Earl Zero
Earl Zero, born Earl Anthony Johnson in 1953 in Kingston, Jamaica, is a reggae singer known for roots reggae. He started in the 1970s with the group Rush-It alongside his friend Earl “Chinna” Smith, and producer Bunny Lee gave him the name Earl Zero to avoid confusion. He is the uncle of Toronto rapper Raz Fresco.
His early song None Shall Escape the Judgement became famous when Johnny Clarke recorded it in 1974, and an instrumental version by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers hit the UK charts in 1977 as Egyptian Reggae; later reissues credited Zero as the writer.
Zero’s own hits followed, including Righteous Works (1975) produced by Al Campbell. He recorded for Don Mais’s Roots Tradition label, joined Tommy Cowan’s Talent Corporation, and released Please Officer (with Augustus Pablo and Prince Jammy) and City of the Weak Heart (Arab label). In 1976 he worked with Bertram Brown on Get Happy and also recorded Heart Desire with Campbell. He continued recording into the late 1970s and worked with Soul Syndicate.
His first two albums, Visions of Love and In the Right Way, were released in 1979. He moved to northern California in 1979 and kept recording, with several more albums. Much of his Freedom Sounds material was later reissued by Blood and Fire as King Tubby & Soul Syndicate – Freedom Sounds in Dub.
His 2011 album Marketplace, produced by Siahvash Dowlatshahi, features musicians from Roots Radics, The Greyboy Allstars, and The Devastators.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:23 (CET).