DESCRIPTION:
In 1967, Kingston-born musician Jo-Jo Bennett, then living in Toronto, sent word to Jamaica: Jo-Jo needed a band. Wayne quickly responded to the call, moving from Montego Bay to Toronto that year. Possessed with an intensifying vision, in the winter of 1969, Wayne assembled a stellar cast of musical friends and Studio One vets to begin the sessions for the Sounds of Joy album, recorded during off-hours at Art Snider’s Sound Canada Recording Centre. Wayne was 23 at the time.
Twelve musicians are credited on the LP sleeve including Alton Ellis, Ike Bennett, Everton Paul, and Lloyd Delpratt; others, including Jackie Mittoo, are rumored to have sat in. Of the 10 songs, six were McGhie originals, and as the material moved from funk, to soul, to reggae/R&B crossover, it is Wayne’s pure and soulful voice that sets the tone.