Born in London, Junior Giscombe grew up listening to his older brothers’ and sisters’ record collection, which included the doo-wop of the Moonglows, the Dells, early Motown, Otis Redding, and the reggae music of Toots and the Maytals and Bob Marley. Though as a teenager he sang lead in a local band, music more or less remained a hobby until he chose a full-time music career after college in the mid-’70s. His inspiration was Philly soul writers Thom Bell and Linda Creed, Gene McFadden, and John Whitehead. A British independent label released his single, «Hot Up & Heated,» but it was Polygram’s subsidiary Phonogram that gave him his first major-label opportunity.
The label was rewarded when the infectious «Mama Used to Say» became a major American hit in 1982, parked at number two R&B for two weeks and number 30 pop. His follow-up to «Mama Used to Say» was the number eight R&B smash «Too Late» and both were on his Ji album. His second album, 1983’s Inside Looking Out, included «Communication Breakdown» and the popular ballad «Baby I Want You Back.»
