Garnet
General
Category	Nesosilicate
Chemical formula	The general formula X3Y2(SiO4)3
Identification
Color	virtually all colors
Crystal habit	rhombic dodecahedra or cubic
Crystal system	Cubic rhombic dodecahedron, icositetrahedron
Cleavage	Indistinct
Fracture	conchoidal to uneven
Mohs scale hardness	6.5–7.5
Luster	vitreous to resinous
Streak	White
Specific gravity	3.1–4.3
Polish luster	vitreous to subadamantine[1]
Optical properties	Single refractive, often anomalous double refractive[1]
Refractive index	1.72–1.94
Birefringence	None
Pleochroism	None
Major varieties
Pyrope	Mg3Al2Si3O12
Almandine	Fe3Al2Si3O12
Spessartine	Mn3Al2Si3O12
Andradite	Ca3Fe2Si3O12
Grossular	Ca3Al2Si3O12
Uvarovite	Ca3Cr2Si3O12

Garnets /ˈɡɑrnət/ are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. The name "garnet" comes from 14th century Middle English word gernet meaning 'dark red', from the Latin granatus granatus coming from granum (grain, seed) + suffix "atus", possibly a reference to "mela granatum" or even "pomum granatum" ("pomegranate",^[2] scientific name: "Punica granatum"), a plant whose abundant vivid red arils contained in the fruit are similar in shape, size, and color to some garnet crystals.^[3]

Garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms but different chemical compositions. The different species are pyrope, almandine, spessartine, grossular (varieties of which are hessonite or cinnamon-stone and tsavorite), uvarovite and andradite. The garnets make up two solid solution series: pyrope-almandine-spessarite and uvarovite-grossular-andradite.

Physical properties[link]

Properties[link]

Garnet species are found in many colors including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, black, pink and colorless. The rarest of these is the blue garnet, discovered in the late 1990s in Bekily, Madagascar. It is also found in parts of the United States, Russia and Turkey. It changes color from blue-green in the daylight to purple in incandescent light, as a result of the relatively high amounts of vanadium (about 1 wt.% V₂O₃). Other varieties of color-changing garnets exist. In daylight, their color ranges from shades of green, beige, brown, gray, and blue, but in incandescent light, they appear a reddish or purplish/pink color. Because of their color changing quality, this kind of garnet is often mistaken for Alexandrite.

Garnet species' light transmission properties can range from the gemstone-quality transparent specimens to the opaque varieties used for industrial purposes as abrasives. The mineral's luster is categorized as vitreous (glass-like) or resinous (amber-like).

Crystal structure[link]

Crystal structure model of garnet

Garnets are nesosilicates having the general formula X₃Y₂(Si O₄)₃. The X site is usually occupied by divalent cations (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Fe²⁺) and the Y site by trivalent cations (Al³⁺, Fe³⁺, Cr³⁺) in an octahedral/tetrahedral framework with [SiO₄]⁴⁻ occupying the tetrahedra.^[4] Garnets are most often found in the dodecahedral crystal habit, but are also commonly found in the trapezohedron habit. (Note: the word "trapezohedron" as used here and in most mineral texts refers to the shape called a Deltoidal icositetrahedron in solid geometry.) They crystallize in the cubic system, having three axes that are all of equal length and perpendicular to each other. Garnets do not show cleavage, so when they fracture under stress, sharp irregular pieces are formed.

Hardness[link]

Because the chemical composition of garnet varies, the atomic bonds in some species are stronger than in others. As a result, this mineral group shows a range of hardness on the Mohs Scale of about 6.5 to 7.5. The harder species, like almandine, are often used for abrasive purposes.

Magnetics used in garnet series identification[link]

Magnetic susceptibility has been used to distinguish the various garnet species.^[5]

Garnet group endmember species[link]

[edit] Pyralspite garnets – aluminium in Y site

• Almandine: Fe₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃
• Pyrope: Mg₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃
• Spessartine: Mn₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃

Almandine[link]

Almandine in metamorphic rock

Almandine, sometimes incorrectly called almandite, is the modern gem known as carbuncle (though originally almost any red gemstone was known by this name). The term "carbuncle" is derived from the Latin meaning "live coal" or burning charcoal. The name Almandine is a corruption of Alabanda, a region in Asia Minor where these stones were cut in ancient times. Chemically, almandine is an iron-aluminium garnet with the formula Fe₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃; the deep red transparent stones are often called precious garnet and are used as gemstones (being the most common of the gem garnets). Almandine occurs in metamorphic rocks like mica schists, associated with minerals such as staurolite, kyanite, andalusite, and others. Almandine has nicknames of Oriental garnet, almandine ruby, and carbuncle.

Pyrope[link]

Pyrope (from the Greek pyrōpós meaning "fire-eyed") is red in color and chemically a magnesium aluminium silicate with the formula Mg₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃, though the magnesium can be replaced in part by calcium and ferrous iron. The color of pyrope varies from deep red to almost black. Pyrope and spessartine gemstones have been recovered from the Sloan diamondiferous kimberlites in Colorado, from the Bishop Conglomerate and in a Tertiary age lamprophyre at Cedar Mountain in Wyoming.^[6]

A variety of pyrope from Macon County, North Carolina is a violet-red shade and has been called rhodolite, from the Greek meaning "a rose." In chemical composition it may be considered as essentially an isomorphous mixture of pyrope and almandine, in the proportion of two parts pyrope to one part almandine. Pyrope has tradenames some of which are misnomers; Cape ruby, Arizona ruby, California ruby, Rocky Mountain ruby, and Bohemian garnet from the Czech Republic. Another intriguing find is the blue color-changing garnets from Madagascar, a pyrope spessartine mix. The color of these blue garnets is not like sapphire blue in subdued daylight but more reminiscent of the grayish blues and greenish blues sometimes seen in spinel. However, in white LED light the color is equal to the best cornflower blue sapphire, or D block tanzanite; this is due to the blue garnet's ability to absorb the yellow component of the emitted light.^{[citation needed]}

Pyrope is an indicator mineral for high-pressure rocks. The garnets from mantle derived rocks, peridotites and eclogites, commonly contain a pyrope variety.

Spessartine[link]

Spessartine (the reddish mineral)

Spessartine or spessartite is manganese aluminium garnet, Mn₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃. Its name is derived from Spessart in Bavaria. It occurs most often in granite pegmatite and allied rock types and in certain low grade metamorphic phyllites. Spessartine of an orange-yellow is found in Madagascar. Violet-red spessartines are found in rhyolites in Colorado and Maine.

[edit] Ugrandite group – calcium in X site

• Andradite: Ca₃Fe₂(SiO₄)₃
• Grossular: Ca₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃
• Uvarovite: Ca₃Cr₂(SiO₄)₃

Andradite[link]

Andradite is a calcium-iron garnet, Ca₃Fe₂(SiO₄)₃, is of variable composition and may be red, yellow, brown, green or black. The recognized varieties are topazolite (yellow or green), demantoid (green) and melanite (black). Andradite is found both in deep-seated igneous rocks like syenite as well as serpentines, schists, and crystalline limestone. Demantoid has been called the "emerald of the Urals" from its occurrence there, and is one of the most prized of garnet varieties. Topazolite is a golden yellow variety and melanite is a black variety.

Grossular[link]

Grossular on display at the US National Museum of Natural History. The green gem at right is a type of grossular known as tsavorite.

Grossular is a calcium-aluminium garnet with the formula Ca₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃, though the calcium may in part be replaced by ferrous iron and the aluminium by ferric iron. The name grossular is derived from the botanical name for the gooseberry, grossularia, in reference to the green garnet of this composition that is found in Siberia. Other shades include cinnamon brown (cinnamon stone variety), red, and yellow. Because of its inferior hardness to zircon, which the yellow crystals resemble, they have also been called hessonite from the Greek meaning inferior. Grossular is found in contact metamorphosed limestones with vesuvianite, diopside, wollastonite and wernerite.

Grossular garnet from Kenya and Tanzania has been called tsavorite. Tsavorite was first described in the 1960s in the Tsavo area of Kenya, from which the gem takes its name.^{[citation needed]}

Uvarovite[link]

Uvarovite is a calcium chromium garnet with the formula Ca₃Cr₂(SiO₄)₃. This is a rather rare garnet, bright green in color, usually found as small crystals associated with chromite in peridotite, serpentinite, and kimberlites. It is found in crystalline marbles and schists in the Ural mountains of Russia and Outokumpu, Finland.

Less common species[link]

• Calcium in X site
  • Goldmanite: Ca₃V₂(SiO₄)₃
  • Kimzeyite: Ca₃(Zr,Ti)₂[(Si,Al,Fe³⁺)O₄]₃
  • Morimotoite: Ca₃Ti⁴⁺Fe²⁺(SiO₄)₃
  • Schorlomite: Ca₃(Ti⁴⁺,Fe³⁺)₂[(Si,Ti)O₄]₃
• Hydroxide bearing – calcium in X site
  • Hydrogrossular: Ca₃Al₂(SiO₄)_3-x(OH)_4x
    • Hibschite: Ca₃Al₂(SiO₄)_3-x(OH)_4x (where x is between 0.2 and 1.5)
    • Katoite: Ca₃Al₂(SiO₄)_3-x(OH)_4x (where x is greater than 1.5)
• Magnesium or manganese in X site
  • Knorringite: Mg₃Cr₂(SiO₄)₃
  • Majorite: Mg₃(Fe²⁺Si)(SiO₄)₃
  • Calderite: Mn₃Fe³⁺₂(SiO₄)₃

Knorringite[link]

Knorringite is a magnesium chromium garnet species with the formula Mg₃Cr₂(SiO₄)₃. Pure endmember knorringite never occurs in nature. Pyrope rich in the knorringite component is only formed under high pressure and is often found in kimberlites. It is used as an indicator mineral in the search for diamonds.

Garnet structural group[link]

• Formula: X₃Z₂(TO₄)₃ (X = Ca, Fe, etc., Z = Al, Cr, etc., T = Si, As, V, Fe, Al)
  • All are cubic or strongly pseudocubic.

• IMA/CNMNC – Nickel-Strunz – Mineral subclass: 09.A Nesosilicate
  • Nickel-Strunz classification: 09.AD.25

• References: Mindat.org; mineral name, chemical formula and space group (American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database) of the IMA Database of Mineral Properties/ RRUFF Project, Univ. of Arizona, was preferred most of the time. Minor components in formulae have been left out to highlight the dominant chemical endmember that defines each species.

Synthetic garnets[link]

The crystallographic structure of garnets has been expanded from the prototype to include chemicals with the general formula A₃B₂(C O₄)₃. Besides silicon, a large number of elements have been put on the C site, including Ge, Ga, Al, V and Fe.^[7]

Yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG), Y₃Al₂(AlO₄)₃, is used for synthetic gemstones. Due to its fairly high refractive index, YAG was used as a diamond simulant in the 1970s until the methods of producing the more advanced simulant cubic zirconia in commercial quantities were developed. When doped with neodymium (Nd³⁺), these YAl-garnets may be used as the lasing medium in lasers.

Interesting magnetic properties arise when the appropriate elements are used. In yttrium iron garnet (YIG), Y₃Fe₂(FeO₄)₃, the five iron(III) ions occupy two octahedral and three tetrahedral sites, with the yttrium(III) ions coordinated by eight oxygen ions in an irregular cube. The iron ions in the two coordination sites exhibit different spins, resulting in magnetic behaviour. YIG is a ferrimagnetic material having a Curie temperature of 550 K.

Another example is gadolinium gallium garnet, Gd₃Ga₂(GaO₄)₃ which is synthesized for use as a substrate for liquid phase epitaxy of magnetic garnet films for bubble memory and magneto-optical applications.

Geological importance of garnet[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Garnet var. Spessartine, Putian City, Putian Prefecture, Fujian Province, China

The Garnet group is a key mineral in interpreting the genesis of many igneous and metamorphic rocks via geothermobarometry. Diffusion of elements is relatively slow in garnet compared to rates in many other minerals, and garnets are also relatively resistant to alteration. Hence, individual garnets commonly preserve compositional zonations that are used to interpret the temperature-time histories of the rocks in which they grew. Garnet grains that lack compositional zonation commonly are interpreted as having been homogenized by diffusion, and the inferred homogenization also has implications for the temperature-time history of the host rock.

Garnets are also useful in defining metamorphic facies of rocks. For instance, eclogite can be defined as a rock of basalt composition, but mainly consisting of garnet and omphacite. Pyrope-rich garnet is restricted to relatively high-pressure metamorphic rocks, such as those in the lower crust and in the Earth's mantle. Peridotite may contain plagioclase, or aluminium-rich spinel, or pyrope-rich garnet, and the presence of each of the three minerals defines a pressure-temperature range in which the mineral could equilibrate with olivine plus pyroxene: the three are listed in order of increasing pressure for stability of the peridotite mineral assemblage^[vague]. Hence, garnet peridotite must have been formed at great depth in the earth. Xenoliths of garnet peridotite have been carried up from depths of 100 km and greater by kimberlite, and garnets from such disaggegated xenoliths are used as a kimberlite indicator minerals in diamond prospecting. At depths of about 300 to 400 km and greater, a pyroxene component is dissolved in garnet, by the substitution of (Mg,Fe) plus Si for 2Al in the octahedral (Y) site in the garnet structure, creating unusually silica-rich garnets that have solid solution towards majorite. Such silica-rich garnets have been identified as inclusions within diamonds.

Uses of garnets[link]

8th (?) century Anglo-Saxon sword hilt fitting, gold with gemstone inlay of garnet cloisonné. From the Staffordshire Hoard, found in 2009, and not fully cleaned.

Pendant in uvarovite, a rare bright-green garnet.

Red garnets were the most commonly used gemstones in the Late Antique Roman world, and the Migration Period art of the "barbarian" peoples who took over the territory of the Western Empire. They were especially used inlaid in gold cells in the cloisonné technique, a style often just called garnet cloisonné, found from Anglo-Saxon England, as at Sutton Hoo, to the Black Sea.

Pure crystals of garnet are still used as gemstones. The gemstone varieties occur in shades of green, red, yellow and orange.^[8] In the USA it is known as the birthstone for January.^[1] It is the state mineral of Connecticut,^[9] New York's gemstone,^[10] and star garnet (garnet with rutile asterisms) is the state gemstone of Idaho.^[11]

Industrial uses[link]

Garnet sand is a good abrasive, and a common replacement for silica sand in sand blasting. Alluvial garnet grains which are rounder are more suitable for such blasting treatments. Mixed with very high pressure water, garnet is used to cut steel and other materials in water jets. For water jet cutting, garnet extracted from hard rock is suitable since it is more angular in form, therefore more efficient in cutting.

Garnet paper is favored by cabinetmakers for finishing bare wood.^[12]

Garnet sand is also used for water filtration media.

As an abrasive garnet can be broadly divided in two categories, blasting grade and water jet grade. The garnet, as it is mined and collected, is crushed to finer grains; all pieces which are larger than 60 mesh (250 micrometers) are normally used for sand blasting. The pieces between 60 mesh (250 micrometers) and 200 mesh (74 micrometers) are normally used for water jet cutting. The remaining garnet pieces that are finer than 200 mesh (74 micrometers) are used for glass polishing and lapping. Regardless of the application, the larger grain sizes are used for faster work and the smaller ones are used for finer finishes.

There are different kinds of abrasive garnets which can be divided based on their origin. The largest source of abrasive garnet today is garnet rich beach sand which is quite abundant on Indian and Australian coasts and the main producers today are Australia and India.^[13]

This material is particularly popular due to its consistent supplies, huge quantities and clean material. The common problems with this material are the presence of ilmenite and chloride compounds. Since the material is being naturally crushed and ground on the beaches for past centuries, the material is normally available in fine sizes only. Most of the garnet at the Tuticorin beach is 80 mesh, and ranges from 56 mesh to 100 mesh size.^{[citation needed]}

River garnet is particularly abundant in Australia. The river sand garnet occurs as a placer deposit.^{[citation needed]}

Rock garnet is perhaps the garnet type used for the longest period of time. This type of garnet is produced in America, China and western India. These crystals are crushed in mills and then purified by wind blowing, magnetic separation, sieving and, if required, washing. Being freshly crushed, this garnet has the sharpest edges and therefore performs far better than other kinds of garnet. Both the river and the beach garnet suffer from the tumbling effect of hundreds of thousands of years which rounds off the edges.

Garnet has been mined in western Rajasthan for the past 200 years, but mainly for the gemstone grade stones. Abrasive garnet was mainly mined as a secondary product while mining for gem garnets and was used as lapping and polishing media for the glass industries. The host rock of the garnet here is garnetiferous mica schist and the total percentage of garnet is not more than 7% to 10%,^{[citation needed]} which makes the material extremely costly and non economical to extract for non-gemstone applications.

See also[link]

• Abrasive blasting

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Hurlbut, Cornelius S.; Klein, Cornelis, 1985, Manual of Mineralogy, 20th ed., Wiley, ISBN 0-471-80580-7
• Color Encyclopedia of Gemstones ISBN 0-442-20333-0

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Garnet

• USGS Garnet locations – USA
• http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/garnet.html
• http://www.mindat.org/min-10272.html
• Mineral Information Institute Garnet
• Blog post on garnets on the Law Library of Congress's blog

Hanako Oku
Background information
Birth name	奥華子 Oku Hanako
Born	(1978-03-20) March 20, 1978 (age 34)
Origin	Funabashi, Chiba, Japan
Genres	Pop
Occupations	Singer, Songwriter
Instruments	Singing, piano
Years active	2004–present (solo)
Labels	Pony Canyon
Website	http://www.okuhanako.com/
Notable instruments
Piano

Hanako Oku (奥 華子, Oku Hanako^?, born March 20, 1978 in Funabashi, Chiba, Japan) is a pop singer famous in her native Japan for her piano ballads. She rose to fame after performing the end-title track for the Madhouse film The Girl Who Leapt Through Time in 2006. She was signed to a major record label the preceding year.

Biography[link]

Oku's musical training began at age 5 with piano lessons, but by age 9 she was also learning the trumpet and was a member of her school's brass band.

In 2004, Oku began to perform on the streets of Tokyo, mainly in Shibuya ward, but once sold 402 CDs in four hours outside Kashiwa railway station. Later that same year she released her first mainstream single Fireworks and performed her debut one-woman show to an audience of 135. Approached by Chiba TV, she made an appearance on the show Chiba Fighting Spirit.

Over the next year she toured western Japan and self produced two more CD singles before releasing an album in April 2005. Soon afterwards she was signed up by record company Pony Canyon.

In April 2006, the animated film The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was released, with the theme song Garnet sung by Oku.

Come spring 2007, Oku performed to a sell-out crowd at Shibuya C.C. Lemon Hall, and with the release of her album Time Note, she once again performed sold-out concerts there over three nights in July 2007.^[1]

Oku still occasionally busks in Tokyo railway stations, drawing a crowd, and selling her CDs there.^[2]

Since June 2005, Hanako Oku has hosted her KameKameHouse radio show on bayfm78 every Sunday night from 22:30 to 23:00.^[3] At the end of 2009, the show was re-named Lagan de Talk!.^[4] In 2010, Oku began hosting a new radio show E-Tracks Selection once a fortnight on FM OSAKA. Starting January 12, the show airs from 21:00 to 21:30.^[5]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

DVD[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Hanako Oku's official website (In Japanese)
• Hanako Oku's profile on Pony Canyon's website (In Japanese)
• Hanako Oku's personal blog (24 February 2010 to present) (In Japanese)
• Hanako Oku's personal blog (21 January 2008 to 24 February 2010) (In Japanese)
• Hanako Oku's personal blog (4 October 2004 to 22 January 2008) (In Japanese)
• KameKameHouse radio show blog (In Japanese)
• Hanako Oku on Myspace

Garnet Mimms (born Garrett Mimms, 16 November 1933, Ashland, West Virginia) is an American singer, influential in soul music and rhythm and blues. He is best known for the hit "Cry Baby" (later recorded by Janis Joplin) and "A Quiet Place," a popular song in the Carolina Beach Music community.

Biography[link]

Mimms grew up in Philadelphia, where he sang in gospel music groups such as the Evening Stars, the Harmonizing Four, and the group with which he would record his first record in 1953, the Norfolk Four. He returned to Philadelphia after serving in the military and formed doo-wop group, the Gainors in 1958.

In 1961, Mimms and Sam Bell from the Gainors left to form a new group, Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters, with Zola Pearnell and Charles Boyer.^[1] The group moved to New York and began to work with the songwriter and record producer, Bert Berns. Berns signed them to the United Artists label and wrote the hit, "Cry Baby" for them with songwriting partner, Jerry Ragovoy. The song topped the R&B chart and went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1963. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[1]

Mimms and the group had a follow-up double sided hit, "For Your Precious Love" and "Baby Don't You Weep", both tracks entering the Billboard Top 30, before he went solo in 1964. In 1966, Berns and Ragavoy produced another big hit for Mimms, "I'll Take Good Care Of You", which climbed to #15 in the R&B chart and #30 in the Hot 100. He worked with Jimi Hendrix in the UK the following year. He did some recording on the MGM and Verve labels. In 1969, Led Zeppelin performed an extended version of Mimms' "As Long As I have You" at various stops on their U.S tour.

In the 1970s, he released a few funk songs as Garnet Mimms and the Truckin' Co. He had his only hit in the United Kingdom at this time, when "What It Is" reached number 44 for one week on the UK Singles Chart in June 1977.^[2]

Mimms was given a Pioneer Award in 1999 by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

In the 1980s, Garnet found his calling ministering to lost souls in prison, but in 2007, returned to recording and a year later, released a new gospel album Is Anybody Out There? on the Evidence label, produced and (primarily) written by Jon Tiven.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Garnet Mimms Page via tsimon.com
• Biography via soulwalking
• Garnet Mimms bio via rockabilly.nl

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2008)

Garnett Silk (born Garnet Damion Smith; April 2, 1966 – December 9, 1994), was a Jamaican reggae musician and Rastafarian, known for his emotive, powerful and smooth voice. During the early 1990s he was hailed as a rising talent, but his career was ended by his early death in 1994, while attempting to save his mother while his house was on fire.

Biography[link]

Little Bimbo[link]

Smith was born in Manchester, Jamaica. His musical career began at the age of twelve, when he performed under the name Little Bimbo.^[1] During the 1980s he worked as a deejay on sound systems such as Conquering Lion, Soul Remembrance, Pepper's Disco, Stereophonic, and Destiny Outernational (where he first met Tony Rebel).^[1] He recorded his first track in 1985, but it would be two years later before his first single, "Problem Everywhere" was released.^[1] An album of material from this period (Journey) was later released. In 1988, he joined Sugar Minott's Youth Promotion label, releasing "No Disrespect", and working regularly with Tony Rebel, Smith now being billed simply as 'Bimbo'. The pair began performing as a duo around the sound systems to much acclaim. The Garnett Silk Meets the Conquering Lion: A Dub Plate Selection album dates from about this time and features a clutch of exclusive recordings the DJ cut for the sound system from the mid-1980s through the end of the decade. Rebel, a Rastarfari, eventually converted Smith to his religion with the help of dub poet Yasus Afari, a close friend of both the DJs.^[1]

Singing career[link]

In 1989, at the suggestion of veteran singer Derrick Morgan, Smith turned from deejaying to singing, with a recording session at Bunny Lee's studio with Rebel, including tracks recorded separately, as a duo, and with Anthony Selassie, and he began working under his real name.^[1] The Heartbeat label's Tony Rebel Meets Garnet Silk in a Dancehall Conference compiles these early Morgan-overseen recordings. The success of this session led him to continue as a singer, going on to work with producers King Tubby, Prince Jammy, and Donovan Germain, before signing a two-year contract with Steely & Clevie in 1990, recording an album's worth of songs for them. It was the production duo who decided to change his name to Garnet Silk, in reference to his smooth voice.^[1] Only one of the tracks recorded during this period, "We Can Be Together," a duet with Chevelle Franklin, was actually released at the time, and discouraged by this, he returned to Manchester and threw himself into songwriting, often in partnership with an old friend, Anthony "Fire" Rochester.^[1]

Another encounter with Tony Rebel brought an introduction to Courtney Cole, owner of the Roof International label. Silk would record a plethora of songs at the producer's Ocho Rios studio, amongst them were the hits "Mama," "Seven Spanish Angels," and a cover of the Johnny Nash classic "I Can See Clearly Now". Roof International would posthumously bundle up these early singles and other material recorded at this time for the Nothing Can Divide Us album, which the VP label picked up for the U.S.

By 1992, Silk was in Kingston in the studio with producer Bobby Digital, recording his debut album It's Growing. Split between deeply cultural themes, spiritual songs, and romantic numbers, the album went on to become one of the best selling in Jamaica that year, and he had his first major hit single with "Hey Mama Africa" (produced by Richard "Bello" Bell) for the Star Trail label, which was Silk's first international hit, and topped the reggae chart in Britain.^[1]

Over the next two years, the singer would record with most of the major name producers on the island, both on his own and in partnership with Tony Rebel. He cut a swathe of songs with King Jammy, including "Fill Us Up With Your Mercy" and "Lord Watch Over Our Shoulders." The latter track titled a 1994 compilation released by the Greensleeves label in the U.K. and boasts seven Jammy cuts and a clutch of hits for other producers.

1993's Gold, released by the U.K. Charm label, bundled up more hits from this period. Amongst them was "Zion in a Vision," a Jamaican number one cut with producer Jack Scorpio, as well as "Hey Mama Africa". he also recorded for Sly & Robbie, including the deeply religious "Thank You, Jah" and the haunting "Green Line." But the pace was becoming too much and Silk collapsed during a show at the Ritz in New York City, suffering from low blood pressure and exhaustion.^[1] The exhausted singer was forced to cancel all his scheduled appearances for the next six months, most crucially of all, what would have been his debut at Reggae Sumfest. However, Silk bounced back in 1994 and set back to work. In a show of good grace, he rejoined Steely & Clevie and cut the "Love Is the Answer" single, another massive hit. "Fight Back," produced by Richie Stephens, was next up. By then, the singer was ready to re-take the stage, which he did with a vengeance, headlining that year's Reggae Sumfest and Reggae Sunsplash festivals.^[1] His set at the latter event was captured for the Live at Reggae Sunsplash 1994 album, released in 1999 by the Tabou1 label.

Death[link]

Having signed an international distribution deal with Atlantic Records, Silk now entered Tuff Gong studios with producer Errol Brown and the cream of Jamaica's sessionmen (including Aston Barrett, Sly & Robbie, Tyrone Downie, Earl "Chinna" Smith, and Uziah "Sticky" Thompson), to begin work on his second album. He'd recorded ten songs and the album was nearing completion when he went home to visit his mother. Silk had borrowed a pair of guns from his attorney after his home had been burgled, but had no idea how to use them. Sitting with a couple of friends at his mother's house in Mandeville, Jamaica, on December 9, one offered to show him how they worked, at which point the gun accidentally misfired, hitting a propane tank and setting the house ablaze.^[1] The singer, his friends, and his two brothers made it out safely, only to discover that Silk's mother was still trapped inside. The singer rushed back into the house to save her, but it was too late and both were lost in the fire.^[1]

Posthumous[link]

Silk's music has been kept alive by several tributes, including Macka B's "Tribute to Garnett Silk" and the Earth Day concert, and numerous compilation albums, including two collections of his dubplates, Kilamanjaro Remembers Garnett Silk (Jam Down, 1999) and Rule Dem (Trojan/Sanctuary 2006).

In 2000, Atlantic finally released The Definitive Collection, a two-CD set showcasing the ten tracks the singer had recorded during sessions for his unfinished second album.

Releases[link]

Albums[link]

• It's Growing (1992) VP
• Gold (1993) Charm
• Buju Banton Meets Garnett Silk and Tony Rebel (1993) Rhino (with Buju Banton and Tony Rebel)
• Love Is The Answer (1994) VP
• Lord Watch Over Our Shoulders (1994) Greensleeves
• Tony Rebel Meets Garnett Silk in a Dance Hall Conference (1994) Heartbeat
• Nothing Can Divide Us (1995) VP
• Journey (1996) VP
• Reggae Max (1996) Jet Star
• Killamanjaro Remembers (1999) Jamdown
• Live at Reggae Sunsplash 1994 (1999) Tabou
• Collector's Series (1999) Heartbeat
• Garnett Silk Meets the Conquering Lion: a Dub Plate Selection (2000) Conquering Lion
• The Definitive Collection (2000) Atlantic
• The Definitive Collection (2001) Atlantic (2-CD edition)
• 100% Silk (2001) VP
• Legends of Reggae Vol.5 (2001) Artists Only
• This Sound Leads The Way (2001) Rhino (Garnett Silk & The DJs)
• Silky Mood (2002) VP
• The Very Best of Garnett Silk - Gold (2002) Jet Star
• Reggae Anthology: Music Is The Rod (1994) VP
• Rule Dem (2006) Trojan

DVD appearances[link]

• Garnett Silk and Friends (2002) MVD
• Golden Voices of Reggae (2005) Island MVD

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Reggae vibes
• Yahoo music
• Discography
• video
• Garnett Silk at Find a Grave