Soul Rebel takes new approach
WHether it is the original by Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions or the rocksteady cover by The Techniques, Queen Majesty gets dances in Jamaica jumping to this day.
Singer Soul Rebel recently put a gender spin on the classic song, covering it as King Majesty for Stingray Records out of the UK.
“The King Majesty cover was the product of being on tour in England last summer. One of the stops procured by my team had less to do with a radio station or disc jock and more to do with a prominent producer named Dillie [Carlton Mcleod]. I was brought to Dillie by Diana ‘Lady D’ Elliott, my tour facilitator,” Soul Rebel recalled.
“When we got there and were introduced, he was playing a few tracks that he had been working on as he was coming off of a meeting with another producer. Dillie invited me to listen to the tracks and to see if I liked or vibed with any of them. I listened to a few, but when I heard this one track I was stunned. Even though it was a remake I was excited to be a part of it in some way.”
Written by Mayfield, the original was one of the songs that made the Impressions a force during the soul music era of the early and mid-1960s.
The Techniques covered it for producer Arthur “Duke” Reid at Treasure Isle in 1967.
The Jays had a reggae hit with Queen Majesty at Channel One seven years later, while Dennis Brown covered it for producer Lloyd Charmers in 1980.
In addition to the title change, Soul Rebel went for a different vocal approach to The Techniques version which featured the distinctive falsetto of Pat Kelly.
“I made it more of a ballad rather than the falsetto style they used. I chose singing in my natural voice, but using some falsetto to colour it and that’s how I think I did it different,” she explained.
From Linstead, Soul Rebel (given name Julian Samuels) has been recording songs since 2012. Last year, she launched her EP, Drama.