Horace Faith

Horace Faith (born Horace Smith, Jamaica) was a Jamaican reggae singer. He is best known for his cover of the Checkmates, Ltd. song, "Black Pearl", which reached number 13 in the UK Singles Chart in 1970.[1]

Horace Faith
Birth name	Horace Smith[1]
Born	Jamaica[1]
Died	7 March 2015
Genres	Reggae
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1970s
Labels	B&C, Trojan, A&M, DJM

Released by Trojan Records (TR 7790),[2] "Black Pearl" spent ten weeks in the UK Singles Chart in the latter half of 1970, peaking at number 13 in October that year.[1] Coincidentally, the original version of the song by Checkmates, Ltd., peaked at number 13 in the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1969.[3] The track was written by Irwin Levine, Phil Spector and Toni Wine.[4] The b-side of Faith's single was "Help Me Help Myself", which was written by Johnny Arthey and Phil Swern.[2] The single was released in the United States by Bell Records.[5]

"Black Pearl" subsequently appeared on numerous compilation albums.[4]

Faith's later recordings included the self penned, "I Can't Understand It", arranged by Richard Anthony Hewson and produced by Swern.[6]

Faith died on 7 March 2015.[7]

Discography

Year	Title	Record label	UK Singles Chart[1]
1969	"Spinning Wheel"	B&C
1970	"Black Pearl"	Trojan	13
1970	"Susie is Tomorrow"	Trojan
1972	"Shame and Scandal in The Family"	A&M
1976	"I Can't Understand It"	DJM
1978	"Rich Man Poor Man"	Ultra

[8][9]

See also

• List of Jamaicans

References

1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 193. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
2. "Horace Faith – "Black Pearl"". Discogs. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
3. Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 7th edition, 2000
4. "Black Pearl". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
5. "Horace Faith – "Black Pearl"". Toniwine.com. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
6. "Horace Faith – "I Can't Understand It"". NME. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
7. Lily Fierro (13 April 2015). "Bovine Ska and Rocksteady 4/8/2015: Horace Faith – LILY & GENEROSO 4EVER!". Lilyandgeneroso4ever.com. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
8. "Horace Faith – Discography". Discogs. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
9. "Horace Faith – Discography". 45cat.com. Retrieved 11 April 2012.