Terry Linen is easily one of reggae music's greatest talents to have emerged in the new millennium. Blessed with a brilliantly distinctive voice, the diminutive singer has cemented a place in the hearts of reggae lovers worldwide with a combination of his haunting melodies and wonderful songwriting. Born Kiplin Simpson, he grew up in the district of Red Bank, he attended the Red Bank Primary and Red Bank High schools. Being the first child for his mother, his grandparents were the ones who look after him, while his mother hustled to put food on the table, for him and his five siblings. His father migrated to England at the time. Eventually, Terry moved from the quiet district of Red Bank to the sleepy bustle of Mandeville to live with his mother who had remarried. When he graduated from school, he hooked up with the legendary Black Kat sound system where he cut dubs. It was during those inspirational Black Panther days that Terry became great friends with local artistes who were on the rise which included General Degree, Tony Rebel and Garnet Silk who had a tremendous influence on the impressionable singer. Terry also met two of the most influential people of his career, Tyrone Taylor & Courtney Melody, during that time. Eventually, Terry's close bond with Degree began to pay dividends as Degree invited Terry to the studio with him on several occasions, introducing him to influential movers and shakers in the music business. In the meantime, Terry also met a wealthy local bus owner from Southfield, St. Elizabeth called 'Million' who persuaded Terry to join his sound of the same name where he went on to cut the tune "Sweet Cassandra" on Million's own label, however the song failed to spark much interest from the public. It was not until 1996 when he recorded "Rainbow Never Touch the Ground" on the Kutchie rhythm for producer/songwriter Anthony Red Roze that people began to take notice of the young singer. After the moderate success of this song, Anthony Red Roze began to take on the mantle as Terry Linen's manager. The artiste began to put out reggae gems such as the ultra-popular "Couldn't Be the Girl for Me" and "Jah Jah You Save Me". Then Linen recorded his monster hit, a cover of Whitney Houston's "Your Love Is My Love" in 1999. Linen received assistance from the musicians Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Gitsy, Jazzwad and Dean Fraser. "Your Love Is My Love" hit the top of reggae charts in Miami, and in New York for 12 straight weeks. The song also hit reggae charts in the Caribbean, however, with all that chart success, he did not become a household name "The problem is that I did not get the proper promotion, even with my hit songs, there was no video done, people did not know me because is not everyone attends stage shows, even though people loved the songs," he said. He did a collaboration with German star Gentleman on the single "Jah Jah Never Fail" which appeared on Gentleman's 1999 album, Trodding On'. He recorded a single with Capleton titled "Love is Coming at You". His first album, the self-titled Terry Linen which was distributed by VP Records in 2001, received rave reviews from music critics and fans alike. He toured North America and Japan on the strength of the album. He performed on stage shows such as Tru Juice Rebel Salute, Western Consciousness, Stars in Action and the Love Symbol Show. He distinguished himself at the Tru Juice Rebel Salute show in 2001 earning two encores, with the songs such as "Call On A Friend" and the perennial crowd favourite, "Couldn't Be The Girl For Me". He continued to work hard and in the year 2004, scored with "Counting Hours", which was produced by Beres Hammond's on his Harmony House Records label, it was featured on many reggae compilation albums worldwide. Terry Linen continued to work hard, a resident of Jamaica, spending time in Junction, St. Elizabeth and his beloved Mandeville in the parish Manchester. He is poised to storm the local charts once again. Now signed to Uplifting Music International in the latter part of 2007, Terry Linen has seen his stocks rise. His new single "Mood For Love" is getting heavy rotation on FM radio in Jamaica. Internationally the song "No Time To Linger" on the Joe Fraser label was number one for three weeks on the South Florida Reggae charts and also number one on the New York Reggae chart. "I can see where my career is moving forward once again, and connecting the right way, I feel like my career is rejuvenated," he said.
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