Biography
Papa Michigan (Anthony Fairclough) and General Smiley (Errol Bennett) are a Jamaican dancehall duo from Kingston, Jamaica, widely recognized as the first DJ/toasting duo in Jamaican music history. Both grew up in Kingston — Michigan in the Tivoli Gardens community in west Kingston, where he attended Tivoli Gardens High School. They began recording together in the late 1970s while still teenagers, cutting their debut single "Rub a Dub Style" for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd at Studio One around 1978–79. Michigan was still a high school student when the track went to number one. The name "General" was bestowed on Smiley by Dodd himself during those early Studio One sessions, while "Smiley" stuck as an ironic nickname — he reportedly never smiles.
Their career accelerated rapidly through the early 1980s. "Nice Up the Dance," built over the classic Studio One "Real Rock" riddim, became another massive hit. In 1980, "One Love Jam Down" was released on the 56 Hope Road label distributed by Tuff Gong, making them among the first deejays to record for Bob Marley's imprint — it stayed at number one for roughly three months and was named song of the year. Their most celebrated work came with producer Henry "Junjo" Lawes on the Volcano label: "Diseases" (1981–82), recorded with the Roots Radics band and dub-mixed by Scientist, remains a canonical early-dancehall recording and a sound system staple. The duo performed together through the late 1980s before going their separate ways.
Michigan & Smiley's legacy rests primarily on pioneering the duo deejay format — the call-and-response toasting style they developed was genuinely novel in a tradition built around solo MCs like U-Roy, I-Roy, and Dennis Alcapone. Every tag-team MC pairing and combination artist in reggae and dancehall since owes them a direct debt. After the split, Papa Michigan remained in Jamaica, running his Rashanco Music label and producing artists including Luciano, Half Pint, and Glen Washington; he released new music as recently as June 2024. General Smiley relocated to Southern California and later Central Texas, performed with his Austin-based band Lakandon, and published a poetry collection, "The Seal of My Soul," around 2022–23. The two have reunited periodically for performances.
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Fun Facts
- Michigan was still a student at Tivoli Gardens High School when 'Rub a Dub Style' went to number one in Jamaica around 1978–79.
- The name 'Smiley' is entirely ironic — Errol Bennett reportedly never smiles, and the nickname stuck precisely because of that.
- The title 'General' was not self-chosen: Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd pointed at Bennett during a Studio One session and declared 'Yo, you the general!' — and it stuck.
- They were among the first deejays ever to record for Tuff Gong, the label most associated with Bob Marley, when 'One Love Jam Down' spent roughly three months at number one in 1980.
- The 'Diseases riddim' takes its name from their 1981 hit, but the underlying groove actually dates back to Alton Ellis's 1967 Studio One cut 'Mad, Mad, Mad.' — a classic example of riddim versioning in Jamaican music.
- General Smiley eventually settled in Central Texas and published a book of poetry, 'The Seal of My Soul,' comprising 100 poems written during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Members
- Erroll Bennett
- Anthony Fairclough
Musical Connections
Mentors/Influences
- Clement "Coxsone" Dodd - Studio One founder who gave them their first recordings around 1978–79 and personally bestowed the title "General" on Smiley [1978–1979]
- U-Roy - Pioneer deejay whose solo toasting style Michigan & Smiley built upon and transformed into a duo format [1970s influence]
Key Collaborators
- Henry "Junjo" Lawes - Producer who recorded them on his Volcano label, resulting in their most celebrated work ("Diseases" (1981–82)) [1981–1982]
- Roots Radics - Backing band on Junjo Lawes–era recordings ("Diseases") [1981–1982]
- Scientist - Dub engineer who mixed the flip side of "Diseases" (Diseases dub mix) [1981–1982]
- Tuff Gong / 56 Hope Road - Label that released "One Love Jam Down", making Michigan & Smiley among the first deejays to record for Bob Marley's imprint ("One Love Jam Down" (1980))
Artists Influenced
- Luciano - Jamaican singer produced by Papa Michigan on his Rashanco Music label after the duo split [1990s–2000s]
- Half Pint - Jamaican singer produced by Papa Michigan on Rashanco Music [1990s–2000s]
External Links
Tags: #dancehall, #reggae
References
Heard on WWOZ
Michigan & Smiley has been played 1 time on WWOZ 90.7 FM, New Orleans' jazz and heritage station.