Biography
Delroy Washington (born in Westmoreland, Jamaica, in 1952; died 27 March 2020) was a Jamaican-British reggae singer best known for his releases for Virgin Records in the late 1970s.
Washington moved with his family to London in the early 1960s. His early experience in the music industry was a session musician and tour manager. As a member of the band Rebel he recorded material for CBS Records that was not released.
He recorded as a solo artist for producer Count Shelly before recording as a backing singer for The Wailerson their "Catch a Fire" album, after befriending Bob Marley in the early 1970s, and he continued to provide backing vocals for Wailers album until the late 1970s. Washington wrote songs with Marley and worked with him on making Marley's lyrics more suitable for European listeners.
He became one of the first reggae artists signed by Virgin Records in the mid-1970s, his "Give All the Praise to Jah" single becoming a success on the British reggae charts. He released two albums on Virgin, I Sus in 1976 and Rasta in 1977.
After leaving Virgin he released a handful of singles on different labels up to the early 1980s. He appeared on the 1984 Jah Shaka album Message From Africa, singing the opening track "Help One Another".
Washington founded the Federation of Reggae Music, which worked with Brent Council, London, to install a blue plaque on the house in Neasden where the Wailers lived in the early 1970s.
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