Cornell, or Cornel, Campbell started recording in 1956, cutting shuffle and early ska tunes like “My Treasure” and “Don’t Want Your Loving” at the ubiquitous Studio One for Coxsone Dodd. His singing style is delicate and ephemeral, making heavy use of falsetto. His stint at Studio One produced some beautiful tunes like Stars, Queen Of The Minstrels, Magic Spell, Trick In The Book and many others. His sister, Cecille Campbell, also sang at Studio One and was a member of the Soulettes with Rita Marley. As well as cutting solo sides, Cornell was also at various times a member of singing groups like The Sensations, The Eternals, The Uniques and The Jays.
In the ’70s Cornell left Studio One and started an immensely profitable alliance with Bunny Lee. Hit after hit soon followed, and such was the dominance of the pair that Cornell was sooned nicknamed the Gorgon.
Towards the end of the ’80s and in the ’90s Cornell was less prolific, but still carried on producing singles, such as “Hell In A Yard” for King Tubby’s Firehouse label (with the Jays). Towards the end of the 80s he took a few years off to concentrate on his family’s farm, though he recorded sporadically.
Today, after 50 years in music, he still finds time to get into the studio and play the occasional gig. Recent tunes include the haunting “King In My Empire” with German dubmeisters Rhythm & Sound and a couple of tracks with Dub Syndicate.
