Kelly was born in Kingston in 1944. After leaving school, he spent a year studying electronics in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States during 1966, gaining a degree in audio electronics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, before returning to Jamaica.[2][3] He initially recorded as a solo artist for his former schoolmate, producer Bunny Lee.[3] In 1967, when Slim Smith left The Techniques, Kelly was brought in to replace him,[4] recording for Duke Reid in the Rocksteady era when Reid's Treasure Isle studio/label was dominating Jamaican music.[2] Kelly's falsetto voice, strongly influenced by the American soul singer Sam Cooke, in combination with Winston Riley and Bruce Ruffin, maintained the success that The Techniques had enjoyed with Smith.[2] The Techniques first record with Kelly, "You Don't Care" ( which was adapted from The ImpressionsCurtis Mayfield tune, "You'll Want Me Back" ) spent six weeks at number one in the Jamaican singles chart, and was followed by further hits such as "I'm in the Mood For Love", a song Kelly recorded with The Techniques in 1966, and revisited a number of times throughout his career. In the late 1970s, Kelly recorded a High Note label vocal and dub Discomix of "I'm in the Mood For Love" for Sonia Pottinger, followed by a slower, more spacious Winston Riley produced take on the same tune with MC Toaster Prince Mohammed, AKA George Nooks and released on the Techniques label. [2][5]
Solo career
In 1968, Kelly went solo again, working again with Lee, and recording another Mayfield cover, "Little Boy Blue".[2][4] He also recorded for Phil Pratt.[6] Kelly's How Long Will It Take 45 was the biggest-selling Jamaican single of 1969, and was the first Jamaican record to feature a string arrangement, which was overdubbed when it was released in the United Kingdom on the Palmer Brothers' Gas label. In the same year, Kelly also recorded a Bunny Lee produced version of the John D. Loudermilk composition, Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye, a tune already popularised in Jamaica by the Bettye Swann and Johnny Nash interpretations. 1969 was a prolific year, with Kelly also interpreting the James Carr (singer)Soul musicR & B tune, The Dark End of the Street, with Bunny 'Striker' Lee and Lee "Scratch" Perry on production duties. In 1976, Pat Kelly teamed up with Yabby You and The Prophets to cut a Rockers discomix version of the How Long Will It Take tune, backed by The Revolutionaries. [2] An album followed, the Lee "Scratch" Perry-engineered Pat Kelley Sings (sic), and Kelly was offered a £25,000 contract by Apple Records, which he was unable to accept due to existing contractual commitments.[2][5]
Kelly continued to record, having a big hits for producerPhil Pratt in 1972 with "Soulful Love" and "Talk About Love", and returning to record with Duke Reid, having another hit with a cover of John Denver's "Sunshine". In 1977, Pat Kelly cut a Rockers discomix version of "Talk about Love" with Dillinger and The Revolutionaries, and in the same period, he also revisited "Sunshine" with The Revolutionaries, updated to the more spacious and experimental drum and bass heavy styles of the time. Kelly's composition "Talk about Love" has proved consistently popular, notably with versions produced by vocalist Al Campbell recorded at Channel One Studios in 1991. [2][7]
In 1979, Kelly worked with Sly and Robbie, Ossie Hibbert and Ranking Trevor on the Rockers vocal and dub Discomix, "It's a Good Day", which was also versioned by King Tubby. As well as pursuing his calling as a vocalist, Pat Kelly also made use of his earlier training, working as a highly prolific sound engineer at several Jamaican studios including Channel One and King Tubby's, where he worked with Scientist (musician) on vocals and dubs with the leading musicians of the period.[6][8][9] He also moved into production, producing his own Youth and Youth album in 1978, and co-producing (with Holt) John Holt's The Impressable John Holt (Disco Mix) album in 1979. The late 1970s and early 1980s saw Kelly recording more regularly again, and he continued to record occasionally in the years that followed.
In 1991, he recorded a remake of 'Broken Homes' titled 'Broken City' under Shelly's Records Label, using the Pounder Riddim, which would later contribute to the emergence of the genre known as Reggaeton."
In the 1990s he was a member of a reformed Techniques, along with Lloyd Parks and Johnny Johnson.[3] He continued to perform internationally up to 2018.[10]
Kelly died on 16 July 2019, aged 74, from complications of kidney disease.[11] He was survived by widow Ingrid, one son (Shawn) and four daughters (Cheryl, Pamela, Padeane, & Terri-Ann).[1][3] He is buried at Dovecot Memorial Park and Crematory in St. Catherine.[1]
