Pablo Moses

by Sandra Brennan
Pablo Moses burst onto the reggae scene in 1975 with the puzzling song "I Man a Grasshopper" from his debut album Revolutionary Dream. The song title refers the title character of the then popular television series Kung Fu though it tells the story of a drunken ex-cop who turns in a ganja-smoking singer. It was an enormous hit in both Jamaica and England, but Moses himself remained fairly unknown.
He was born Pablo Henry in the rural Manchester part of Jamaica. But for two years spent in New York City, he remained a country boy until his desire to perform became too strong. Moses got his start performing with informal school bands. He and chum Don Prendes eventually formed the Canaries, which remained his back-up group, and began performing at talent shows. They also auditioned for Duke Reid and at Dodd's Studio One with little success. Following the success of "Grasshopper," Moses released a few more singles, including "We Should Be in Angola," but for some reason, they did better in England than they did in Jamaica. The song "Give I Fe I Name" was an exception. Revolutionary Dream was acclaimed, but it brought him little profit and Moses decided to back off from the music scene for a while.
During this time, he spent two years studying at the Jamaica School of Music. It was there that he gathered a new group of musicians and began performing at night clubs, theaters and on campus. They also made a television show that was quite popular in Jamaica. In 1980, Moses returned to reggae with A Song, (1980) an innovative album produced by Moses and Geoffery Chung that was recorded in Jamaica using the island's finest session players and the remixed in London. The result was a multi-layered blend of roots and sophisticated international reggae that many consider Moses' masterpiece. Chung then produced a follow-up, Pave the Way. He continues recording through the '90s.