Singing under his real name, George Nooks is well known for his smash cover hit 'God Is Standing By'. The track was originally done by Ben E King and then covered by Al Green before George Nooks gave it a Reggae slant and made it The Star newspaper's 'Record of the Year' in Jamaica for 2002.

George is by no means a new face on the scene. He started making music professionally in 1974 after being discovered in 1972 when he used to perform in a lot of talent shows. George initially started out singing in a church choir at a very young age.

Born in Kingston some 40-odd years ago and raised in St. Andrew, George's inspiration to sing came from the likes of Al Green, Melvin and the Blue Notes, Ken Boothe, Bob Marley and Dennis Brown.

His first official release was entitled 'The Creator' in 1974. It was featured on a compilation album on Joe Gibbs' label. George continued doing music and even released an R&B track called 'I Don't Care' in 1994 followed by 'A Real Man' a few years later, again on an R&B format. Talented enough to write all his own lyrics, George gets his ideas from the "life that I live". He says he does covers because "you have great songs that been written and the younger generation don't know them. I like to share it with them".

During his career, George has worked with a lot of top producers and well known entertainers including Dennis Brown, Merciless, Ken Boothe and Joe Gibbs, who George has had many big hits with such as 'Tribal War'. He says he would like to work with Bobby Digital.

George does production and has his own record label called Total Records that he established in 1992/1993 although he is still an independent artist and is unsigned. It was he who created the rhythm for 'God Is Standing By' and he says he has voiced numerous artists.

Being that George has been on the Reggae music scene for so many years, he believes it "should be much bigger and reach further than where it is today". However, he has not been hard done by as he received The Star newspaper award for 'Singer of the Year' in Jamaica for 2002 and has performed in many stage shows locally and internationally.

Of his achievements to date, George says he feels "great" and has to "give God thanks". So far he has had 'Someone Loves You Honey' with JC Lodge go platinum and says his most popular song has been 'One Time Daughter One Time', but in Reggae circles, 'God Is Standing By' is his biggest hit so far. George has done over 20 albums, but says 'Standing By' has been his most successful to date.

In his spare time George likes to stay home and relax or go to the country. He believes if he had never gone into the music business, he would have been a doctor or been in a "regular job".

For the future, George plans to stay focussed and hopes to get more platinum hits. His message to his fans is, "Thanks for the support. May God bless and keep them".

Check out www.georgenooks.com for more information on the man himself. 

Props to Dainty Crew For This One!