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Danny Sims
Danny Sims, reputed to be the United States’ first real black music entrepreneur, died unexpectedly last month in Los Angeles of colon and intestinal problems.
He lived a hugely colourful life and was the first non-Jamaican to recognise the enormous global potential of Bob Marley. He was one of the biggest characters in an industry famous for larger than life people.
Danny Sims was born in Mississippi and raised in Chicago. His entry into the music business came with the opening of Sapphire, the first black club in Manhattan, and he formed a promotions company at the behest of Johnny Nash. The company, Hemisphere, was responsible for all the top stars of the day – Sammy Davis, Brook Benton, Ben E. King, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding - he worked with everyone from Mohammed Ali to Malcolm X. Hemisphere later absorbed Dinah Washington’s Queens label creating one of the biggest African-American agencies of the time.
In the 1960s, Danny formed a label with Nash called JODA, later to become JAD, and it was to this label that both the Wailers and Bob Marley signed. The Wailers were later to often stay at Danny’s house even while he was away. Fellow performers such as Gloria Gaynor, Lloyd Price, Betty Wright and English musician Rabbit (Marley, Free, the Who) also found a home on JAD.
In 1972, Danny and Johnny felt they had taken Marley’s career as far as they could and created a situation whereby they sold his contract to Chris Blackwell’s Island Records so that he could be successfully marketed to the rock market Island had built.
Danny published Bob Marley from 1967-1977 and had a huge influence in creating the song writing vision that propelled his career. In 1981, when in an advanced stage of cancer, Bob turned to Danny and stayed with him for several months before his (Marley’s) death.
Danny described his relationship with Bob thus “I guess I was his godfather – that is in the street sense – I looked out for him.”
While still finding his own feet outside Jamaica, Marley’s songs “Stir It Up” and “Guava Jelly” gave Johnny Nash two big hits. Danny brought in top American musicians to work with Marley plus Hugh Masekela and composer Jimmy Norman (latterly of the Coasters). They were to have a huge influence on the artist’s craft. It was Danny’s publishing links that later found Eric Clapton covering Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff”.
In the 1980s, Danny became involved with Cameo. A decade later, after living in South Africa and the UK, he set up a project to document Marley’s pre-Island work of over 300 tracks. He also took on projects such as “Spirit of Africa” with Marcus Garvey and Haile Selassie’s grandchildren. In 1996, he worked with Cedella and Stephen Marley plus producer Junior Gong on the No 1 euro hit “What Goes Around Comes Around”.
Subsequently he returned to music management with the likes of Mark Morrison, Brian Harvey and Wycliffe Jean and in recent years was partner with a new generation of New York rappers and musicians.
Danny’s longstanding partner and JAD accountant David Simmons, with legal sharp shooter Mark St John, latterly took over the reins and St John set out to eradicate the high levels of piracy. In 2004, St John was successful in signing JAD to a major world-wide licensing deal with Universal records. The deal restored Danny’s faith and interest in the business and he became involved in a new film, a major US bio-pic of his life with Marley, the connection with Johnny Nash and Jamaican legend Allan ‘skill’ Cole with whom he was also associated (a 2014 release is planned).
Danny married Beverley Johnson in 1977, the first African-American model to grace the cover of Vogue. They separated in 1979 and Danny won custody of his beloved daughter Anansa. He had been married twice before with two sons.
- Danny Sims was born on 9 November 1936 and died on 3 October 2012.