A.J. Brown

By the early 1980s, singer AJ Brown had reached the limits of the cabaret circuit in Jamaica. "I realised that apart from the fact I had accomplished everything but the recording aspect of my career, I thought it was time to explore my talents at writing and recording," he told The Sunday Gleaner.

So Brown hit the studios in Kingston, far removed from the north coast circuit, not only physically, but also in approach to the art of music, where the emphasis was now on originality. Brown adapted very well and it was not long before he got his first number-one song, Love People.

It observed rising materialism in the decade that Thatcherism and Reaganomics spread across the world (in the first verse Brown holds a conversation with a friend, concluding that others are "loving money, more than people"). However, Brown told The Sunday Gleaner that Love People wasn't inspired by any specific situation. "I just got the inspiration from daily experiences, but nothing that was strongly evident in my life, that changed my life in any drastic way to write about it. Basically it just evolved after that," he said.

producing songs

And the song itself evolved to the basic advice:

"Love people more than money

Stop turning it around the other way."

There is also a touch of the gospel, as Brown slows down the song and goes high to sing:

"We're all begging for mercy."

Love People was worked out with keyboard player and then Third World member Ibo Cooper on a drive through Kingston. "I was working on an album at that time. Ibo was producing a couple of the songs. We collaborated, just driving around Kingston working out the lyrics and melody," Brown said.

So they both came up with the lyrics and "eventually he came up with the music to go with it".

Love People was recorded at Dynamic Sounds and eventually became the title track of the album that was in progress when Brown had the idea. Cooper played keyboards, Richie Daley played guitar, Glen Browne was on bass and Desi Jones played drums.

Although Love People hit number one, it was when it got to the big screen in Club Paradise that it really made waves. "What really pushed it, made it happen, was when Ibo got it in the movie. That pushed it in Jamaica and out of Jamaica," Brown told The Sunday Gleaner.

It was also in The Howling Part III.

spending own money

Brown did not experience any resistance as he moved out of the hotel circuit into the recording studios. He pointed out that he started recording while he was still doing the cabaret. In addition, "I was spending my money to deal with it. I was paying the musicians, paying for studio time and that gave me control over my pocket," he said.

There was another kind of spending that Brown did not have to do. "In them time payola wasn't so prevalent. You could still get support based on the quality of the song. That was what helped it to do so well," he told The Sunday Gleaner.

It was first performed live at his 'AJ Fashion Follies' show in Kingston and has remained a staple of his performances since then. In fact, he said, "I am more gearing my show production towards originals. There are other hits as well, All Fall Down, When You Love".

And true to his word, AJ Brown's set at last Sunday's 'Valentine's on the Harbour' concert was strong on the songs that he has done for himself, which naturally included Love People.