Gregory Isaacs was the complete artiste and set to dominate the reggae scene but his course was derailed by a crippling problem that finished off one of the most promising careers in music history
To anyone who is struggling with addiction - the key for me was to keep struggling. The battle is only lost when you submit. I found my way clean and sober now for 6 months and life is without a doubt better. You can do it too.
@@abocas most opiate addicts start when doctors prescribe oxy to you for years...then suddenly stop without giving support for the dependency that occurs even with normal use. If you've never been through withdrawal you'll never understand the misery and pain it causes.
The image of the once dapper and handsome Gregory in the last years of his cocaine contaminated life was a sorry sight to behold. He had also horribly aged to twenty more years than his actual age. Drugs are satanic and the scourge of many top super stars. Rest in power Cool Ruler, we shall never ever forget you and the beautiful music you bequeathed to us.
This is a very accurate documentary. Congratulations to you. I met Gregory Isaacs in the town of Lyon in France in the 1980's. I was a musician, dj and radio host of a reggae program and very often presented singers on stage when they performed in Lyon. I distinctly remember seeing Gregory Isaacs sniffing coke as he waited behind the curtain before going on stage. I asked him how he wanted me to present him to the public but it's like he just ignored me. Drugs are really a demonic force that takes away the soul of a man and transforms him into something else. RIP cool ruler.
@Lennox Lindsay you have spoken the exact truth. For those battling addiction - to truly succeed first recognise your Lord, submit to His will, and give up your desires for His will. And know that giving up a thing disliked (a harm) for His sake is worth more than a thousand years of voluntary praise. Ask (pray) for this sincere determination that your desire will be transformed to dislike and and then disgust. Without that sincerity you will remain on the station of "recovering addict", always one day at a time, always one step from relapse.
I think he past away to soon but I also think he had a pure soul stayed treu to his heart even do he did drugs he sang openly about it in a few songs exactly how it works in other words to stay away from it or get clean❤love Mr isaaks
Night Nurse was a super popular song when I lived in Hawaii. And Gregory was due to perform in 92. He was turned away at the airport because of his reputation for drug use.
I'm not ashamed to say that I went through it myself for 22yrs after losing my mom at 17 then my son died at 14yrs and it nearly destroyed me I'm still battling with bad health even though I have been clean for some years now if I could tell the kids it's not worth it you lose everything health wealth friends and happiness what's life without these qualities. ✌️
I was on tour in Scandinavia with Gregory , he had problems , but he also knew about his problems , so its realy sad , that no one could help him quit his drugs 😢
It's a damn shame... The cool ruler. Gregory. No mater how his personal life was, we cannot deny the fact that this man sings some good classic legendary riddems.. Rest in power Gregory Issac.🕊️
Well said sir your 100% right. It's heartbreaking to know Gregory end up that way. In some ways I wish I hadn't seen this documentary. Drugs or not Rest Easy Cool Ruler you were a Lion.
It's been weeks now. Almost all the major withdrawal symptoms are gone, still dealing with insomnia. I have also revived my programming skills. Can't compare the situation today and three weeks ago.
Gregory Isaacs and Dennis Brown were two of Jamaica's powerhouses when it came to making beautiful music, angelic voices that will make you love Jah and man, brought tears to your eyes, but they were only human with gifts that created conditions that were difficult to control and they lost the battle....Gone but NEVER forgotten.....ONE LOVE!💥💥
Sorry they made crucial fatal mistakes I am sure both of them knew that shit was no good for them extremely sad both of them had. so much more left in them RIP both of you.
At the Reggae Sunsplash in MoBay in which Gregory was a staple, I was there in 83,84,85,86 and 87, Gregory and Yellowman were the most welcomed performers, the crowd would go wild, most especially the ladies. We all should be grateful for having Gregory as part of our lives. May he rest in peace
I cant remember the year but I saw him walking along Golborne Road off Ladbroke Grove one day. Full three piece white suit and white hat tipped just so. Someone shouted at him Yo Cool Ruler! He turned raised his hat smiled, everyone smiled and waved back and he turned and casually carried on with his walk. Coolness personified.
From the moment I took out a Gregory album from Ibrox public library in Glasgow, Scotland, in the late 70's I was hooked. Looking through my albums/cd's I notice I have more Gregory releases than any other artist. Last time I saw him perform was at summerstage in N.Y.C. He was barely coherent. Barrington stepped in to try and salvage the show. It was heart breaking.
Rest well legend,a man is just a man fans love you same way.... Unfortunately many of our favorite artiste have taken this path for whatever reason,sad but true 🙏🏿💯🎼
Everywhere I have heard he was a gentleman and one of the kindest and most generous people. He was used by those around him and darkness. The record company's control them by substance so they can steal from them.. What an absolute natural talent. He gave us so much. SALUTE❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I saw him tear it down at the Elite Ark in Brooklyn. He was well past his prime, but he tore it down that night! What a voice and performer for the ages.
Heartbreaking story..so much talent...will never get over Night Nurse...played it for my mother when it just came out..she loved it..the entire world did...just so heartbreaking...
i forgot that he passed away. he made wonderful records and i wish he was alive and keeping his wife, june company for years to come. if you're going to explain the cool ruler's life, you have to focus on drug use (momentarily). obviously he had continued international success (he was gregory isaacs). i don't sense that you wanted his story to play out as it did, that you're gleeful telling it. thanks for problematic news i did and didn't want to know.
reggae appreciation society- i wrote (more or less) "you did a good job with documentary although it was hard hearing he suffered so much" and you have hearts for everyone but me and 1 other person. why? i wasn't knocking you or gregory isaacs!
What an amazing voice! Night Nurse is my favorite song and I was told that the song was about drugs a long time ago. I couldn’t believe it at the time because all along I was thinking he was singing about a woman. May he be Remembered In Perfection ❤️
I always believed he was singing about a woman. Now you have said what the song is really about, it seems ironic that it is used on an advert on UK television for a cough relief medicine of the same name as the song and its known for some addicts to use the medicine when they can't get a fix.
God gave Gregory "Kool Ruler" Isaacs all (Beautiful voice, handsome, multi-talented, tall and a nice head of hair) that the average man would trade with the devil for; however, it was his overseas friends and management team that introduced him to that "night nurse", Sir Isaacs missed many Air Jamaica flights to and from his shows. He came through the airports looking like he was a homeless man and his clothes were always falling off him...I use to teared (water in my eyes) up when he was in the arrivals and departure lounge....my thoughts, "how did he get to this in life, why can't his family and friends help him?", was repeated many times in my head....remember the MIND is the MOST powerful thing a human being has to protect with his life....if you failed to protect your mind from the evils of this world, then you are just as dead as a man in a coma (hopeless).
I saw him play at Cystal Palace football club at Reggae Sunsplash, it was hammered with hells angels smoking dubbige chillin- All tribes welcome (Jah Shaka quote)Gregory radiated cool
I totally thought he was pushing 70 when i saw him last. Hit every note and beat perfectly, on n off stage constantly. We loved what he did, didnt judge him for the addiction. Muchluv Gregory, rest in paradise
R.I.P Cool Ruler...you are missed. Thank you for this video R.A.S,Gregory is my favorite by far!!!! Addiction is an evil disease...we lose so many gifted artist to this Devil's sickness. I've been sober myself for 23+ years now and I thank the Most High for every day I get. Please keep the great content coming
This is problematic. There was no mention of Isaacs drug free society and his getting clean in 2004. It also skips over many of Gregory's trump's from 1983-2010. The focus on the drugs isn't balanced with Isaacs continued international success despite his addiction. Jah bless the Cool Ruler. A big hearted man with many talents
So pagans stay probably get paid by white people to destroy the man character, know Gregory personally was a very decent man, a decent human beings, full of love and energy.
I was a Montreal promoter in the mid 80’s, booked Gregory, he showed up 7 hours late at midnight, the opening band played for many hours to keep the crowd from rioting, he was stoned out of this fucking mind with some white witch woman. The contract was that he was to play one hour and 15 minutes minimum, he collapsed after 42 minutes. After that when I said they had not fulfilled the contract I had two very large men with a gun to my head, demanding money, I was 24 years old, and had no back up so I paid them. Now, on a positive note, I also booked Burning Spear who showed up on time played a beautiful set we’re so wonderful to work with.❤️
"Soon forward" is the first song of Gregory Isaacs that I heard. The beauty of the ma's voice got me hooked to his music. "Street walker" is one of my favourite songs of all time, just like Jimmy Cliff's "Harder they come".
Gregory is still one of my favorite Reggae artist. Drugs have destroyed many music artist throughout the years. Hopefully others will see his and Dennis Brown's tragic stories and stay away from drugs. The movie Rockers which he was in is a classic!!!
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Can you imagine his legacy potential had he never got hooked on drugs? I mean he's already on the Mt. Rushmore of Reggae Legends as it stands. So glad I saw him 1 last time about a year or so before he passed in Oakland, CA at the legendary FOX theater for the Raggamuffins Concert. There were hundreds of suburban teenage girls a 1/3 of his age and High AF begging him to sing "Night Nurse." So iconic. Will never forget that.
Plus I should add, if what I saw was only a shadow of what he used to be, the drug usage makes a lot more sense. Not in the way you may think though. I could see promotion in the UK and USA wanting to commoditize him in the same way Dennis Brown was in the UK. promotion is always more interested in crooners. This means a lot more pressure to fulfill expectations, which can lead to drink in order to cope. The drugs weren't given with intention to make an artist a junkie, they're given to counteract the depressant effects of drink. The problem is frequent snorting will quickly affect the nasal passages, which can lead to smoking or intravenous. A slippery slope. I've see nothing instantly sober up completely plastered drunk quite like a bump.. I suspect this may have been part of the problem. It was a different era, drinking was a lot more prevalent across all segments of society, to the point it would shock some people if there were a time machine and they could go back.
my favorite JA singer. Was lucky enough to see him live in Central Park here in NYC with John Holt and Barrington Levy also. I had all his albums up to Red Rose For Gregory and remember noting that his voice had changed in one LP along the way.
Thank you Sir! Gregory is my favorite reggae artist. I've got at least three inches of records and many CDs. I got to see him live in a very small room in Santa Cruz.
Oh Gosh, I still remember one of his songs, Night nurse, during that listening and comprehension English lesson somewhere in Central London back then in April 1986! Old days, good and happy old days! RiP GI.
💯♥️⚘️ was still a wonderful man. fascinating to watch and absolutely pleasure to hear . Drugs are now a if only in the life of Gregory isaacs. Hope the lesson he learnt enforce his message of dont do drugs 🙏 R.I.P X
Omg, thanks for this video, I never new this about Gregory?? I'm shocked.. 😮 can't believe Dennis Brown was doing it too?? so sad, 2 legends of Reggae music, so sad 😢 what a waste of life, RIP 🙏
I had no idea. All my life I put the Rastafari on a pedestal, thinking that a true Rasta, such as Gregory and Dennis, they would never ingest that poison. They are only human though. I am sad to think of these wonderful men ingesting that trash. REST in Peace brothers.
When you live amongst most rastafarians, you will recognize alot of flaws. It isn't their fault completely. It's what the wicked world puts in front of us that will weaken us and turn us out from enough strength to walk away from evil...
@@carleontafari The mind is so weak and we must make it strong. We are all blessed with a certain amount of strength. Some are strong to resist temptations from the beginning and go an entire life. But that is rare. That is why we have drama in life. Some people get no strength and have it torn down even more by society because they were too weak to understand from the beginning. I am such a man that was born with much strength and I made poor decisions THE SAME AS GREGORY AND DENNNIS. I too have known cocaine in powder and smoke form. I almost went to jail for my weakness. I was blessed because 2 years before my trouble with police I asked Jah to help me in HIS own way. I gave Jah the power and stopped being a pray-some, like these men let the devil turn them into a spiritual comb-some Rasta. i stopped fighting Jah and let him control me. I kept on smoking and drinking and was jailed for drunken driving. Judge told me that I had one chance to be clean of alcohol, and told me i was to be tested randomly by the court system with the urine tests. I was strong enough to avoid the dungeon of jail. I got my physical fitness back in my time of being a slave to the at-home-jail system. My life shines now and I have a woman who loves me and a young man who needed a father. I am blessed. Please I hope Jah you will belss Mr. Carleon King and give him all of your posessions in foreverness. Jah. Rastafari.
Bless you for this Channel. In a Sea which is full of Expensive Cars and chasing Money Channels (many of which I unashamedly watch) it is nice to come across this channel. Thanks for sharing this 'Quality' content.
The truth hurts ! One compare him to Billy Holiday of Raggae such a great entainer, but drugs took him over and I tried to see him over and over in the 90's but like the host of this documentary said by that time drugs took me away and he never show up for his shows. Thank God for RU-vid and showing his concerts in the 70's and especially the early 80's . In fact one of the best live performances in Roots Ragge was the performance that him and his band gave in 1984 in London at the Brixtion. Finally, in my humble opinion he his in the top three greatest Reggae Roots performer of all times , right behind Bob, Spear and then there was Issac . F.Y.I. Thanks to the creators showing the dark side of the entrainment industry that often never told. M
Still love him and Dennis Brown. Fortunate enough to have seen both live once. Had to go to Jamaica to see Gregory in Negril because he at the time was banned from the US due to his drug use. One of the most memorable concerts ever. That was in the late 1980’s. I first heard him in the mid 1980’s while on a minibus in Grenada and they were playing him on the sound system. I asked a young child next to me who the singer was and he told me Gregory Issac. As a health professional I know the power of addiction. It makes you do things you know will kill you.
As a child, I saw him sitting in the rain in negril, and he sat in one place until the sun came out and dried him off. It was actually sad and it was my first experience seeing an addict.
One huge "crack" in his armor.... but seriously bless up and big thanks for night nurse... not just my favorite song from him but one of my all time favorites period
I'm from a small little island where I had an experience with Gregory Isaacs in flesh, I can personally say, that if it wasn't for crack cocaine we would not have hit songs like night nurse, Wich is a song he sang inspired by his addiction to crack cocaine
