b. Alvin James Brown, Jamaica, West Indies. Brown began his career on the north coast of Jamaica following a successful audition at the Seawind Hotel in Montego Bay. In 1978, he began performing regularly on the tourist circuit until winning a talent contest in 1980. The competition was organised by a German electronics company which sponsored the singer on a two-month tour of Germany. The tour led to him being recruited by the Jamaican tourist board to promote the island in the USA, Canada and Europe. His notoriety spread and by the early 80s he was recognised as Jamaica’s leading cabaret artist with a series of awards from Rockers magazine, JAMI and the Jamaican Federation of Musicians. In 1984, he released his debut, Love People, that demonstrated his reggae-styled lounge lyricism. The title track of his debut was featured in the soundtrack of the movie Club Paradise. The singer also voiced a series of commercials before releasing his follow-up, Nowhere Like Jamaica, in 1986. Brown’s vocals were also utilised in further movie releases, The Howling III and The Fourth Protocol.
Brown performed in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA and in 1992 he sang the American national anthem at the heavyweight championship between Razor Ruddock and David Page. Brown remained in Las Vegas through to the millennium where he simultaneously studied and graduated in art at the University of Nevada. In 1997, he released ‘Father & Friend’ that featured an early appearance from Benjy Myaz. Although the song failed to make a significant chart impression Brown was undeterred and released a series of popular hits in his own right such as, ‘We Need To Learn’, ‘Beautiful Lady’ and ‘Words Of Wisdom’. In November 2000 the singer diversified into sponsorship. He promoted the A.J. Brown Fashion Follies, performing alongside Judy Emmanuel and the Jamaican radio disc jockey Fae Ellington.
