Gussie Clarke

Augustus "Gussie" Clarke (born 1954) 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 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 on the latter's influential "Pass the Kouchie" in 1981.

Much of Clarke's output was released on his own Gussy and Puppy labels.

He made his debut as a producer in 1972, with U-Roy's "The Higher The Mountain".

In the late 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, while he was still recording at Music Mountain and Dynamic Sounds studio, the first record to bear hints of this newly embraced digital sound came from the release of The Mighty Diamonds' The Real Enemy.

"Gang War", the first single off the album, released on his Music Works label, showcased this new digi-roots style, incorporating keyboard and computer programming driven riddims, compared to the known traditional roots reggae sound with players of live instruments recording in the studio.

This release stood out as the first transitional record for Clarke and his production blending old-school roots reggae with digital riddims.

In 1988 he launched his Music Works studio, equipped and ready to fully adopt the digital reggae era, successfully as a producer returned with hit records and singles for many Jamaican and UK artists.

By mid-year, the first full-length albums to showcase this style were released — The Mighty Diamonds' Get Ready and Gregory Isaacs' Red Rose For Gregory.

The latter of the two included the successful "Rumours", the biggest hit on the island during the summer of 1988.

J.C Lodge's "Telephone Love", using the same "Rumours" riddim, was the biggest reggae hit of the same year in the United States.

In 1989 Clarke reunited two of the most influential reggae artists, Dennis Brown and Gregory Isaacs, to record a full-length studio album titled No Contest, which included "Big All Around", and followed it with similar "pairings" involving Home T, Cocoa Tea & Shabba Ranks.

Clarke produced the digi-roots album Legit for Freddie McGregor, Dennis Brown and Cocoa Tea, which was released several years later.

He also produced UK artist Deborahe Glasgow's self-titled album, which included "Champion Lover", which later formed the basis for Shabba Ranks' "Mr. Loverman".

UK artist Maxi Priest's "Just A Little Bit Longer" became an international hit, as was Shabba Ranks & Krystal's "Twice My Age".

Many of Clarke's releases were issued on his own record labels Anchor and Music Works, as well on the Greensleeves, VP, Pow Wow and Shanachie labels.

This hit single led to Clarke producing a full-length album for Lodge in 1990 titled Selfish Lover, which saw her team up with Shabba Ranks on the duet "Hardcore Loving", and later again with Shabba Ranks on "Telephone Love Deh Pond Mi Mind" on his album Rappin' With The Ladies.

In the mid-1990s, he predominantly released albums on the Gone Clear Distribution label for newcomer artists such as Daddy Rings, Sasha, Dean Fraser, and with The Mighty Diamonds (Stand Up).

Some of Clarke's mid- to late '90s releases were still licensed to record labels such as Ambassador Music, Greensleeves and VP Records.

Into the late 1990s Clarke working with artists such as Tiger, Lady G, Papa San, Cocoa Tea, Freddie McGregor, Maxi Priest, Aswad and Courtney Pine.

Soon after his final produced full-length album for the late Dennis Brown, titled Stone Cold World in 1999 for VP Records, Clarke's productions quietened, with the occasional one-off single or re-issue compilation formats of previously released material re-sequenced and repackaged.

In 2006, Clarke produced the one-riddim compilation album Consuming Fire for VP Records' Riddim Driven series.

The same year saw him as co-producer for Rihanna's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" from her Girl Like Me album.

In October 2014 the Institute of Jamaica awarded Clarke a bronze Musgrave Medal for his contribution to music.

In August 2019 it was announced that Clarke would receive the Order of Distinction in the rank of commander (CD) from the Jamaican government in October that year.