ArtistInfo

Chesley Sampson

g, perc, b, *1958
Reggae

Born in the Caribbean in 1958, Chezley Sampson was always inspired by music. He recognized his musical talent when he was six years old while playing his first instrument, the guitar. Recognizing his musical talent, his mother 1970 bought him his very first guitar as a gift. Sampson moved to England with his family in the early 60’s and in 1971 he and a group of friends that grew up in slough, England formed a group called the Grooveatrons. They rehearsed in his garage and put on shows all over England. After the Grooveatrons he joined the group Misty in roots, where he played his first piece of original music. They were opening acts at south hall for groups like Pete Townsend and the Who, Steel Pulse, Asward, Ian Jury and the Blockheads, Tom Robinson Band and Elvis Costello. After Misty in Roots, Sampson left England on a trip to France and joined two other groups and came back to England and did sessions work with various artist then went back to play second lead bass with Misty in Roots after playing with Misty in Roots he formed the group Natural Roots. He needed the freedom of his own group to fulfill his natural creativity of his musical talent. Being born in the Islands created a natural essence that never left the heart of Chezley, this is the inspiration of lyrics of the Natural Roots. The first performance produced heavy vibes in 1977 live at the Dingwalls, over 3000 people attended this live event that was recorded by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC0 and Chezley’s own father Lytton Anderson was a bouncer at the show. The first record, a disco 45 was created in 1982. The double A side record contained two songs “Ain’t got no money” was sold all over England. It was created by Natural Roots produced by C.F. Sampson under his label FASIM and distributed by all major distributors in England. After the records distribution the group went on tour from Europe to Africa, with performances in Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, Holland, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Capetown. On completion of the Europe tour the groups album “Natural Roots” was released. In 1984 the group appeared on the Rockers Road Show hosted by Mikey Dread of Channel 4, it was unfortunate however that a few months later the band dispatched because irreconcilable differences. In 1986 Chezley migrated to the United States intent on restructuring his music career. While in New Jersey working as a Chef in 1988 the band Natural Roots part II was formed with five members including one female. The band however was short lived and in 1989 Sampson relocated to Florida. Here he attempted to form another band but was unsuccessful, therefore he committed most of his time towards his career as a Chef. While working as a Chef for Motorola company, Chezley became familiar with many persons from all works of life. He made no effort to hide his musical talent and was always open to share his experiences.

Instruments

• Guitar
• Percussion
• Bass

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