Earl Sixteen was born Earl Daley in Jamaica in 1958. When he was 15 years old he won a talent contest, beating the likes of Michael Rose, Junior "Tamlins" Moore and Joy White. He then formed his first group, The Flaming Phonics, but their only 45 release did not meet with any success.

His first hit came about when he sung the song "Malcom X", written by his childhood friend Winston McAnuff and produced by Derrick Harriott. Later Dennis Brown covered the song to great success.

Earl then decided to join bandleader Boris Gardiner as part of a travelling revue/cabaret band. Despite enjoying the great experience of playing with such a professional outfit, Earl's gradual involvement with Rasta resulted in his being fired from the band.

Around this same period he hooked up with Lee Perry at his Black Ark Studio, and recorded two songs - "Cheating" and "Freedom", the latter a bonafide classic roots tune. At the Black Ark, Earl met Earl Morgan from The Heptones, who produced his debut album "Shining Star". Earl also recorded two tunes for Augustus Pablo's Rockers label - "Changing World" and "Rastaman", both regarded as essential Pablo productions.

Meanwhile, the "Dread At The Controls" broadcaster then producer Mikey "Dread" Campbell, had risen to enormous poularity in Jamaica with his late night weekly radio program where Earl's tune "Freedom" was regularly given airplay. The two subsequently teamed up for sessions backed by the Roots Radics Band and mixed by Scientist at King Tubbys studio. Tunes such as "Reggae Sound", "Jah is the Master", "African Tribesman" and the album "Reggae Sound" all helped to build Earl's name and reputation as a quality songwriter and singer.

The song "Trials and Crosses" produced by Linval Thompson was a massive roots hit in England in 1981 and was released by Greensleeves.

Two albums were recorded for the producer Roy Cousins from The Royals, and these included some great songs such as "Song For a Reason", "Julia", "Reggae Rock" and "OK My Love".

Earl's unique voice also caught the attention of the great producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd of Studio One. After practising vocals over a bunch of classic Studio One tunes that Dodd had given Earl, he voiced a tune called "Love Is A Feeling" over the rhythm that had underpinned the "Heptones Gonna Fight". It was a massive worldwide dancehall smash but the subsequent Studio One "Showcase" album was ruined by poor mixing and sloppy overdubs.

In 1988, Earl scored his biggest hit with a cover version of the Simply Red song Holding Back The Years, which stayed at the top of the UK reggae charts for months.

In the 1990s, Earl started recording for many English-based producers and had hits like "Natural Roots" for Manasseh, a popular album "Babylon Walls" for Mad Professor, and "Immigration" for Now Generation. He soon captured the attention of Leftfield who got him to re-do his "Trials and Crosses" classic for their monumental "Leftism" album that sold over 300,000 copies worldwide. Collaborations also followed in conjunction with Dreadzone, including the chart hit "Little Britain". These successes led to Earl signing a major label deal with WEA and the subsequent album "Stepping Out" in 1997. In 2000, Earl released an album "Wondrous Works" produced by Gussie P, aimed squarely at the hardcore roots market. Another album for WEA entitled "Feel The Fire" was released in 2001.

Earl hooked up with Rootsman to record some dubplates in 2001 and this led to Earl recording two songs at the Third Eye Studio - "Change Gonna Come" and the moving "Shelter From The Storm", the latter track now part of Rootsman's "New Testament" album. A successful joint appearance at Germany's Chiemsee Festival in 2001 also led to Earl and Rootsman doing a successful a short German tour in October 2001.