Shaggy Mini Biography

Orville Richard Burrell (born October 22, 1968, Kingston, Jamaica), better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican-American reggae singer who takes his nickname from Scooby-Doo's companion — a nickname given to him by his friends during his teenage years because his name bore a similarity to the Scooby Doo character. He is especially notable for his distinctive sub-baritone voice. Speaking on 'This Morning' on August 27, 2008, Burrell states the name Shaggy is a reference to his then hairstyle.

Early life

His family moved to the United States from Jamaica and they settled in the neighborhood of Flatbush, Brooklyn, located in New York City. Shaggy moved to Valley Stream, New York, and made one of his own recording studios in the town.

Military service

In 1988, he joined the United States Marine Corps as a Field Artillery Cannon Crewman with 5th Battalion, 10th Marines. While enlisted in the Marines he served during Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War. It was during this time that Shaggy perfected his signature singing voice, breaking the constant monotony of running and marching cadences with his flair for inflection. It is also where he got the inspiration for his song "Mr. Boombastic."

Career

Upon his return from the Persian Gulf, he decided to pursue his music career and his first hit in 1993: "Oh Carolina", was a dancehall re-make of a ska hit by the Folkes Brothers. The same year, Shaggy appeared on Kenny Dope's hip hop album "The Unreleased Project". He worked together with producers such as Sting Intl., Don One (who cut his first track), Lloyd 'Spiderman' Campbell and Robert Livingston. He had further big hits, including "Boombastic" in 1995, the theme tune of a popular Levi's commercial.


Early 2000s

He then had a major comeback in 2001, featuring worldwide number-one hit singles "It Wasn't Me" and "Angel", the latter of which was built around two song samples - Merrilee Rush's 1968 hit "Angel of the Morning" (which was remade in 1981 by Juice Newton), and The Steve Miller Band's 1973 hit "The Joker". The album Hot Shot, from which those cuts came, would hit number one on the Billboard 200 and UK album chart.

However, his 2002 release Lucky Day, and the 2005 album Clothes Drop failed to match Hot Shot's success, although Lucky Day still went gold.

Shaggy remade the Scooby-Doo theme song on the soundtrack entitled "Shaggy, Where Are You?".

Shaggy recorded the theme for Showtime, a 2002 movie.