‘Envious’: Keith Poppin’s Channel One classic album

Five days later, the veteran singer’s second album, ‘Envious’, was re-issued by Aggrobeat Records, an independent company from The Netherlands. Produced by Phil Pratt, that 10-song set was released in 1975 and recorded entirely at Channel One.

It contains the title track, which is one of Poppin’s biggest hits.

Poppin has vivid memories of the recording sessions which were engineered by Ernest Hoo Kim, one of four brothers who started Channel One in 1972, in the tough Maxfield Avenue area of Jamaica’s capital.

“It was fun times! Nuthin’ but fun! Artiste an’ musician dem a hold a vibes, di roast fish lady outside. Everything at Channel One was nice,” he recalled.

Some of reggae’s top musicians backed Poppin on ‘Envious’. They include The Wailers sibling rhythm section of Aston “Familyman” Barrett on bass and his younger brother Carlton on drums; guitarists Earl “Chinna” Smith and Rad Bryan; keyboardist Ansel Collins and drummer Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace.

Poppin started his recording career in the mid-1960s as a member of Rocking Horse, a harmony group. He went solo in 1968 and five years later, scored a big hit with ‘Same Thing For Breakfast’, a song produced by Lloyd Campbell.

‘Envious’ also has songs like ‘Who Are You’ and ‘Mother-in-Law’. Poppin believes it has aged well.

“It’s good music an’ di songs are positive. We had great musicians an’ Ernest wasn’t a man who worked with any artiste, which show dat it is a serious album,” he stated.

Ernest was the youngest of the brothers. Joseph (aka Jo Jo) was the eldest and is credited as producer on many of Channel One’s classic songs. He died in 2018.

Paul, the third brother, was murdered in the nearby community of Greenwich Farm in 1977. Kenneth died in 2013.

By the time Poppin migrated to the United States in the early 1990s, daily recording sessions had long ceased at Channel One. He maintains contact with Ansel Collins, who has played on several of his recent songs including ‘Africa Calling’ and ‘One More River to Cross’, his 2020 album.

Robert Hill, town planner at the Kingston and Saint Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC), whose office grants permission for demolitions in the city, addressed the Channel One demolition in a statement.

“The KSAMC was only made aware of this demolition today, September 8, 2026, and have begun its investigations. So far, we have determined that no approval was granted for a demolition at this location situated at the corner of 29 Maxfield Avenue. The city engineer has dispatched one of his officers to further investigate this issue.”

(Photo contributed)