Biography
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Born
1953 (age 71)
Augustus "Gussie" Clarke (born 1953, Kingston, Jamaica), is a reggae producer who worked with some of the top Jamaican reggae artists in the 1970s and later set up his own Music Works studio.
Clarke started working in the music industry by cutting dub plates. He made his debut as a producer in 1972, with U-Roy's "The Higher The Mountain". He established himself as the top producer of deejays in the early 1970s with albums such as Big Youth's Screaming Target, and I-Roy's Presenting I Roy, both regarded as among the best deejay albums ever produced. Through the 1970s and early 1980s he worked with artists such as Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Augustus Pablo, Leroy Smart, and The Mighty Diamonds, including the latter's influential "Pass the Kouchie" in 1981. Much of his output was released on his own Gussy and Puppy labels.
In the early 1980s, Clarke adapted to the new dancehall style of reggae, but stood out from other producers by attempting to produce glossier recordings with greater potential to cross over internationally.
In 1987, he launched his Music Works studio, embracing the new digital era, and success as a producer returned with the likes of Gregory Isaacs' "Rumours", and hits from Eek-a-Mouse, Dean Fraser, Deborahe Glasgow, and JC Lodge. Lodge's "Telephone Love" was the biggest reggae hit of 1988 in the United States. He continued to be a high profile producer in the 1990s, working with artists such as Shabba Ranks, Maxi Priest, Cocoa Tea, General Levy, and Courtney Pine.
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