| Sylford Walker | |
| Birth Place: | Penlyne Castle, St. Thomas, Jamaica |
| Birth Date: | c. 1955 |
| Genre: | Reggae |
| Years Active: | 1975–present |
| Label: | South East Music, Joe Gibbs Music, Greensleeves, Shanachie |
Sylford Walker (born c. 1955)[1] is a Jamaican reggae singer who first recorded in the mid-1970s and, with reissues renewing interest in him, returned to recording and performing in the 21st century.
Born in Penlyne Castle, St. Thomas, Walker relocated to Kingston at the age of nine.[2] Walker began working with producer Glen Brown but his first releases were for producer Joe Gibbs in 1975, including the singles "Burn Babylon" and "Jah Golden Pen" (written in 1974 while serving a prison sentence for possession of marijuana),[3] Walker drawing comparisons with Burning Spear.[4] His most productive period was working with Brown in the mid-late 1970s, singles from the era including "Lamb's Bread" and "Eternal Day".[5] His debut album, Lamb's Bread, produced by Brown and mixed by King Tubby, was recorded in 1978, but not released until Greensleeves Records and Shanachie Records issued it ten years later. In The Rough Guide to Reggae, Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton describe the tracks on the album as "minor masterpieces". The album's tracks were reissued in 2000 on the critically acclaimed Blood & Fire release Lamb's Bread International, which also included Welton Irie's deejay versions on the same rhythm tracks.[6] [7] Increased interest in Walker's work saw the release of the Nutin Na Gwan album in 2006, which included new recordings produced by Joe Gibbs, and a string of reissue singles in the first decade of the 21st century. Walker returned to live performance, including a few European tours in 2000's with the Swiss selecter/producer Asher Selector and later in 2013 with RDBLCK Artist Agency.