of "Vankout" sold, he raised enough money to rent the studio again and record "African Sister."\r\n\r\nRandy’s Records distributed "Vankout" and later, after changing their name to Vampire, continued to help distribute the second single. He collaborated with Prince Far-I on recordings such as "I a Field Marshall", but those tracks were never released due to Prince Far-I’s death — difficult times in Broggs’s life.\r\n\r\nPeter’s breakthrough came in 1977 when Clement "Coxsone" Dodd (Studio One) gave him the chance to record "Sing a New Song." Coxsone told him that under the name Henry James he would go nowhere; some people called him Broggs and others Peter, which led to the stage name Peter Broggs.\r\n\r\nThanks to the prestige of recording at Studio One, Peter signed with Bingy Bunny (of Roots Radics and the Morwells). From that partnership came his first LP, "Progressive Youth," released in England by the Ital label around 1979/80. A few months later Doctor Dread contacted him — a turning point: impressed by Broggs’s music, Doctor Dread asked him to record a track for a new U.S. reggae label.\r\r\nIn 1982 the result was the first album released by the new RAS Records catalog, giving Peter Broggs exposure across America. The album sold well and was followed by "Rise and Shine" (1985), "Cease The War" (1987) and "Reasoning" (1990), all on RAS. In 1993, while Dancehall Ragga dominated Jamaica, Broggs released "Reggae in Blues," recovering the true essence of Roots Reggae with highlights such as "Sunshine Girl", "Slave Child", the grand "No Pollution" and "Try Again."\r\n\r\nIn 1999 RAS reissued his debut LP "Progressive Youth" on CD.