Mighty Pope

The Mighty Pope (born Earle Heedram, October 23, 1945) is a Jamaican-Canadian singer, recording act, and the first Afro-Canadian solo artist to release a major label long playing album, making him Canada's first established urban artist. Known for his vocal strength (hence the "Mighty" prefix in his stage handle) and sharp visual presentation (custom tailored suits, shirts, capes, and footwear), he was marketed as a something of a "sex symbol" at the height of his recording career in the mid-to-late 1970s. Pope (who received his nickname via a Vatican-shaped plot of land his father owned in their native Lucea, Jamaica) came to Canada in 1965 and after adjusting to the culture shock of his new surroundings (people, transportation, architecture, food, weather, media/advertising), wasted no time in immersing himself into the heart Ontario's growing Jamaican musical landscape. Due to immigration reforms and the 1955-1960 West Indian Domestic Scheme, by the mid-sixties, Canada's Jamaican population was expanding significantly and there were already a handful of clubs (Club Jamaica, W.I.F. Club, Club Trinidad, etc…) catering to those immigrants who wished to celebrate their native culture through music, social events, and food. Although Pope had only seen fairly limited performing experience in his native Jamaica (performing with Byron Lee as well as other regional musicians on the local talent show scene), he quickly became the R&B commodity on Toronto's Yonge Street strip (Hawk's Nest, Le C'oq D'or) after reinvigorating The Sheiks, the house band at Club Jamaica (located where Eaton Centre now exists, managed by Mr. Fitz Riley), as lead singer.