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Born Hugh Beresford Hammond, 28 August 1955, Annotto Bay, Saint Mary, Jamaica,
Beres Hammond is a reggae singer known in particular for his romantic lovers rock and soulful voice. While his career began in
the early '70s, he reached his greatest success in the '90s.
Born the ninth of ten children; Beres grew up listening to his father's collection of American soul and jazz music, including
Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. He was further influenced by the native musics of ska and rocksteady, in particular Alton Ellis.
Beres began participating in local talent contests from 1972 to 1973, which led to his first recording,
of Alton Ellis' The Wanderer. In 1975 he joined the band Zap Pow, as lead singer, leading to the hit 1978 single
The System under the Aquarius Records label.
However, he simultaneously sought a solo career, releasing his debut album, Soul Reggae in 1976. His solo ballads
One Step Ahead (1976) and Joe Gibbs produced I'm in Love (1978) were both hits in Jamaica. He left Zap Pow
in 1979 to pursue his solo career, and recorded two more albums: Let's Make A Song in 1980 and Red Light in 1981.
He formed Tuesday's Children, a harmony group that toured but never recorded. Beres formed his own record label,
Harmony House Records, in 1984 for the release of his Let's Make a Song album, which had two Jamaican chart-toppers that
were influenced by the emerging dancehall style Groovy Little Thing and What One Dance Can Do.
The latter, produced by Willie Lindo, began to break Beres into the international market. He scored another hit in 1986 with
Settling Down on his eponymous release. He left his fame in Jamaica for New York in 1987, after being tied up as thieves
ransacked his house during a home invasion. There he recorded the Have a Nice Weekend album and the duet single How
Can We Ease the Pain with Maxi Priest.
Beres returned briefly to Jamaica to record Putting Up Resistance, which was significantly harder than his typical
ballads, produced by Tappa Zukie, which spawned the hits Putting Up Resistance and Strange. He signed with
Penthouse Records in 1990 and returned to Jamaica permanently to record the dancehall smash Tempted to Touch, with
producer Donovan Germain. This is perhaps his best known song in the United States and United Kingdom and set the foundation
for the hits Is This a Sign and Respect to You Baby on the 1992 A Love Affair album. Also in 1992, Beres
released the single Fire. The song received critical acclaim within the Reggae music industry and it was an extremely
sought after 7" single.
Now garnering interest from major studios such as Elektra Records, Beres recorded five more albums in the 1990s as well as
several compilations, establishing himself as one of the top lovers rock artists. His first album of the new millennium was
2001's Music Is Life, which featured an appearance by Wyclef Jean, and contributions from Earl "Chinna" Smith and Flourgon.
The album spawned several hits, including They Gonna Talk, Rockaway and Ain't It Good To Know. The 2004
release Love Has No Boundaries, had guest spots by Buju Banton and Big Youth.
He returned to Jamaica to perform at the Opening Ceremony for the Cricket World Cup 2007.
He released yet another album in 2008, "A Moment in Time", on VP Records, which featured the single I Feel Good.
Henrik & Ron
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