Frankie Paul – Sizzling (VP Records/17 North Parade, 2025)
VP Records and 17 North Parade continue their reissue series highlighting 1980s feel-good dancehall reggae with Sizzling, Frankie Paul’s 1988 LP produced by Kenneth “Skengdon” Black. The ten-track release joins the label’s growing archive of classic productions now available on digital platforms.
Sizzling compiles several of Frankie Paul’s late-1980s hits, including “Gun Shot,” “Only You,” and “No Sizzling,” alongside album cuts such as “Can’t Live Without You,” “One People,” and “Raggamuffin Soldier.” The collection highlights the singer’s vocal range and stylistic versatility across romantic ballads, cultural commentary, and streetwise anthems.
Recorded at SKD Studio in Miami, the album features a roster of notable collaborators. Harmonies by Al Campbell complement Frankie Paul’s lead vocals, while engineers Oswald Palmer and Anthony “Crucial Bunny” Graham handled the mixing. Instrumental support comes from Steely & Clevie, guitarist Dalton Browne, keyboardist Jackie Mittoo, and members of Inner Circle.
Blind since birth, Frankie Paul was inspired to pursue music after performing with Stevie Wonder during the latter’s visit to the Salvation Army School for the Blind in Kingston. He was a skilled multi-instrumentalist from an early age. Notably, he recorded his debut single, “African Princess,” at age 15 with Earl “Chinna” Smith.
His breakthrough came in 1983 with a string of hits for Channel One and Henry “Junjo” Lawes. Over the next decade, Frankie Paul became one of dancehall’s most prolific and consistent artists, recording for producers such as King Jammy, George Phang, Ossie Thomas, Prince Jazzbo, and Skengdon.
His catalog spans dancefloor staples like “Worries In The Dance,” ganja classics like “Pass The Tu-Sheng-Peng,” and a steady stream of lovers’ rock favorites, including “Sara.”
Buy Sizzling.
Author: Joe Nash
