Welton Irie

b. Welton Dobson, 1961, Jamaica, West Indies. Welton began his career performing as, simply, Welton, chanting on Big John's Stereophonic Sound (later known as Echo Tone Hi Fi) in 1976. He initially emulated his hero Ranking Trevor, sometimes proving indistinguishable. Welton built up a hardcore group of devotees, enabling him to introduce young talent to the sound. One of Welton's protégés was General Echo, who, alongside Big John and Flux, was inexplicably gunned down by police in Kingston. Welton moved to the Gemini sound, notable for allowing Yellowman to make his debut on ...