by Howard Campbell
PHILADELPHIA – For people who knew Peter Brown, he was a selfless soul with a heart of gold. When the gospel singer died in Jamaica in July, 2023, it was a body blow to family and those associated with his ministry.
Wildfire Records, a Philadelphia-based company that worked with Brown, recently reissued One More Touch: Various Artists Vol 2, a compilation album featuring several of his songs.
The project was initially released in 2007. It has 19 songs, seven of which feature the Trench Town-reared Brown who lived in Philadelphia for many years.
Earl Messam, a Jamaican who heads Wildfire Records, said the album never got adequate promotion in its first run. Following Brown’s death, he decided to re-release the set and give it and Brown their deserved recognition.
“Anybody who knew Peter was touched by his humility and kindness. He was a true man of God,” said Messam.
On Signs of The Time, one of the songs from ‘One More Touch’, Brown collaborates with Claudell Clarke, a pioneer of gospel-reggae.
Brown was born in Kingston and raised in Trench Town, the legendary community where artists such as Bob Marley and The Wailers, Alton Ellis and Delroy Wilson first made their mark. His career started there on talent events, but it was not until he migrated to the United States in 1990 that Brown began to record songs.
Many of his songs were produced by Messam, a leading player in Philadelphia reggae.
