Gregory Anthony Isaacs ⋆ 15 July 1951 in Kingston, Jamaica ⋆ 25 Oct 2010 in… Read Full Bio ↴Gregory Anthony Isaacs ⋆ 15 July 1951 in Kingston, Jamaica ⋆ 25 Oct 2010 in London UK ⋆ was a Jamaican singer and songwriter. He recorded an enormous amount of songs in the genres (regular) reggae, lovers rock, roots reggae. His nickname was the Cool Ruler. By the late 1970s, Isaacs was one of the biggest reggae performers, regularly touring the US and the UK. Well-known songs are Night Nurse, Mr Cop, My Only Lover, Tune In, and Love Is Overdue. He became an international star 1978 after signed to Virgin Record's Front Line, and appeared in the movie Rockers with the song Slave Master. The two Front Line albums Cool Ruler and Soon Forward did, however, not sell as good as expected from someone regarded to be the third or fourth reggae artist in the world after Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, and maybe Jacob Miller (singer in the band Inner Circle). Drug problems with cocaine and crack cocaine in the early 80s decelerated Isaacs carrier substantially, but not completely. He released 73 studio albums with original material, and over 500 compilation or remix albums. He worked together with almost all big Jamaican music producers of the 70s, 80s and 90s.

- - -

Gregory Isaacs (born on 15 July 1951 in Fletchers Land, Kingston, Jamaica and died on 25 October 2010 in London) was a Reggae singer and songwriter. Gregory Anthony Isaacs is known as "The Cool Ruler" for his seductive crooning vocal style. Gregory attributed his greatest musical influences to R&B greats Sam Cooke and Percy Sledge, in addition to Delroy Wilson, Alton Ellis and Ken Boothe.

In the late 1960s, Gregory first performed in a vocal trio called The Concords, after being encouraged by Byron Lee. By 1970 the group had split up. He subsequently formed his own label, African Museum.

In the late 1970s he emerged as one of the most prolific and popular recording artists in Jamaica. He released a number of self-produced singles on his own African Museum (JA) label with Errol Dunkley. Much of Isaacs' output reflected the 'conscious' themes of Roots Reggae, but Isaacs was equally adept at interpreting more mainstream Lovers Rock material. Early hits include "My Only Lover", "Sinner Man" and "Mr. Cop", recorded at Lee Perry's Black Ark Studio.

A period in the 1970s with the GG's label and its producer Alvin Ranglin produced hits like "Border" and "Number One".

Personal problems affected him, particularly battles with a cocaine addiction and a possession charge, which prevented him from touring in North America for a significant part of his career, until a pardon could eventually be secured.

Isaacs recorded with a number of producers, including the Riddim Twin's (Sly & Robbie) Taxi Records, who gave them their first hit with 1979's "Soon Forward" , After a series of releases with Sly & Robbie, Gregory built a strong relationship with Gussie Clarke of the Music Works label. In addition to these local Jamaican labels, The Cool Ruler had had releases on Trojan, VP, Virgin's Front Line and English producer Tad A. Dawkin's Tad's Records. Isaacs would would eventually sign with Chris Blackwell's Island Records which resulted in the international release of Night Nurse (1982) and Out Deh! (1983).

Perhaps his most popular recordings in his native Jamaica are "All I Have Is Love", "Mr. Brown" and "Hard Drugs", the latter being an anti-drug anthem that dominated radio in the late 1980s and was released as a hidden track on England's Tad Records All I Have Is Love, Love Love LP.

In the 1990s Gregory's African Museum label continued to release all of Gregory Isaacs' music, and that of artists he produced. He continued to record and perform live in the 2000s, and it has been estimated that Isaacs has released over 500 records in his career, which includes singles and compilations.

Isaacs, who was 59 years old, died of lung cancer on 25 October 2010 at his home in London where he spent part of his time. A sad loss to the world.

Way of Life
Gregory Isaacs Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Now we can′t survive with this life we all living
We just can't survive with this life we all living, friend
We should be loving and kind to one another, yeah
And we must try to understand, yeah, each other
Instead of fighting your brother, every day, oh yeah
If you keep on, fighting your brother, every day
Then you′ll never reach nowhere, nowhere
You'll never reach nowhere, nowhere, nowhere, no where

(.)

Now we should be loving and kind to one another, yeah
And we must try to understand, yeah, each other
Instead of fighting your brother, every day, oh yeah
If you keep on, fighting your brother, every day
Then you'll never reach nowhere, nowhere, yeah
You′ll never reach nowhere, nowhere, nowhere, nowhere

Nowhere! I said nowhere, yeah
You′ll never, never reach nowhere.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Way of Life" by Gregory Isaacs emphasize the importance of love and understanding in our interactions with others. The song suggests that the way we treat one another is crucial to our ability to survive in the world. Gregory Isaacs warns that if we continue to fight with each other on a daily basis, we'll never reach our goals, and we'll be stuck in the same place – nowhere.

Isaacs encourages everyone to be loving and kind towards each other, emphasizing that we should try to understand each other's perspectives. The song suggests that when we fight with others, we set ourselves back, and we're not able to make progress. The repeated use of "nowhere" in the lyrics emphasizes the importance of this message, suggesting that if we don't work together and treat each other with kindness and understanding, we'll remain stuck in a negative cycle.

Overall, "Way of Life" by Gregory Isaacs is a powerful message of hope and unity. The song encourages listeners to focus on building positive relationships with each other, rather than getting caught up in negative cycles of conflict.

Line by Line Meaning

Now we can't survive with this life we all living
We cannot continue to exist in the manner we are currently living.

We should be loving and kind to one another, yeah
It is important that we display acts of kindness and love towards each other.

And we must try to understand, yeah, each other
We need to put in effort to comprehend other people's perspectives and actions.

Instead of fighting your brother, every day, oh yeah
Rather than constantly arguing or engaging in conflict with a sibling-like figure, we should aim to build peaceful relationships.

If you keep on, fighting your brother, every day
If the behavior of fighting with someone like a brother persists,

Then you'll never reach nowhere, nowhere
It will create an obstacle in the way of progress and development.

You'll never reach nowhere, nowhere, nowhere, no where
Advancement towards one's goal or destination is hindered when in a state of constant conflict and hostility.

Now we should be loving and kind to one another, yeah
Our behavior must be geared towards demonstrating care and concern for others.

And we must try to understand, yeah, each other
Making the effort to understand one another is critical.

Instead of fighting your brother, every day, oh yeah
Bickering or sparring with a sibling-like figure each day is unproductive.

If you keep on, fighting your brother, every day
If it persists, it will lead to no progress or advancements.

Then you'll never reach nowhere, nowhere, yeah
It will be impossible to achieve anything significant or attain a desired standard of living if the habit of fighting won't go away.

You'll never reach nowhere, nowhere, nowhere, nowhere
Progress towards personal or societal development is non-existent when there is a continuous cycle of fighting and hostility.

Nowhere! I said nowhere, yeah
It emphasizes the importance of the notion of 'nowhere', suggesting that the lack of progress will ultimately lead to lack of development.

You'll never, never reach nowhere.
One's ability to progress will come to a halt if they are always fighting their brother and not prioritizing empathy and positive communication.

Writer(s): Cartagena Joseph Anthony, Lemay Rodney Maurice, Coleman Lamont

Contributed by Kayla G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS