Prolific Saint Lucian singer/songwriter Werner Semi Francis has released a 15-track collection of reggae cover versions of well-known Christmas songs.
Born in Ciceron, Semi grew up on music, in particular 45s and LPs spinning on the record players at home.
“I have fond memories of listening to my father playing classical music, which at first sounded strange to me but after a while became quite soothing,” Semi recalls. “He also used to listen to Bob Marley and Peter Tosh and there was also my uncle who was into guys like Ken Lazarus and Pluto Shervington—actually my first reggae cover was a take of Lazarus’ Put Yourself in My Place.”
“Christmas was also a very special time for my family, so I always looked forward to the toys growing up from my parents. But again, it was the Christmas music that really did it for me,” he further explains.
According to the singer, listening to Christmas carols on Radio Saint Lucia, including local hits from Pelay, the Tru Tones, and Lennie Stone, became a strong musical influence.
Semi knew his calling was music from the age of nine when he started singing in school. Since then, Semi has enjoyed a successful career both as a solo artist and a member of various bands. He has written and recorded original songs across genres like gospel, pop, and reggae and was signed to RCA Records with the band Summit, scoring a big hit in the UK with Yummy, Yummy. In recent years, however, his focus has been on reggae music.
“So fast forward to several years later, I started to toy with the idea of doing some Christmas songs, but I did not want to do originals; I wanted to do songs that had been done already,” Semi tells St. Lucia Times.
In 2014, he recorded a reggae version of Have Yourself a Merry Christmas, which received good airplay. Production credits went to Meriah St. Louis and Danyl Daniel.
“Every year since then, I have been recording one or two reggae versions of popular Christmas songs. I keep getting calls from fans to do more each year. Even this year, I said I would not do any but I found that even returning guests at the hotels where I perform were asking me to do more,” he discloses.
With that kind of persuasion, Semi recorded two additional reggae Christmas covers. He decided to go a step further, compiling these tracks along with his previous releases into a full album of 15 holiday classics, Christmas with Semi.
The latest addition to the collection is a reggae cover of Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, which is accompanied by a music video.
“So if you are looking for a warm, bubbly, sunshine Christmas, wherever you are in the world, Christmas with Semi is definitely for you,” the singer says with a wide smile.
Semi loves Christmas and aims to convey that warm, joyous feeling in his music.
“For me, Christmas is a time for family and friends, a time to reflect and a time to be at peace with your God and with one another,” he says.
When asked about his three wishes this Christmas, he replied, “First, world peace where love and respect reigns. My second wish would be that everyone would have enough and no one would go hungry.
“Thirdly, I would probably wish to stay forever young, although I think I will always be young at heart,” Semi adds, laughing.
The proud father of two hopes to continue creating music, touring and performing for as long as he can.
