Times #5
(Sound Dimension – Soulful Strut)
Wicked piece of instrumentalism, (Cover of the Young Holt Unlimited Soul Classic), from the Studio 1 house band of the period, (late 60’s – Early 70’s), known collectively as the ‘Sound Dimension’. (Cover of the Young Holt Unlimited Soul Classic)
Times #4
(Solomon Burke – You Can Make It If You Try)
“He who knows nothing, loves nothing. He who can do nothing understands nothing. But he who understands also loves, notices, sees….The more knowledge is inherent in a thing, the greater the love….Anyone who imagines that all fruits ripen at the same time as the strawberries knows nothing about grapes. – Paracelsus
1963 cut from the ‘King Of Rock and Soul’ on the Atlantic label
Times #3
(Buckle My Shoe – The Dixieaires)
“When a man learns to love he must bear the risk of hatred”
Times #2
(Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Rock Me)
“During the dark hours I felt my sick heart expand and beat more furiously, and I no longer made any distinction between pleasure and pain, both hurt and both were precious. Whether my inner life went well or badly, my discovered strength stood peacefully outside looking on and knew that light and dark were closely related and that sorrow and peace were rhythm, part and spirit of the same great music…” Hermann Hesse – Gertrude – 1955
Times #1
(Soul Stirrers – I Want To Rest)
Have to take a break from the Jamaican Musical History theme for a while. Recent developments along the way are calling for some diverse musicology. Have much to say but words fail me for now so I’ll leave it to the music to speak.
Immaculate Gospel cut from one of the greatest vocal harmony groups to ever grace the mic, the church, the stage, and themusicologist…
Listen Tune….
Jamaica #28
(Ken Boothe – Be Yourself)
Top Ranking piece of Jamaican musicology sung by one of it’s greatest artists recorded for and released by it’s champion studio, (Studio 1), and backed by the cream of the island’s instrumentalists.
Doesn’t get better than this as once again I find myself sitting in the park on a scorching day..soaking up the rays…and listening to the sweet sounds of Jamaica. Not sure of the year but do I give a F**K?…no. Peace and love to the haters and doubters that would take pleasure from seeing me stumble and fall..don’t hold your breath ; )
Jamaica #23
(Dennis Brown – No More Will I Roam)
Looking back over the past week on themusicologist I couldn’t help but notice my absence..in truth the weather was too nice and I had much street walking, hustling, networking, planning and dreaming to do and themusicologist had to take a back seat but the weather is still scorching so I’ll have to come up with a new plan for this week…ahh got it…more music less scribbles, (it’s the scribbling that takes ALL my time)
So with that in mind….forward up with the sweet sounds of JA.
Ranking piece from the ‘Crown Prince’ Dennis Emmanuel Brown produced by Winston ‘Niney the Observer’ Holness for his Obsever label in 1974.
Listen Tune..
Jamaica #22
(Horace Andy – Let Your Teardrops Fall)
Went to see Dean Chalkley’s ‘New Faces’ exhibition at the Book Club last night…Good night, Good music, (Led by the Cheeba), excellent venue and the photographs were absolutely spot on. What’s that got to do with the Jamaica theme? nothing but you know this is my musical diary so I just wanted to keep yers in the loop and inform the Cats and Kittens of how, (and where), this ‘stone’ known to some as themusicologist is rolling.
Anyway…back to Jamaica..and today’s cut is courtesy of the man Horace ‘Sleepy’ Hinds aka Horace Andy whose recording career started in 1966 under the guiding hand of heavyweight producer Phil Pratt but didn’t really go anywhere until he turned up at Studio 1 guitar in hand, (which he had spent the preceeding 4 years learning), and waxed ‘Got To Be Sure’ and ‘Something On My Mind’ and a star was born.
Today’s cut is from 1972/3. Don’t know who produced it and to be honest I don’t really care too much as for me it’s only ever about the music and not the information.
Jamaica #21
(Wailing Souls – Don’t Fight)
So as the 70’s begun Jamaican music yet again changed gear this time from the light soulful, and more accessible sounds of the 60’s into the roots and culture. Why? of course there are many reasons but the ones that stand out for me are 1: The artists were beginning to grow weary of being exploited by the producers 2: the social fabric of the island was rapidly disintegrating and 3: Rastafarianism was becoming ever more popular in the ghettos especially with the artists and musicians. Of course the Big producers couldn’t really get involved as they were, in essence, Capitalist.
Not surprisingly this change of gear didnt go down well with the record buying public ‘up a foreign’ who weren’t really interested in Ghetto music that talked about sufferation, poverty, exploitation, (no change there then) No they would rather hear about how much the sun shined, unrequieted love and how Jamaica was a paradise…a holiday destination that they could one day envisge visiting. Truth is that most people don’t listen to music to hear about harsh reality, (unless it’s glamourised of course), rather use music to escape reality. So Jamaican music turned inwards, (due mainly to internal demand), and the Roots & Culture came to dominate the dancehall.
I’m sticking with the roots, (as unpopular as it is), because for me it’s the essence of Jamaican, (and all come to that), music. Today’s cut is another one from the hallowed halls of Sir Coxsone Dodd’s Studio 1 sung by the MAJESTIC Wailing Souls. (essentially Winston ‘Pipe’ Matthews and Lloyd ‘Bread’ McDonald), Both born and raised in Trenchtown a Kingston district synonymous with Reggae producing greats such as Ken Boothe, Alton Ellis, Joe Higgs and the Wailers, (to name but a few), Joined in this period by the notorious Errol ‘Batman’ Wilson, (brother of Delroy), who was immortalised in the Slickers cut ‘Johnny Too Bad’. But it was as a quartet in 1969/1971 that they truly made their mark first at Studio 1 with a selection of cuts from where this one is taken and then following on at the Wailers label Tuff Gong.
LISTEN TUNE
Jamaica #20
(N Elliott & Noel Bailey – People Let Love Shine)
No rest for themusicologist as he moves, weaves, bobs, ducks, slips and slides his way out of one marrow trembler and into another one of my most cherished slices of ‘Sufferers’ but today it’s courtesy of Spanish Town producer Harry Mudie…The vocalists are N? Elliott and Noel Bailey..1971 cut on a Moodisc ‘Blank’
I’ll just let the cut speak..
Jamaica #19
(Rome – Lloyd Jones)
When I first heard this cut, (more than 20 years ago), I had to sit down. Still to this day I don’t know what it is about it that continues to tremble my marrow but as I live and learn about life through the ups and downs there are certain tunes that are an integral part of the soundtrack to my existence…this is one of them. The sounds that pulsed out of the Kingston ghettos during the early 70’s continue to speak with unmatched authenticity to my Soul and even though I am a big fan of Ska, Rocksteady and early Reggae it is this period, (the ‘Golden Age’), between 1970 and 1976 that really does it for me, (the 90’s too but we’ll have to wait until later to hear them)
The vocalist on today’s piece is Lloyd Jones, (a cat I know nothing about), but what I do know though is that, (as far as I’m concerned), music doesn’t get better than this. For 20+ years this cut has been a BIG part of my life. Why? can’t say for sure but it’s one of the tunes that I will NEVER tire of hearing. Larry, (the field), Marshall cut it at Studio 1 and I’m not sure who waxed the original but I think it’s this one….not that it matters of course and whether it’s called Babylon, Rome, the Shitstym, Capitalism or Globalisation it’s all just ‘The Game’ and I for one despise it. Sufferers all bleed the same colour blood and it’s always RED so be you black, white, pink, brown, yellow or blue this one’s for all of us…45 on the English Bullet label.
“From since I was a kid they have had me down as slave,
Keep pushing me everyday until they push me out of the way,
Woooooh Rome I want to go home,
Woooooooh Rome I can’t stay no longer in Rome”
Jamaica #18
(Winston Hines – Cool Down)
Between the cat, (who’s got my tongue), the monkey, (who’s on my back), and the wolves, (who are howling round my door), I feel more like a zoo keeper than a musical curator so without further delay I’m just going to lay this one on you. Final cut of the early Reggae and then it’s on to the Reggae proper.
45 on the English Camel label, (another one of my early ‘revival’ memories), sung by Winston Hines..and yes it’s 1969.
Jamaica #17
(Dennis Walks – The Drifter)
Today’s cut is a piece from my earliest ‘Revival’ Reggae memories, (early 80’s), introduced to me by my uncle whose commitment to top ranking music was and still remains one of the most important contributions to my existence ever made. Produced by Spanish Town’s..Harry Mudie. Early Sound System owner, (mid 50’s), whose first production in ’62, (Babylon Gone), was one of the first to feature Count Ossie. The late 60’s saw a return to production for Mr Mudie who then went on to introduce Spanish Town Sound System legend I Roy to the record buying public as well as producing some of the most established Jamaican artists of the 70’s. This one is voiced by Dennis Vassell aka Dennis Walks and was originally released in…yep you’ve guesssed it…1969 !!
Jamaica #15
(Sound Dimension – Baby Face)
As far as the music of Jamaica is concerned for themusicologist there is only one studio that stands above all others..Coxsone Dodd’s legendary Studio 1. Almost every singer, instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger has at one time passed through the Brentford Road gates. Far too many to list or even mention so I won’t even try, suffice to say that if you pick a name he will have a connection. Coxsone was a visionary…and as such allowed others far more suited to the creative process to express themselves. He opened the doors for Jamaican music to carve itself a unique sound that finally arrived during the period now in question…(late 60’s early 70’s), known globally as Reggae. To wax a tune at Studio 1 meant that, as an artist, you had made it to the top. Not financially but artistically. No matter how much the sound was crafted by others, (and it most certainly was), it was Coxsone who drove it. His greatest skill was in his ability to see the wider picture and create a platform to realise it. Ideas are the lifeblood of innovation but on their own they are no more than talk….when you check it no one person did more than Coxsone to establish Jamaican music as a global force and the music stands as witness to such a claim.
So with that in mind hold this wicked instrumental cut from the previously mentioned Studio 1 house band..Sound Dimension. One listen, (for those who don’t know it), should be enough to realise why Studio 1 is the Don Sound. 1969 Release, (in the UK), on the English Bamboo label. BIG Tune.
Jamaica #12
(Barrington Spence – Contemplating Mind)
Final cut of the Rocksteady and then it’s on to the ‘Moonstomp’ Reggae. But before that it’s time to roll one out from Sir Coxsone ‘Downbeat’ Dodd’s Studio 1. A cut featuring the vocal talents of Barrington Spence who began singing in the early sixties but stepped out of Kingston for a few years and didnt return until around 1966 whereupon he hooked up with Naggo Morris and Sylvan Clarke, (as the Soul Boys), and cut a few tunes at Studio 1 and Treasure Isle?
Just like to finish by adding that even though Coxsone got left behind a small piece during the Rocksteady, in part due to the emergence of producers such as those featured over the last week as well as his less than fair business practices concerning artists and musicians, he was still ‘swinging’ and turning out top quality music, (as today’s cut bears witness to), but it would be in the next phase of Jamaican musical development that he began to take back the crown and deliver the ‘golden age’ of Studio 1.
LISTEN TUNE…
Jamaica #11
(Johnny & The Attractions – Coming On The Scene)
Penultimate cut of the Rocksteady excursion features a vocal group that go by the name of Johnny & The Attractions, (already featured on themusicologist), who waxed some of the most beautiful Rocksteady of the day. Amazingly, (or not so if you know a little about Jamaican music), next to nothing is known about these cats so I can’t fill you in on any personal details. All I do know is that the producer was Sonia Pottinger and the label it originally appeared on was ‘Gayfeet’ and the year was most likely 1968, an important year in themusicologist’s life as well as in the progression of Jamaican music as it was in this year that Reggae first emerged.
To be honest RockSteady was not a commercial success and is still to this day not well known, (outside of the community), which has always surprised me but then again if we look at what was going on at the time maybe it was too ‘simple’, slow or authentic to attract much interest in a world that was plunging headlong into complexity and inauthenticity but ever since being introduced to it in the early 80’s it never fails to reach out and touch my soul.
Anyway…enough of the sentimentality and on with the transcendental TOP RANKING musicology..
Jamaica #10
(The Uniques – Love & Devotion)
on the previous cut I mentioned one of Jamaican musicology’s prime movers and shakers Edward ‘Bunny’ Lee, (aka Striker/Sir One Strike), and his skills as a record plugger, (originally for Duke Reid). Today though it’s the man himself’s turn to deliver but this time as producer…So many top ranking slices of the Rocksteady and later the Reggae have the Striker stamp that they could easily fill a theme on themusicologist and maybe one day they will but right now It has to be just the one from that long list.
But before throwing down I would just like to add that MANY of the great Jamaican artists have yet to be featured on the theme but what can a man do? I’m sure that over the years they will all be HEAVILY represented, (as some already have), all I can say is that, (at least in my book), every cut laid down on here is a gem so that will have to do.
So who’s up? has to be this one from the Uniques with a personal favourite that I first heard way back in the mid 80’s and has been etched into my consciousness ever since. Featuring the Sublime vocals of first Jimmy Riley then Slim Smith and finally Lloyd Charmers..each blessed with a voice that could ‘charm the monkeys from out of the trees’ On rhythm duty are Cats we are already more than familiar with (Lynn Taitt, Winston Grennan, Gladstone Anderson, Bobby Aitken, Val Bennett, Lester Sterling, Vin Gordon, Johnny Moore)…..MAJESTIC
Jamaica #9
(Larry Marshall – Money Girl)
Moving out of the Derrick Harriott and into yet another fine piece but this time it’s courtesy of producer George Phillips better known as Phil Pratt..a name bestowed on him by Caltone founder Blondel Keith Calneck, (Ken Lack).
You may have noticed that one of the things about Jamaican music is the significance of the producer in musical proceedings and Phil Pratt is certainly one of them. Horace ‘Andy’ Hinds, (cousin of Justin), The Heptones and Bunny Lee all begun their journey beside the Cat at Caltone so its, (and his), importance in the development of Reggae deserves wider recognition.
The cut today is courtesy of singer Larry Marshall, (who would go on to find a place at Coxsone’s Studio 1), and features the talents of Rocksteady’s core protagonists that include Lynn Taitt, Gladstone Anderson, Winston Wright, Clifton Jackson, and one from Winston Grennan, Hugh Malcolm or Arkland Parks. From the sounds of it I would hazard a guess that it’s a 1967 recording but I could easily be mistaken and if so it would be early 1968. Whatever the year it was arranged by a name we have become familiar with over this week…Lynn Taitt.
Finally just like to praise the label Pressure Sounds for releasing the CD, (Safe Travel), from which today’s cut emerged. ESSENTIAL purchase…FULL of TOP Ranking Rocksteady that were you to try and buy the 45’s featured would cost you a small fortune, (if you were lucky enough to find them)
LISTEN TUNE…
Jamaica #8
(Derrick Harriott – Do I Worry)
So what is it about Rocksteady that is different? Musically Rocksteady is built on the ‘One Drop’, (3rd Beat), whereas Ska was built around the ‘after beat’. That and the pronounced Bass evident on the Rocksteady combined to deliver a rhythm that the dancers could sway and ‘Rock Steady’ to while holding up a beer, maybe a spliff and even a girl. While Rocking Steady a man could look nonchalant and slick whereas the ‘Ska’ was all about the wild swinging of arms…not slick and certainly no chance of winding, grinding, smoking and drinking.
In fact to make it clear..Hold this quote from the drummer who many credit with originating the ‘one drop’, Winston Grennan
‘I give a hard blow on the third..that would be a hard one drop and it would cut the beat in half”
Of course there were other key players involved such as the afore mentioned Lynn Taitt, Hugh Malcolm, Bobby Aitken, Gladstone Anderson as well as legends such as Jackie Mittoo, Roland Alphonso and the Soul Brothers and of course Tommy McCook and the Supersonics. Apologies If I have missed some…hopefullly some of you musicologists out there can ‘pipe up’ and let us know?
Right enough of the words and on with the music. I was going to drop cuts chronologically but on reflection I’ll just do my best to throw down cuts that for me define the genres. If I had planned it differently I would probably thrown down a week of Rude Boy cuts that were so prevalent in 1966 but I didn’t so I’ll just continue !!
Today’s piece is from one of Jamaica’s greatest talents the pioneering vanguard Derrick ‘One Stop’ Harriott, a Cat who was there at the birth of the Ska, Rocksteady and Reggae delivering sublime musicology. Have to say that this is one of my all time faves.
Finally…Just like to add that I continually get lost for hours, days and weeks in what I consider to be one of the most original, informative and all round TOP RANKING sites out there
Jamaica #7
(The Techniques – Love is not a gamble)
So what could have happened in 1966 to change the beat from the frenetic Ska to the laid back sound of the Rocksteady? Rumour and word has it that it was a combination of things that conspired..First of all popular information/knowledge has it that a heatwave swept the island forcing the dancers and musicians to slow the tempo..secondly as is often, (if not always), the case the time had come for the islands musicologists to evolve and in my experience slow follows quick. Thirdly, (and I’m guessing here), the Ganja may have influenced proceedings…
By 1966 many of the protaganists of the Ska were ‘Beardmen’ and were likely to have been ‘licking chalice’ Up Warika Hills with the legendary Count Ossie. I’m not suggesting that the Ganja was the chief reason for the shift..only one of many.
As for outside influences we only have to consider how Soul and the Vocal Group sound became dominant in America around this time and how much influence the likes of the Impressions subsequently had in Jamaica.
Finally and perhaps of most significance was the Skatalites splitting into two groups after the incarceration of Don Drummond in 1965…The Soul Brothers led by Roland Alphonso, (at Studio 1), and the Supersonics led by Tommy McCook, (resident at Treasure Isle). Notably Lynn Taitt is widely recognised as ‘Inventing’ the Rocksteady with the Hopeton Lewis cut ‘Take It Easy’ but other early pieces included Alton Ellis’s ‘Girl I’ve Got A Date’ and Derrick Morgan’s ‘Rougher Than Rough’, (all of which featured Lynn Taitt’s guitar). Whatever the reasons for the emergence of Rocksteady it was at this junction that ‘Reggae’ began to take shape with the Bass rising to prominence and it must be said, (at least from my perspective), that Duke Reid wore the Rocksteady Crown.
So with that in mind the first cut has to go to the Duke and the Majestic Vocal Group known as the Techniques whose fluctuating line up included some of the great Jamaican vocalists; Slim Smith, Pat Kelly and Winston Riley, not forgetting cats such as Bruce Ruffin, [who wrote this cut], Junior Menz and original members Frederick Waite and Franklyn White.
Clearly influenced by The Impressions this one epitomises Jamaican Vocal Group Harmony. 1967? recording on the Duke’s Treasure Isle label.
themusicologist 