Eric Donaldson is a Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter. He was born on June 11, 1947 in Bog Walk, St Catherine.
Early Beginnings
He started his musical career in 1964 when he recorded songs for Studio One which were never released. He then formed a group with Leslie Burke and Hector Brooks called the West Indians. They recorded a hit single called “Right On Time” with producer JJ Johnson in 1968.
In 1969 the group changed its name to Kilowatts and recorded songs such as “Slot Machine” and “Cool Opereator” with producer Lee Scratch Perry but yielded very little success.
Solo Career
In1971 Eric Donaldson launched his career as a solo artiste. That same year he entered and won the Jamaica Festival Song Competition with the song . “Cherry Oh Baby”. The Rolling Stones in 1976 and UB40 in 1983 did cover versions of “Cherry Oh Baby”. The “Cherry Oh Baby” rhythm has also become a popular rythm of the dancehall genre.
Eric Donaldson has won the Jamaica Festival Song Competition a total of six times, 1971, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1993 and 1997. “Cherry Oh Baby” (1971); “Sweet Jamaica” (1977) and “Land of My Birth” (1978) have become the most popular hits of his musical career.
Although Donaldson is a song writer, “Sweet Jamaica” and “Land of My Birth”, which are tributes to the Jamaican people and its culture, were written by Winston Wallace. Both songs were arranged and backed by the Fab Five band.