145:, and then permanently settled in the 1920s in Jamaica. As a teenager in the early 1950s, Vincent oversaw the stocking and maintenance of jukeboxes in the island's bars for Isaac Issa, a prominent Syrian-Jamaican businessman. He kept the excess and replaced records and used them to open up his Randy's Records store on the corner of East and Tower streets in
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The Chin family expanded their business interests into the United States, with the opening of branches of Randy's run by
Vincent's brothers Victor and Keith. The family later began pressing records and moved into distribution. In 1979, Chin closed the Randy's studio and moved to New York and with his
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and Eddie
Perkins). In 1962, Chin relocated the store to a former ice cream parlour at 16–17 North Parade, and he and his wife Patricia set up a recording studio above the shop, which became known locally as Studio 17. By the early 1970s, engineer
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had upgraded the studio with more modern equipment, and Clive took a lead production role, with the house band, "Randy's All-Stars", including among its members
Wailers bassist and keyboard player
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February 2003) was a
Jamaican record producer and entrepreneur who ran the Randy's shop, recording studio, and record label, later moving to New York City and setting up the
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He began recording local artists, becoming one of the first to issue locally recorded music on the island. Early successes as a producer included
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in 1958 on (the name coming from an
American record store that sponsored an R&B radio show that could be picked up on the island). His son,
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A three-CD set celebrating the history of Randy's records was released in 2008, fifty years after the label was started.
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was
Creator's "Independent Jamaica" in 1962, which was produced by Chin. Other early hits included releases by
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empire, now the world's largest independent label and distributor of
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Chin Music: How one little record shop climbed to the top of the reggae world
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Vincent Chin moved to Miami before retiring, his health deteriorating due to
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Chin was the son of a carpenter who left mainland China for a brief stay in
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253:(the initials of Vincent and Patricia) store and label in
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1970–71, and other major stars to record there included
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389:, 20 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014
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403:Skatalites & Friends at Randy's
221:recorded several tracks there with
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125:October 1937 – 2
335:Obituary: Vincent 'Randy' Chin
272:. He died on 2 February 2003.
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522:People from Kingston, Jamaica
87:Record producer, entrepreneur
491:In pictures:Randy's Records
249:wife Patricia, opening the
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223:Bob Marley and the Wailers
527:Jamaican record producers
416:The Rough Guide to Reggae
379:Campbell, Howard (2014) "
203:Aston "Familyman" Barrett
441:10 December 2008 at the
67:Fort Lauderdale, Florida
357:Stratton, Jeff (2003) "
398:Barrow, Steve (1997) "
296:The Rough Guide to Dub
245:debut album in 1973.
243:This Is Augustus Pablo
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484:Vincent "Randy" Chin
333:Katz, David (2003) "
259:Greensleeves Records
381:Saluting Randy Chin
301:World Music Network
289:Contributing artist
219:Lee "Scratch" Perry
160:Randy's record shop
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60:2 February 2003
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33:Vincent G. Chin
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62:(2003-02-02)
22:Vincent Chin
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517:2003 deaths
512:1937 births
405:liner notes
276:Discography
239:Johnny Nash
194:Alton Ellis
186:Jackie Opel
168:singles by
506:Categories
308:References
251:VP Records
211:Sly Dunbar
209:, drummer
151:Clive Chin
131:VP Records
44:1937-10-03
29:Birth name
190:John Holt
137:Biography
439:Archived
270:diabetes
147:Kingston
299:(2005,
172:singer
170:calypso
111:Vincent
96:Randy's
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281:Albums
255:Queens
237:, and
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92:Labels
78:Reggae
74:Genres
115:Randy
420:ISBN
205:and
143:Cuba
119:Chin
57:Died
38:Born
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