JUNIOR Tucker will commemorate the 21st anniversary of his conversion to Christianity with the release of JT21.
The set is a compilation of songs from Tucker’s seven gospel albums, in addition to a few new ones.
“I’m going to be releasing JT21 early next year. 2018 will be 21 years since I became a born-again Christian and I also plan to mark the milestone with some live concerts across the island with friends,” Tucker, 51, told the Jamaica Observer.
Tucker’s albums include Brand New, Jesus Famous, Ready for the Rapture, Sold Out: Worship from the Islands, and Victory: Worship from the Islands II.
He is also celebrating the second anniversary of True Word & Worship, a church where he ministers on Haining Road in New Kingston.
Sensing God’s calling, the one-time secular singer returned to Jamaica three years ago. He had migrated to Florida in the late 1990s where he studied theology and psychology.
A former Kingston College student, he started out as a pre-teen in the music business. Take a Little Time to Know Me, produced by Earl “Chinna” Smith in 1976, was his first recording.
However, it was a cover of Michael Jackson’s Happy, which opened the floodgates to a string of hit singles, including a cover of Eddie Kendricks’ One of the Poorest People; It’s a Small World; a cover of Some Guys Have All The Luck, 16 (Into the Night), and Don’t Test.
“My defining moment in music was the Don’t Test album for Virgin Records,” the Trench Town-born Tucker added.
Once signed to Island Records and later Geffen Records, in the early 1980s Tucker recorded an album under the guidance of singer/musician/producer Ray Parker Jr. During this period he recorded Mr Telephone Man (written by Parker), which later became a hit for boy group New Edition.
Parker produced Tucker’s sole Billboard chart entry Bad Girls, which spent seven weeks on the R&B Singles chart in 1983.
He pursued a successful career in the dancehall and scored with Move Along, Love of a Lifetime, Don’t Touch My Baby, Give it Up, Love Somebody, and True Confessions.
