World of Jamaican Music

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An illustrated map of the creators of Jamaican music and how they are connected.

Remembering Derrick Harriott (1939-2026), rocksteady singer and producer. Read his story →

The Tennors

Band. Rocksteady, reggae

Active
1967-1970s

The Tennors were a rocksteady vocal group built around Albert George "Clive" Murphy. With Maurice "Professor" Johnson he formed a duo called the Tennor Twins; when Norman Davis joined them in 1967 they became a trio and the Tennors.

Their break is one of the better stories in the music: Murphy auditioned "Pressure and Slide" to Jackie Mittoo in the back of a taxi. It was recorded at Studio One with Mittoo arranging, released on the Studio One label, and became the biggest Jamaican record of 1967. They then started their own label rather than go back to Coxsone Dodd.

Johnson lost his life in a car crash soon after. Murphy and Davis carried on, and "Ride Yu Donkey," which they recorded and released themselves in 1968 after producers turned it down, was a bigger hit still. "Cleopatra," "Grandpa," "Massi Massa," "Girl You Hold Me," "Rub Me Khaki" and "Bow Legged Girl" followed.

Ronnie Davis joined in 1968 and took over the lead. Later members included George Dekker, Howard Spencer and Hilton Wilson. The group backed Jackie Bernard on "Another Scorcher," recorded "Hopeful Village" for Duke Reid in 1970 and "Gee Whiz" and "Give Me Bread" for Sonia Pottinger, and in 1973 took the Festival's best performer award with "Weather Report," adapted from Simon and Garfunkel's "The Only Living Boy in New York," again for Reid. The group folded soon afterward and Murphy emigrated to the United States, recording since as Clive Tennors.

Ronnie Davis went on to the Itals and a long solo career, and departed in 2017. "Ride Yu Donkey" reached a new audience through Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers in 2005.

Last updated October 23, 2026

Connections

Notes

  1. Wikipedia says the duo became a trio when "Pressure and Slide" was recorded "with Norman Davis joining." "The Tennors," Wikipedia, accessed October 5, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tennors.
  2. "The Tennors."
  3. Wikipedia calls it "one of Jamaica's major hits in 1967." "The Tennors." The record was issued on Studio One in Jamaica and on Coxsone in Britain in 1967 (credited there to "The Jennors"). "The Jennors / Soul Bros. - Pressure And Slide / One Stop," Discogs, accessed October 5, 2026, https://www.discogs.com/release/2294185; "The Tennors - Pressure & Slide," Discogs, accessed October 5, 2026, https://www.discogs.com/release/2348039.
  4. Wikipedia says Murphy and Johnson founded their own label after this success. "The Tennors."
  5. Wikipedia says the song was turned down by several producers and "became a massive hit in 1968." "The Tennors." It appeared on the group's own Tennors label in 1968, backed by Tommy McCook and the Supersonics. "The Tennors With Tommy McCook And The Supersonics - Ride Yu Donkey / Cleopatra," Discogs, accessed October 5, 2026, https://www.discogs.com/release/3892107. The Rough Guide singles it out on a WIRL compilation. Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton, The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd ed. (London: Rough Guides, 2004), 82.
  6. "The Tennors."
  7. Wikipedia names Ronnie Davis, George Dekker, Howard Spencer and Hilton Wilson. "The Tennors."
  8. "The Tennors."
  9. Wikipedia dates "Hopeful Village" for Reid to 1970 and says it "won them the Best Performer title at that year's Jamaican Independence Song Festival," and dates "Weather Report" to 1973 without mentioning an award. "The Tennors." "Weather Report" was issued in Britain in 1973. "The Tennors - Weather Report," Discogs, accessed October 5, 2026, https://www.discogs.com/release/4018390.
  10. "The Tennors."
  11. The Rough Guide says the Itals' founders came from the Tennors and the Westmorlites, and names Davis as one of the Itals' two lead singers. Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 205, 211. Wikipedia gives his death in 2017. "The Tennors."
  12. The soundtrack album includes "Ride Your Donkey." "Various - Music From Broken Flowers," Discogs, accessed October 5, 2026, https://www.discogs.com/release/593559.

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