JOE GIBBS RECORDING STUDIO
Joe Gibbs and engineer Errol Thompson built one of late-1970s reggae’s busiest hit factories. Dennis Brown, Culture, The Professionals and the African Dub series made the room both commercial and strange.
Producer Joel “Joe Gibbs” Gibson built a major Jamaican production operation around his studio on Retirement Road, with engineer Errol “ET” Thompson becoming his most important creative partner. Their collaboration was known as the Mighty Two, and the house band The Professionals supplied musicians for a long run of hits. The studio’s range is the point. Dennis Brown made some of his most celebrated work with Gibbs; Culture’s “Two Sevens Clash” came through the camp; Althea & Donna’s “Uptown Top Ranking” became an international hit. At the same time, Thompson pushed the studio deep into dub through the African Dub series, using increasingly adventurous edits, effects and later 16-track technology. Even musicians close to the operation have stressed that Gibbs’ producer credit can hide how much Thompson and the players shaped the records.