Clive "Tenor Saw" Bright was born in Kingston, Jamaica, February
11, 1966. Tenor Saw was a prominent dancehall singer in the 1980s,
and one of the most influential singers of the early digital reggae era.
His best-known song was the 1985 hit "Ring the Alarm" on the
"Stalag 17" riddim.
Tenor Saw was raised in the Payne Avenue district of West
Kingston. His first single, "Roll Call" was recorded in 1984 for
George Phang's Powerhouse label, on the "Queen Majesty" rhythm.
He moved on, with his friend Nitty Gritty, to work with Sugar
Minott's Youth Promotion sound system and label, having hits
in Jamaica with "Lots of Sign", "Pumpkin Belly", "Run Come Call Me",
and "Fever". His most successful single, however, was "Ring the
Alarm", voiced over the "Stalag" rhythm for Winston Riley's Techniques
label. The singles' success saw Tenor Saw work with Prince Jammy,
recording "Pumpkin Belly" on Jammy's (then) new "Sleng Teng" rhythm.
Further hits followed in 1986 with "Golden Hen" (on the Uptempo label),
and Minott issued Tenor Saw's debut album, Fever, that year.
In common with most dancehall albums of the period, most of the
rhythms were digital copies of older tunes from the 1960s and 1970s,
usually produced originally by Coxsone Dodd or Duke Reid.
In August 1988 he was killed by a speeding car in Houston, Texas.
He died at 22 years of age. Tenor Saw is regarded as one of the most
influential singers of the early digital reggae era of the mid-1980s.