Martin Charles Hennessey
best known as Marty Dread
(born 1969) is a reggae artist who lives in Maui, Hawaii.
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Career
Marty Dread was born in
The Bronx,
New York. He is named after
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. When Dread was eight years old, his father died and his mother moved the family to Maui.
Among the current artists and groups Dread has sung with include:
Steel Pulse,
Third World,
Ziggy Marley,
Black Uhuru,
Maxi Priest,
Messenjah,
Pato Banton and country singer
Willie Nelson.
In 1994, Dread launched his own
record label, Five Corners Music, with the release of
Versatile Roots
- an
album that includes a
duet with
Kris Kristofferson. After sharing a
concert bill with Dread, Kristofferson offered to lend a hand in the
recording studio, resulting in the
song, "Reggae Blues".
Dread's popularity got another boost in 1996 with the release of
Reggae for Love
, which sold four times as many copies as Dread's earlier
recordings.
In 1997, Dread released his first
live album,
Marty Dread Live!
(recorded on the
Big Island of Hawaii) and made two successful tours of
California, including stops at the
House of Blues in
Hollywood.
One of the songs on Dread's 1999 release,
Reggae Suite
, was recorded at the House of Blues when Dread opened for
The Wailers.
In the year 2000, Dread released his fifth album,
Keiki Reggae
(aka Reggae for Children) with tracks that included singing by school children from throughout Maui County, and a special appearance by
Pato Banton.
Keiki Reggae
was nominated for "Best Reggae Album of the Year" at the 24th annual Na Hoku Hanohano awards in
Honolulu by members of the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts.
In December 2001, Dread released his sixth album,
On The Beach
. In May 2002, it was nominated for "Best Reggae Album of the Year" at the 25th annual Na Hoku Hanohano awards. One of Dread's songs, "Mahalo and Praise", included
Hawaiian lyrics that his friend, Frank Munden helped to write.