Biography
After a period of absence from music, Everton Roy Collins (a.k.a. E. Roy) is back with his third album. Among his passions, writing and recording songs provides the purest fulfillment. For E. Roy, assembling a song from fragments of thoughts into words and music and collaborating with professional musicians is soulfully rewarding and must be shared.
Born in Jamaica, when the Island’s music began its transition away from the traditional form, Everton and his contemporaries experienced the young music which became today’s Jamaican “classics.” From an early age, he experienced church music, where the only instruments were voices, tambourine and hand clapping, live mento performances, Jamaican and American blues, soul, ska, rock steady and calypso.
At age 12, Everton emigrated to London, England where he was introduced to British pop and the emergence of reggae music. By the mid-1980s, he began writing and performing his own music. In his late-twenties, he moved to the U.S. to pursue a career in Engineering. Soon after, he was introduced to a music producer in the Bronx, NY. They released the single Secret Lover, a commentary on the disappointing race relations found in the U.S.
Two years later, working with another producer, the album Missionary Man was released. That album allowed Everton to assemble a group of musicians in the Washington, DC area, as the very short- lived Mission Band. He released a second album, Sweet Destiny, in 2006, featuring songs that addressed a variety of issues such as cultural suppression, the excitement of a first date, the breakup of a love affair and the dark side of adultery. The two singles released in 2020, Rise Up and Angie B. were re-recorded from the Sweet Destiny album. My new album, They Used to be Mine continues in the conscious vein with something or the cool Rockers. Visit the Videos and Music page to check it out.
