Typical of unsung heroes, precious little is known of him. Don't blame Jobson for not knowing that he has paid his dues several times over. His contribution to the development of reggae music speaks volumes. 'The Reggae Authority' is how Billboard magazine refers to him. 'The Reggae Expert' is what current hitmaker Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas calls him, since he helped produced two reggae songs with her former band Wild Orchid. You may not be aware of it, but when country and western icon, the legendary Willie Nelson wanted to record his reggae album Countryman, it was Jobson who put together the band and played guitar on the album which entered the Billboard Country charts at number six. You may be even more unaware of the fact that when Gwen Stefani and No Doubt wanted to experiment with reggae, it was Jobson who brought them to Jamaica and was the executive producer for their two

worldwide number one singles, Hey Baby and Underneath It All (featuring Bounty Killer and Lady Saw respectively) for which No Doubt received two Grammy Awards.

trenches of the entertainment business. "I grew up nine miles from the town of Nine Miles, St Ann, Jamaica, Bob Marley's home town," boasted Jobson who, after receiving his master's degree in entertainment law from Kings College in London, immersed himself into the world of reggae. Jobson has recorded and worked with a wide range of artistes, including Jimmy Cliff, Keith Richards of Rolling Stones, Herb Alpert, The Crusaders' Joe Sample, The Pretenders' Chrissy Hynde, Thievery Corporation and Tim Armstrong to mention a few. As a songwriter he has written songs for Willie Nelson, Hall and Oates, Leon, from the movie Cool Runnings, and his band The Peoples and, Junior Marvin (from Bob Marley and the Wailers). He co-wrote with Jimmy Buffett, one of the songs on his album, Far Side Of The World which entered the Billboard album chart at number five. On the video side, Jobson wrote and produced Stepping Razor, Red X, the feature documentary on Wayne Jobson keeps reggae rocking globally - JAMAICAOBSERVER.COM http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/html/20070120T140000-050...

the life of late reggae icon Peter Tosh, which was nominated for a Canadian Academy Award and won at the Jamerican Film Festival. Wayne Jobson is now developing the piece into a feature film in collaboration with the Los Angeles-based company Scott Free Films, headed by director Sir Ridley Scott (Black Hawk Down, Gladiator). Venturing into the world of radio, Wayne Jobson became both producer and disjock at the top modern rock station, the Los Angeles-based KROQ 106.7 FM, for which he created the number one reggae show in America, Reggae Revolution, a show that lasted for seven years and helped to break rock bands like No Doubt, Sublime, 311 and Sugar Ray. Jobson moved on to become programme director at the US$2-billion XM Satellite Radio. "One of my proudest moments was arranging for Bob Marley's Song of the Century, One Love, to be the first song ever to be played when we launched XM Radio to the world in 2001," Wayne Jobson recounted. Still in radio, when MTV started their Sonicnet Radio Station Group, it was the former member of the Native band who was appointed music director for their reggae stations. He was involved in the production of two Behind The Music episodes on Bob Marley and Peter Tosh for MTV's sister network, VH-1. The highly creative reggae enthusiast assisted Hollywood star Adam Sandler in putting together the reggae soundtrack for his 50 First Dates movie which went gold and was number one on the Billboard's Soundtrack and Reggae charts. Jobson is also featured as a singer on the soundtrack of the movie, Haven, written and shot by Caymanian Frank Flowers and starring Orlando Bloom, of Pirates Of The Caribbean fame. Locally, apart from his tenure with Native (who hit with a cover of Sam Cooke's Wonderful World, among others), Wayne Jobson is perhaps best known for his work with singer Abdel Wright, whom he and his brother Brian produced, managed and took to Interscope Records. That was before Wright, who is now incarcerated on a gun possession charge, lost his balance. While under the Jobsons' stewardship, Wright toured America with a range of artistes including Sting from The Police and No Doubt. The highlight of what has become Wright's checkered career was his appearance on Nelson Mandela's 4664 show in Capetown, South Africa where he performed a duet Wayne Jobson keeps reggae rocking globally - JAMAICAOBSERVER.COM
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with the group U2. A more recent project for Wayne Jobson is the production of a movie, live album and DVD on Jamaican guitar legend, Ernie Ranglin, featuring the Doors' Robbie Krieger, Elliot Easton (from The Cars) and No Doubt. The flick, titled Roots Of Reggae, was shown at the recent Flaspoint Film Festival in Negril. Jobson is currently working on an album featuring the songs of The Police, mixed in dub. And he has just completed a radio special for Universal Records to launch a box set for Sublime. Also for Universal Records, he helped in the production of a soon-to-be-released album featuring reggae great, Joe Higgs. Continuing the link with the Rolling Stones, Jobson, along with his brother, is putting together a set for Keith Richards, called Wingless Angels, which includes the last recordings of another giant of reggae, the late Justin Hinds.

"My mission is to set things up so that the brilliant
music that Jamaica has given to the world will never
be forgotten," Wayne Jobson, indeed one of reggae's
biggest movers and shakers, concluded.