The Ultimate Guide to Great Reggae

Michael Garnice [+–]

Freelance writer

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Michael Garnice is best known for his groundbreaking early reggae website www.mentomusic.com and his writing about Bob Marley for Reggae Beat Magazine. He lives in New York City and writes for a number of reggae websites and magazines.

The Ultimate Guide To Great Reggae celebrates (and helps you find) the greatest songs of reggae. It focuses on every style of reggae, from mento to Jamaican R&B, ska, rock steady, dub, DJ, roots, dancehall and more. It opens with an exceptionally comprehensive brief history of reggae. This is followed by 52 chapters, each devoted to in-depth descriptions of the greatest songs for a particular artist or style. Over 750 great songs are detailed, and many more are discussed. More than 200 of reggae’s stars, cult artists, one-hit wonders and forgotten greats are profiled, encompassing the music’s full six decade span. Many of the songs and artists receive their overdue first coverage in print. The seven chapters on Bob Marley describe every one of his more than 600 recordings, his 200 best songs receiving detailed profiles.

Insightful and engaging, The Ultimate Guide To Great Reggae is more than an invaluable buyer’s guide and more than a comprehensive history. It’s a love letter to reggae that’s a joy to read. It’s the one essential book for any reggae fan, and is interesting and accessible for anyone who enjoys reading about music.

Series: Popular Music History

Prelims

Acknowledgments [+–] vii

The Ultimate Guide To Great Reggae celebrates (and helps you find) the greatest songs of reggae. It focuses on every style of reggae, from mento to Jamaican R&B, ska, rock steady, dub, DJ, roots, dancehall and more. It opens with an exceptionally comprehensive brief history of reggae. This is followed by 52 chapters, each devoted to in-depth descriptions of the greatest songs for a particular artist or style. Over 750 great songs are detailed, and many more are discussed. More than 200 of reggae’s stars, cult artists, one-hit wonders and forgotten greats are profiled, encompassing the music’s full six decade span. Many of the songs and artists receive their overdue first coverage in print. The seven chapters on Bob Marley describe every one of his more than 600 recordings, his 200 best songs receiving detailed profiles. Insightful and engaging, The Ultimate Guide To Great Reggae is more than an invaluable buyer’s guide and more than a comprehensive history. It’s a love letter to reggae that’s a joy to read. It’s the one essential book for any reggae fan, and is interesting and accessible for anyone who enjoys reading about music.

Introduction [+–] 1-4

Jamaica’s history of great records [+–] 5-33

Jamaica, music Isle; Reggae conquers the world; Mento; The new record producers and Jamaica’s sound systems; Jamaican R&B; Early Nyabinghi experiments; Ska; Rock Steady; Festival; Versions; Reggae Proper; Dub; Dubbing the timeline; DJs; Nyabinghi music, roots reggae, Nyabinghi-reggae; Other reggae; Dancehall reggae;

Great songs from the golden age of mento singles [+–] 34-54

Lord Lebby; Count Owen; Lord Tanamo; Harold Richardson; Lord Messam; Arthur Knibbs; Boysie Grant; Lord Flea; Other Golden-age artists

Count Lasher [+–] 55-59

Survey of Count Lasher, born 1926 as Terrence Parkins

Chin’s Calypso Sextet [+–] 60-69

Survey of the golden age of reggae’s greatest act, epitomizing rural mento; ‘slice of life’ songs; men and women; other songs

Great Jamaican R&B [+–] 70-75

survey of Jamaican R&B of the 1960s pointing out differences between American and Jamaican versions.

The Skatalites [+–] 76-89

The story of one of the greatest Jamaican bands, the Skatalites; jazz influences; early years; Duke Reid Productions; Coxsone Dodd Productions; Justin Yap a producer; Dada Tewani as producer

Bob Marley & The Wailers, Part 1: Ska and more at Studio One [+–] 90-110

Ska; Studio One; Bob Marley’s solo career at Beverly’s; Big group ska at Studio One; R&B; Gospel and Spirituals; Bob, Bunny and Peter continue the Ska; And then there were two– The Wailers without Bob Marley

More great ska songs [+–] 111-118

Baba Brooks; Other Great ska songs;

Prince Buster [+–] 119-122

devoted to the career accomplishments and life of Cecil Eustace Bustamente Campbell, aka, Prince Buster

Great Treasure Isle rock steady songs [+–] 123-133

Devoted to the output of Great Treasure Isle and rock steady songs

Great rock steady from other studios [+–] 134-144

The chapter explores the music of other rock steady bands, from Hopeton Lewis to Ken Booth, the Cables, the Slickers and others.

Desmond Dekker & The Aces with The Dynamites at Beverly’s [+–] 145-152

This chapter covers the work of Desmond Dekker & the Aces. Dekker was the first Jamaican to have hit records outside of Jamaica with unadulterated reggae (Poor Me Israelites); he was also the first to collaborate on a rock/reggae LP (with Paul Simon).

Toots & The Maytals [+–] 153-161

This chapter is devoted to the man who coined the term ‘reggae’, Toots Hibbert, who has been touring since the 1960s

The Ethiopians [+–] 162-167

Many fans know this group from the misnamed rock steady track, ‘Trin to Skaville. This chapter argues they are one of the greatest of all reggae acts.

Great Studio One rock steady and reggae instrumentals [+–] 168-181

This chapter looks at the work of Coxsone Dodd, acknowledged to be reggae’s greatest producer and some of the greatest Studio One rock steady and reggae instrumentals.

More great Studio One rock steady and pre-roots reggae songs [+–] 182-188

This chapter looks at the vocal tracks that dominated Studio One’s post-ska era.

Bob Marley & The Wailers, Part 2: Self-produced singles in their middle period [+–] 189-200

This chapter picks up the story of The Wailers and covers their middle period (1967-1972) which yielded over 250 tracks and showed them at their most varied.

Bob Marley & The Wailers, Part 3: The JAD productions in their middle period [+–] 201-206

This chapter looks at the JAD productions during The Wailers’ middle period. The author concludes that the output was a mixed bag with a few gems.

Bob Marley & The Wailers, Part 4: An LP produced by Leslie Kong in their middle period [+–] 207-210

This chapter looks at the largely disappointing album, The Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers, analysing the reasons it failed to launch them internationally.

Bob Marley & The Wailers, Part 5: Produced by Lee Perry in their middle period [+–] 211-223

This chapter continues the analysis of The Wailers’ middle period, looking at work resulting from their collaboration with the producer Lee Perry featuring a lot of funk and soulful sounds.

Bob Marley & The Wailers, Part 6: Work with sundry other producers in their middle period [+–] 224-226

The final chapter devoted to The Wailers’ middle period, this time from 1968-1971 and work they did with a variety of other producers.

More great early reggae [+–] 227-231

This chapter discusses some early reggae songs from artists and producers who do not have a chapter of their own in this book. These songs are in no way, shape or form less great than those from more famous names. In fact, each is a classic of late 1960s or early 1970s reggae.

Jimmy Cliff [+–] 232-235

Jimmy Cliff is one of the very best singers to ever emerge from Jamaica. He brandishes a high-powered instrument – a soprano with great range and a plaintive lilt that is capable of a keening emotional intensity and soaring joy. It would make him a star at home and abroad, and garner him many honors. He was awarded Jamaica’s Order of Distinction, then its Order of Merit, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio (the only reggae star other than Bob Marley to achieve this, even though neither of them recorded much that could be considered rock and roll).

Nora Dean [+–] 236-244

More than any other singer in reggae, Nora Dean has a life story shaped by contradiction and irony. She possesses one of reggae’s most beguiling voices. And she has recorded one of reggae’s most beloved songs, along with other memorable tracks, including one that might be reggae’s strangest. Yet most of her music is currently unavailable, never having been released on LP or CD, and next to nothing has been written about her. She didn’t write many songs, but her first attempt, which was not even complete, resulted in a classic. A good portion of her songs were about sex, but she would have preferred to have stuck to gospel, which she began recording at age fifteen. Now a born-again Christian after a serious illness, Nora Dean is a pious woman, who released a series of self-produced gospel CDs (as did Hopeton Lewis) out of New York from the mid-1990s through the mid- 2000s. From that vantage point, she looks back at her reggae career with nothing but regret. Yet these songs have brought so much joy to so many.

Augustus Pablo [+–] 245-254

Mento has banjo and rumba box, ska has trombone, rock steady has piano and reggae has electric bass. Dub, too, has its signature instruments. First is the mixing board that made the music possible. Second is the melodica, due to the music of one man, Augustus Pablo. If you are not familiar with a melodica, it’s a handheld keyboard that is blown into, making it something of a cross between a harmonica and an accordion. Before Augustus, it was less known and less respected than either of these instruments, disparaged as a teaching keyboard and certainly not thought suitable for recording. But the instrument was common enough in Jamaica and reggae musicians were resourceful and open-minded enough to see no reason not to utilize the melodica. To be fair to Peter Tosh, he had begun to use the instrument on a few tracks by The Wailers beginning in 1971, the same year that Pablo first recorded with it. And Bobby Kalphat also recorded with the instrument around the same time. But whereas these other keyboardists could have used organ just the same, it was Pablo who gave the melodica a new voice.

Lee Perry before the Black Ark [+–] 255-262

Earlier in this book, we saw how mutually beneficial Lee Perry’s production skills and The Wailers’ music were to one another. And in the next chapter there is an examination of Perry’s famous Black Ark period: the pinnacle of his (or perhaps anyone’s) production prowess. But besides these bodies of work he also produced himself and other singers on a number of great tracks that should not be missed, especially when they are all readily available on any number of CD collections.

Lee Perry and the Black Ark sound [+–] 263-273

By the midpoint of the 1970s, Lee Perry’s accomplishments as a producer had already eclipsed his work as a singer. Yet, new heights were just around the corner. It was then that the music coming from his studio, Black Ark, began to exhibit its amazing namesake sound.

Junior Murvin at the Black Ark [+–] 274-283

Singer Murvin Junior Smith was born in 1949 in Swift River, Portland Parish. (He should not be confused with the similarly named guitarist with Bob Marley & The Wailers, Junior Marvin.) A month after he was born, his family moved to Port Antonio, where he grew up. As a child, Smith showed a proficiency for singing popular ballads, a talent he shared with his father, who died when Murvin was a baby. When he was in his teens, the Smiths moved to Montego Bay, where Murvin began to sing in stage shows. At this time he was influenced by soul singers, especially the falsetto singing of Curtis Mayfield that captivated so many on the island. Murvin then moved to Kingston to live with his aunt in Trench Town, where he got to know the many reggae stars who lived there, such as The Wailers. Impressed by Murvin’s voice, Alton Ellis was especially encouraging, as was Ken Boothe. Eric “Monty” Morris and Derrick Harriott taught him harmony, he learned to play guitar and he adopted a stage name suggested by Morris: Junior Soul.

The Congos at the Black Ark and elsewhere [+–] 284-290

There are many great roots reggae vocal groups, each with its own sound and strengths. But no other group sounded quite like The Congos, and none could surpass the stunning heights they reached. Cedric Myton and “Congo Ashanti Roy” Roydel Johnson were both born in 1947, in Saint Catherine Parish and Hanover respectively. Myton was influenced by the singing of Nat King Cole, as well as that of his mother. Johnson received guitar instruction from Ernest Ranglin and counted Lee Perry as a childhood friend. Both began their musical careers once they moved to Kingston. Myton was a member of rock steady vocal group The Tartans, with Prince Lincoln Thompson, Devon Russell and Lindburgh Lewis. Johnson made a brief run at a solo career with a solitary single produced by Perry. He next became a guitarist and backing singer for Ras Michael & The Sons of Negus, and then for The Righteous Brothers, a vocal group that also included Yabby You and Albert Griffiths of The Gladiators.

More great dub [+–] 291-298

In no particular order, here are some more assorted great dub tracks. As you will see, great dub can come from famous dub-masters, other familiar names or from those who are neither.

Great mento-reggae by Stanley Beckford and others [+–] 299-303

The 1970s saw the advent of mento-reggae, reggae with mento musical elements and/or a strong mento feel. Though there were not a great number of songs in this style, and they were not totally uniform in their arrangement, the body of work was large enough for a classic mento-reggae sound to emerge. This was sunny reggae with happy piano and an exaggeratedly springy guitar chop that alluded to banjo. The rhythm is a simplified interpretation of a mento rhythm remembered from the past. The singer often had a country voice. Songs were frequently renditions or adaptations of old mento standards. And when they were not, they were lyrically mento-like, often a detailed observation of one of life’s ribald predicaments. Woefully neglected by the CD format (with one exception), these songs are worth the effort to track down.

Great mento after the golden age [+–] 304-311

The golden age of mento singles came to a close at the end of the 1950s. Never again would Jamaica see such an abundance of creative, excellent mento recordings. But in no way did mento stop being recorded, nor did it completely change into the mento-reggae style. Though more sporadically, rural mento recording continued to be released in the 1960s and enjoyed a resurgence in the late 1970s that continued to gain steam up to the present day. These are some standout examples of great rural mento from the 1960s and later.

More great reggae instrumentals [+–] 312-316

Varied in sound and style, here are half a dozen post-rock steady, pre-roots reggae instrumentals from producers other than Coxsone Dodd. They’re guaranteed to make you forget about singers, DJs, other styles of reggae and Studio One for a little while.

The Abyssinians [+–] 317-320

Calling themselves after an earlier name for Ethiopia, vocal group The Abyssinians consisted of singer Bernard Collins and brothers Donald and Linford Manning. Collins was raised in Saint Catherine Parish and was such a fan of American music, particularly Elvis, that he was called “Presley” by his friends. Not only did his recorded work not sound like his American idols, but he would help launch a new quintessentially Jamaican sound. He moved to Kingston and hooked up with the Mannings in Trench Town, forming The Abyssinians. Along with Burning Spear and Bob Marley & The Wailers, they would give birth to roots reggae. And they did so with their very first record.

Burning Spear [+–] 321-323

No one has more tirelessly brought the message of roots reggae to the world than Burning Spear. No one has even come close. Along with Bob Marley & The Wailers and The Abyssinians, he helped create the form. And he would stay strictly with the music and message of roots reggae right through to the present day. He is still recording and performing live around the world, more than forty years later. In fact, no Jamaican recording artist has had a longer duration of recording in just one style. (The Jolly Boys’ run of rural mento records that started in 1973 is second. But remember, in this case there was a complete turnover of band membership.) Burning Spear’s first record, ‘Door Peeper’, in 1969, was pure roots right from the get-go, sounding little like any other reggae of that year. Even his name was a nod towards the Rasta belief in black self-determination. Jomo Kenyatta was a freedom fighter who went on to become the first post-colonial ruler of Kenya. The English translation of his first name is “burning spear”.

More great Nyabinghi and Nyabinghi-reggae songs [+–] 324-329

Well before they began to record, Count Ossie and his Nyabinghi drum troupe were born of – and would become central to – Rasta identity. Oswald Williams was born in 1926 in Saint Thomas Parish. Mentored in Rastafarianism and Nyabinghi drumming by a Rasta elder by the name of Brother Job, the young Williams would soon move to live in a Rasta community. By the late 1950s, Jamaica’s best jazz musicians, as well as others visiting from abroad, would routinely come to Ossie’s Rasta camp. There they would sit in with him and his drum troupe, the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, on a grounation, as these jam sessions were called. With this musical openness, it’s no wonder that Nyabinghi music frequently included a guest jazz instrument, not to mention welcoming collaboration with an entire R&B or reggae band.

Dennis Brown [+–] 330-337

Born in 1957 in Kingston, Dennis Emmanuel Brown loved music from childhood. The young fan who then favored American popular singers, especially the smooth tones of Nat King Cole, could not have known that one day he would own an impressive list of reggae credentials. He began performing as a child, at one point promoted by bandleader Byron Lee as “The Boy Wonder”. In 1969, aged twelve, he began his recording career as a youth singer at Studio One. He had hits with his first singles, ‘Lips Of Wine’ and ‘No Man Is An Island’. Many, many more would follow, and Brown would grow to become one of reggae’s biggest stars, gaining the moniker “The Crown Prince of Reggae”. He was prolific, releasing over 60 albums and well over 200 singles, with numerous hits throughout each phase of his career. He was one of the most beloved singers ever in Jamaica, his popularity rivaling Bob Marley. Speaking of Marley, he and Brown were good friends, and he consistently named Brown as his favorite singer. That wasn’t nepotism, because Dennis Brown was gifted with a fabulous singing voice.

Gregory Isaacs [+–] 338-343

He recorded for a short time under the outrageous pseudonym William Shakespeare, and is sometimes called “Jah Toot’ ”, in recognition of a broken tooth received in an encounter with a policeman. But the adored reggae superstar Gregory Isaacs is known to his legion of fans by the accolade The Cool Ruler, or simply by his first name, without there being any doubt of the Gregory in question. Born in 1950 in Kingston, Gregory Anthony Isaacs lived a hardscrabble life that was brightened by a love of music. He began singing in his teens and by the end of the 1960s, boosted by an appearance on the popular Vere Johns Opportunity Hour radio show, he endeavored to go pro. Brought into recording by bandleader Byron Lee, he recorded short stints as half of a duo and then as a member of a trio. But success eluded him. Rather than trying a quartet next, he wisely went solo. A handful of singles recorded in 1970 for several producers included his first hit, ‘All I Have Is Love’, for Rupie Edwards. There was no turning back. He became one of the greatest solo stars ever in reggae, his popularity in Jamaica only surpassed by Dennis Brown and Bob Marley

Black Uhuru and Michael Rose [+–] 344-365

Starting out as an undistinguished roots vocal group, after a number of personnel changes Black Uhuru found a magic combination of talent and became one of the greatest of all reggae groups. In the early 1980s their acclaimed albums and live shows would vault them to the top of popularity in the international reggae arena. But the revolving door that made them great also proved to be their undoing, when this once-respected name became diminished.

More great Sly & Robbie songs [+–] 366-369

When Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, new drummer and bassist on the scene, began to work as a team around 1974, no one, not even they, could have imagined the incredible success they would have. They would become the biggest backing band in reggae history, playing on thousands of records by a myriad of artists. They would become bandleaders, producers, dub-masters and label owners. They would help launch Peter Tosh’s international solo career. They would push the boundaries of reggae as members of Black Uhuru, recording cutting-edge reggae, touring and performing for fans around the world. Amassing an unprecedented résumé for reggae musicians, they would work with such non-reggae stars as The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Ian Dury, Grace Jones, Joan Armatrading, Gilberto Gil, Herbie Hancock, Sting, Cindy Lauper, Ben Harper, Joe Cocker, Simply Red, Carly Simon, Tricky, Doug E. Fresh, Michael Franti, No Doubt, Carlos Santana, Sinéad O’Connor and others. No major talent in reggae goes without the accolade of a nickname, and they would be called “the riddim twins” or “Drumbar and Basspeare”. They would enjoy the additional accolade of being the only reggae rhythm section ever to be sung about in a chart-topping American single. In an unusual tribute, ‘Genius Of Love’, a 1981 single by the Talking Heads spin-off group Tom Tom Club, contained a couplet that not only name-checks Bob Marley, but credits Sly & Robbie with expanding the sound of reggae. It’s even followed by an imitation of Sly’s one-handed snare rolls. All in all, not bad for a couple of kids from Kingston.

Black Slate [+–] 370-373

Black Slate is a London-based roots reggae group comprised of Jamaican expatriates and members from other backgrounds. They initially came together in 1974 as a backing outfit for visiting star Jamaican singers performing in the UK. They recorded their first single in 1976 and would release about ten more, plus a run of seven self-produced albums through 1985. This included two UK hits, ‘Amigo’ and ‘Sticksman’. But, rather than these songs, it’s the ones below that represent Black Slate’s best. Along with Steel Pulse and Linton Kwesi Johnson, Black Slate is one of the greatest reggae acts to come out of the UK’s sizable reggae scene. By this reckoning, the tracks below are amongst the best reggae songs to come from a country other than Jamaica. Or, thinking with my ears instead of my brain, these are great reggae songs, period.

Steel Pulse [+–] 374-380

Along with Black Slate and LKJ as backed by Dennis Bovell & The Dub Band, Steel Pulse is one of the most important reggae bands to come from the UK, and the most commercially successful of the three. Like the other two bands, Steel Pulse was comprised of expatriates from Jamaica and from elsewhere in the Caribbean and British-born members. Like them, they made roots reggae with a slightly expanded, worldlier sound that was nonetheless genuine reggae. Steel Pulse was very much part of the live reggae boom of the early 1980s. It was then that they, Bob Marley (playing what would be his final shows), Peter Tosh, Toots & The Maytals, Black Uhuru, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Bunny Wailer, Third World, a reconstituted Skatalites and others criss-crossed the globe, performing reggae for ecstatic audiences all over the world.

More great roots reggae [+–] 381-409

For many reggae fans, especially those outside of Jamaica, roots is the only reggae that matters. From the early 1970s through the first half of the 1980s, roots reggae dominated in Jamaica until dancehall rose up to knock it from the hill. Here’s a variety of great roots reggae songs, presented chronologically and representing the full spectrum of the style’s sounds and concerns, from artists who do not have their own chapters in this book. Singers and vocal groups – the famous and the not; those who recorded roots exclusively and those who had broader résumés; those who aimed at international audiences or strictly a yard – are all represented. Each of these fine songs is readily available on CD unless otherwise noted

Big Youth [+–] 410-416

Manley Augustus Buchanan, better known as Big Youth, was born in 1949 in Kingston’s Trench Town. Jah Yout’, as he is affectionately called, is one of reggae’s greatest DJs and one of roots reggae’s greatest performers, DJing Rasta themes with unbridled enthusiasm and unmatched creativity. He is a charismatic figure, with stones in the Rastafarian colors of red, green and gold set into the front teeth of his typically smiling, always dreadlock-framed face.

More great DJ songs [+–] 417-447

Of course, great DJ tracks did not begin or end with Big Youth, as the songs in this chapter attest. They are by a wide variety of practitioners of the DJ’s trade. The DJ story is picked up in Chapter 53, “More great dancehall” .

Bob Marley & The Wailers, Part 7: The internationally released LPs [+–] 448-513

Chris Blackwell is a white Jamaican of upper-class background. As a young man working at the island’s resorts, he became interested in recording local music. A jazz LP in 1960 was the first release on his new Island Records label. It starred Bermudan pianist Lance Haywood, who had been performing at a Jamaican resort, on one side, and Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin on the other. Island’s first big success came in 1964 with Millie Small’s pop-ska cover of ‘My Boy Lollypop’, arranged by Ranglin. It reached no.2 in both the US and UK charts, giving Blackwell an entrée to overseas markets. By the early 1970s, when The Wailers began their association with Island, it was a thriving reggae label internationally as well as at home and had branched out as a force in UK rock and folk, with numerous successful album releases. The association between The Wailers and Blackwell was not planned. The group appeared in his London office in 1972 after an ill-fated UK tour organized by JAD left them essentially abandoned in England. At this, their first meeting, The Wailers so impressed Blackwell that he sent them away with a large cash advance to record an LP of new material for his label. Blackwell no doubt recognized a potential replacement for his most internationally successful reggae star, Jimmy Cliff, who had recently left him. He could not have dreamt the full impact – artistic, financial or cultural – of what ultimately would come of this deal.

Bunny Wailer, after The Wailers [+–] 514-519

Bunny Wailer has one of the best and probably the most beautiful voice in the history of reggae. No other reggae singer has his technical prowess or accomplishments as both a lead singer and a backing vocalist. Nor does any other reggae singer have his combination of spirituality and cool. Bunny Wailer’s speaking voice carries more music than many other vocalists’ singing. He could read the contents of a binary file aloud and make it sound interesting.

Peter Tosh, after The Wailers [+–] 520-528

Upon departing The Wailers, Peter Tosh embarked on a highly successful solo career that included a string of self-produced internationally successful albums and world tours. With these, he became the world’s second-biggest-ever reggae star, and its biggest after Bob Marley’s death. Regrettably, Peter’s career and life would also be cut short when aged forty-three he was shot by a gunman – said to have been a childhood friend – during a home invasion robbery on September 11, 1987. In his post-Wailers career, he released over 50 singles and seven studio albums between 1975 and 1987, plus several more live albums.

Great dub poetry [+–] 529-532

We have already discussed how the advent of DJ reggae would pave the way for yet another new style. Dub poetry, a more serious offshoot of DJ, would begin to be recorded at the end of the 1970s. Its rhythmic chant-speak delivery owes much to that of the DJ. But the dub poets’ songs are more formally composed and more serious in tone. The DJ’s improvisations, topic jumping, catchphrases and sound effects have no place in the work of a dub poet. Riddims were newly created for the dub poetry, unlike the DJ’s heavy use of versions. That is, when musical backing was employed. Dub poetry was sometimes performed solo, with no backing at all, something unique in reggae. As we will see, dub poetry has another distinction. It’s the first style of reggae that was born outside of Jamaica.

Great Jamaica Jazz [+–] 533-536

Just as dub poetry arose at the end of the 1970s to expand the sound of reggae, so did another new reggae sub-style appear in the 1990s. It was then that Jamaica Jazz came into being, as jazz was re-infused into ska and reggae with exciting results.

Barrington Levy and the birth of dancehall [+–] 537-541

Barrington Levy was born in 1964 in Kingston, but grew up in Clarendon Parish. A youthful music fan, he was especially fond of Dennis Brown, The Jackson Five and Michael Jackson. He first made a record around 1975 in a short-lived group called the Mighty Multitude that included a cousin of his. A year later, as a grizzled veteran of two sides, at fourteen years of age he decided to go solo. He initially found success as a sound system performer. He then recorded a handful of undistinguished singles for various producers, sounding like the youth singer he was. Things took an abrupt change for the better when he began recording for Henry “Junjo” Lawes.

Johnny Osbourne [+–] 542-547

Errol “Johnny” Osbourne was born in 1948 in the Jones Town section of Kingston and would become another in the long line of notable reggae stars who received their musical education from the Alpha Cottage School for Boys. He started his recording career in the late 1960s as a member of two vocal groups. First came The Wildcats, but they had little to show for their work other than one single in 1969, the fast-paced early reggae of ‘All I Have Is Love’. (Though they shared a name, it was a different song from Gregory Isaacs’s first hit.) Greater success was achieved as a member of The Sensations, who released two popular songs in 1969 produced by Winston Riley. ‘Come Back Darling’ straddled the rock steady of the recent past and the roots reggae soon to come. ‘Warrior’ featured a nascent roots reggae sound. Osbourne then moved to Toronto, Canada, for a period of years, working with local bands. After his return to Jamaica in the latter part of the 1970s, he would henceforth work as a solo artist, and, as was his greatest wish, he began a residency at Studio One with Coxsone Dodd. Osbourne could shape his versatile singing equally well to a variety of styles, and while his was not one of Jamaica’s virtuoso voices, it was one that was unfailingly likable. At Studio One he recorded roots, lovers’ rock, soulful reggae and began to flirt with dancehall reggae, the style that he is most associated with. As the decade turned over, so did Osbourne’s sound. His 1980 album Fally Lover, with producer Henry “Junjo” Lawes and The Roots Radics band signaled a break from Dodd and Studio One sounds. The rhythm was simplified, and the roots lyrics were left behind. Even though Junjo’s engineer Barnabas brought a dub aspect to the proceedings, the sound was clearly early dancehall. Working next with Prince Jammy, the die would be cast. Johnny Osbourne will be remembered as one of dancehall’s foundation singers, though truth be told, he was that and more.

More great dancehall [+–] 548-576

Presented chronologically, here are more great dancehall songs, which represent the full range of styles, subjects and sounds that this genre of reggae offers.

Coda: More great songs, but difficult to categorize [+–] 577-588

Presented chronologically, here are some more great reggae songs that don’t slot into any of the preceding chapters. Each one is great in its own right, and it would be a shame to miss even one of them. What better way to end this book than with a handful of unique reggae gems?

End Matter

Bibliography [+–] 589

Index of names [+–] 590-593

Index of songs [+–] 594-604

Reviews

This volume, heavyweight yet absorbingly readable, is indeed close to being the ultimate guide to this endlessly absorbing music.
Mike Atherton, Echoes

Plenty of useful reference materials for the casual listener. A major strength of this book is that it rehabilitates mento, rightly pointing to its pride of place as the true root of reggae itself.
Volume! La revue des musiques populaires

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The Ultimate Guide to Great Reggae

The complete story of Reggae told through its greatest songs, famous and forgotten

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