Michigan & Smiley

Michigan & Smiley

Michigan & Smiley are a Jamaican dancehall and reggae group made up of Anthony Fairclough, known as Papa Michigan, and Erroll Bennett, known as General Smiley. They emerge in the late 1970s as part of the first wave of dancehall music, and their work helps shape the style’s early vocabulary and performance approach.

Early recordings and Studio One

The duo first records at Clement “Coxsone” Dodd’s Studio One in Jamaica. Their first number one is “Rub a Dub Style”, built around a call-and-response vocal approach and overdubbed on the Studio One rhythm “Vanity”. Their follow-up single, “Nice Up the Dance”, uses the Studio One rhythm “Real Rock”. Both titles enter dancehall phrasing, and the pair’s blending of straightforward singing and toasting becomes influential on later developments in the genre.

These early recordings are collected with four other tracks, each also based on classic Studio One rhythms, on their first album, Nice Up the Dance. Their first releases also involve other performers associated with the era, including Yellowman, Eek-A-Mouse, Lone Ranger and General Echo.

Later releases and key hits

By 1982, the duo works with producer Henry “Junjo” Lawes, who records their biggest hit, “Diseases”, over the “Mad Mad” rhythm. The song appears on their album Downpression, which is often treated as their strongest LP. They also record an album for Channel One Records, Step by Step. Their final hit record is “Sugar Daddy”, released on RAS Records and also based on a reworking of the “Mad Mad” rhythm.

Activity and legacy

Michigan & Smiley continue recording and appearing at festivals into the early 1990s. Their best-known material comes from their early 1980s period, and they remain associated with the development of early dancehall through their vocal interplay, rhythm choices and influence on genre terminology.