Andrew Tosh

Born on June 19, 1967 in Kingston, Jamaica, Andrew seemed pre-ordained for a life in music. Among his earliest memories are trips to the countryside of Westmoreland on the rural western end of the island. There, along the lush banks of a swiftly running river, he and his father would sing songs together – not just Peter’s militant compositions, but also pop classics by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and Kenny Rogers. Andrew notes that “Peter always knew I would do something in the music business, so he encouraged me to study piano, ‘because he knew I loved it. From the start it was inside me to sing and play instruments.” The first song he learned was Peter’s composition “You Can’t Blame the Youth,” and from that point forward, he says, “I knew that my heartbeat was music and one day it would just be music out of my mouth, and writing and singing my own songs.”

Ironically, the first glimpse the public got of Andrew’s nascent talent came when he sang at his father’s funeral in the National Arena in Kingston. His version of Peter’s “Jah Guide” and strong vocal and physical resemblance to late Peter stunned the mourners.

His first album, Original Man, was a mixture of his tracks and those of his father. The follow-up, Make Place for the Youth, indicated a new maturity to his song-writing, and was well received, earning him a Grammy nomination. Andrew has produced a major tribute to his father called Legacy – An Acoustic Tribute To Peter Tosh featuring Bunny Wailer and Kymani Marley  in 2010.