My NTS
Live now
1
20:00 - 21:00

Special guest shows from around the world.

2
19:00 - 21:00

Special guest shows from around the world.

Dennis Alcapone

Dennis Alcapone

Dennis Alcapone has been played on NTS over 20 times, featured on 20 episodes and was first played on 5 April 2014.

Dennis Alcapone (born Dennis Smith on August 6, 1947 in Clarendon, Jamaica) is a reggae DJ and producer.

Smith initially trained as a welder and worked for the Jamaica Public Services. Inspired by the big sound systems that he had visited in his youth such as those run by Duke Reid, Coxsone Dodd and Prince Buster, and particularly King Tubby's Hi-Fi, which featured the DJ U-Roy, and the Kentone sound system featuring DJ Pamapdo, Smith teamed up with two friends to set up his own "El Paso" sound system in the late 1960s.

With Smith as DJ, the El Paso sound system grew in popularity and caught the attention of producer Keith Hudson, who asked him to record for him, starting with "Marker Version", with hits soon following in the form of "Spanish Amigo", "Shades Of Hudson", "Revelation Version", "Maca Version" and "The Sky's The Limit", all in 1970.Smith then moved to Coxsone Dodd's Studio One where he decided on a change of name, 'Al Capone' being a nickname that had stuck with him since going to see a gangster movie with friends. This resulted in the "Nanny Version" single, which was another big Jamaican hit. Producer Duke Reid then employed the DJ on a series of singles in 1971 and 1972 such as "Number One Station", "The Great Woggie", "Teach The Children", and "Musical Alphabet", and in the same era, Alcapone also recorded singles for Bunny Lee including "Ripe Cherry" and "Guns Don't Argue". In the period from 1970 to 1973, Alcapone made over 100 singles and released three albums, for a range of producers including Hudson, Dodd, Reid, Bunny Lee, Lee Perry, Joe Gibbs, Prince Buster, Alvin Ranglin, Prince Tony Robinson, J.J. Johnson and Phil Pratt. Alcapone had his own distinct half-sung style with high-pitched whoops, with his influence clearly visible in DJ's that followed such as I-Roy and the later "sing-jays". The second-wave DJ Dillinger initially named himself after Dennis Alcapone, using the name 'Young Alcapone' before changing his name at the suggestion of Lee Perry.

He also began working as a producer, working with artists such as Dennis Brown, Augustus Pablo and Delroy Wilson, as well as self-productions. After several international tours in the first half of the 1970s, Alcapone relocated to London, England in 1975, after which he became less active musically, although still recorded occasionally, and returned to live performance at the WOMAD festival in 1989.

read more

Dennis Alcapone

Dennis Alcapone has been played on NTS over 20 times, featured on 20 episodes and was first played on 5 April 2014.

Dennis Alcapone (born Dennis Smith on August 6, 1947 in Clarendon, Jamaica) is a reggae DJ and producer.

Smith initially trained as a welder and worked for the Jamaica Public Services. Inspired by the big sound systems that he had visited in his youth such as those run by Duke Reid, Coxsone Dodd and Prince Buster, and particularly King Tubby's Hi-Fi, which featured the DJ U-Roy, and the Kentone sound system featuring DJ Pamapdo, Smith teamed up with two friends to set up his own "El Paso" sound system in the late 1960s.

With Smith as DJ, the El Paso sound system grew in popularity and caught the attention of producer Keith Hudson, who asked him to record for him, starting with "Marker Version", with hits soon following in the form of "Spanish Amigo", "Shades Of Hudson", "Revelation Version", "Maca Version" and "The Sky's The Limit", all in 1970.Smith then moved to Coxsone Dodd's Studio One where he decided on a change of name, 'Al Capone' being a nickname that had stuck with him since going to see a gangster movie with friends. This resulted in the "Nanny Version" single, which was another big Jamaican hit. Producer Duke Reid then employed the DJ on a series of singles in 1971 and 1972 such as "Number One Station", "The Great Woggie", "Teach The Children", and "Musical Alphabet", and in the same era, Alcapone also recorded singles for Bunny Lee including "Ripe Cherry" and "Guns Don't Argue". In the period from 1970 to 1973, Alcapone made over 100 singles and released three albums, for a range of producers including Hudson, Dodd, Reid, Bunny Lee, Lee Perry, Joe Gibbs, Prince Buster, Alvin Ranglin, Prince Tony Robinson, J.J. Johnson and Phil Pratt. Alcapone had his own distinct half-sung style with high-pitched whoops, with his influence clearly visible in DJ's that followed such as I-Roy and the later "sing-jays". The second-wave DJ Dillinger initially named himself after Dennis Alcapone, using the name 'Young Alcapone' before changing his name at the suggestion of Lee Perry.

He also began working as a producer, working with artists such as Dennis Brown, Augustus Pablo and Delroy Wilson, as well as self-productions. After several international tours in the first half of the 1970s, Alcapone relocated to London, England in 1975, after which he became less active musically, although still recorded occasionally, and returned to live performance at the WOMAD festival in 1989.

Original source Last.fm

Tracks featured on

Most played tracks

Spanish Amigo
Dennis Alcapone
Big Shot1970
Love Is Not A Gamble
Dennis Alcapone
Treasure Isle2015
Wake Up Jamaica
Dennis Accapone
Treasure Isle0
Brixton Hall
Dennis Alcapone
Ethnic Fight1977
Solid As A Rock
Dennis Alcapone, The Ethiopians
Archive Recordings0
Ba-Ba-Ri-Ba
Dennis, Lizzy
Pyramid1973
Joe Frazier (Round 2)
Dennis Alcapone
Iron Side1972
Gorgon Youth
Dennis Alcapone
Live And Love1975
My Voice Is Insured For Half A Million Dollars
Dennis Alcapone
Duke Reid Greatest Hits0
Six Million Dollar Man
Dennis Alcapone
Jackpot0