Little John

Biography

There are two artists called Little John 1. b. John McMorris, C. 1970, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies. McMorris first recorded with Captain Sinbad for the Youth In Progress label at the tender age of nine, where his piping interjections contrasted neatly with Sinbad's gruff style, and throughout the 80's he was seldom out of the Reggae charts. Claimed by many to be the first Dancehall singer, his ability to fit lyrics over any rhythm or backing track became something of a legend in a business t...

There are two artists called Little John

1. b. John McMorris, C. 1970, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies. McMorris first recorded with Captain Sinbad for the Youth In Progress label at the tender age of nine, where his piping interjections contrasted neatly with Sinbad's gruff style, and throughout the 80's he was seldom out of the Reggae charts. Claimed by many to be the first Dancehall singer, his ability to fit lyrics over any rhythm or backing track became something of a legend in a business that has scant regard for second takes and "dropping in." Little John did it every time!! And he rode on the crest of the 80's Dancehall music explosion, Becoming a superstar by the age of 17. He began his career on Romantic Hi-Fi, Moving up through Kilimanjaro, Gemini and Volcano Hi Power, where he honed and perfected his craft with a lengthy string of live appearances. Simultaneously, he was recording for virtually every producer in Jamaica. Notably Henry "Junjo" Lawes, Joseph "Jo Jo" Hookim, George Phang, Jah Thomas and Jammy's, AND he has released countless records on a bewildering string of labels. He no longer records as extensively as he once did, and limits his live appearances to a minimum. Hits for Exterminator proved that he was not relying on his past glories, and his talent, warm personality and skill as a raconteur remained.

2. The Melbourne based five-piece are purveyors of country gospel and folk-rock…The band is the brain child of singer/songwriter & harmonica player from Redfish Bluegrass, John Dickson. Formed in 2009, Little John also comprises Brooke Penrose (double bass/vox), Damo Hooper (electric guitar), Bill Deeble (drums/backing vox), and Greg Field (mandolin/fiddle/backing vox).
The sound of Little John is captivating: it has been described as devotional, celebratory, heart-breaking and archaic. It combines the angelic harmonies reminiscent of the American Folk tradition with a gritty rock'n'roll delivery, evoking images of old American landscapes by way of a twisted Australian rhetoric. The album consists of nine tracks that swing wildly between erratic guitar noise, shrieking vocals and driving swamp beats; to chain gang antiphony and haunting traditional melodies.

Their debut album "Put Your Hands On Me" was recorded mostly over a series of cold Saturday afternoons in a backyard studio in Preston, Melbourne. The songs were then mixed and mastered under the experienced eye of Kramer whose credits include Low, Will Oldham, Jon Spencer, Daniel Johnston, and his expertise in the gothic/roots genre shines through in this album.

3. For the Atlanta-Based crunk rapper, see Lil Jon. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.