Official Toots & The Maytals Musical Journey

Official Toots & The Maytals Musical Journey

While they never achieved the commercial success or cultural impact of the Wailers, Toots & the Maytals were nearly as important in the history of Jamaican music; like the Wailers, the Maytals thrived as ska gave way to rocksteady and then evolved into reggae, they boasted one of the island's finest singers and most charismatic frontmen in the great Toots Hibbert, and they worked with many of the most important producers and sidemen on the island. The Maytals were also the band that most clearly demonstrated the links between Jamaican sounds and American R&B (Hibbert's rich, emotive vocal style was informed by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and other soul icons), and the group's catalogue contains a number of crucial, frequently covered tracks, most notably the classic "Pressure Drop."

Never Grow OldToots & the Maytals were founded by Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, who was born in May Pen, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica in 1945. Hibbert was the youngest in a family of seven children and first took up singing as a member of the church choir. In 1961, Hibbert set out for Kingston and struck up a friendship with Nathaniel "Jerry" Matthias and Henry "Raleigh" Gordon, a pair of singers with a smattering of recording experience. The three formed a vocal group, and in 1962 they were discovered by producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, who signed them to his Studio One label. After releasing a debut single, "Hallelujah," under the name the Vikings, the trio became known as the Maytals, and beginning with "Fever," they issued a number of singles that were compiled into the 1963 album Never Grow Old. The Maytals' Studio One sides featured accompaniment by the legendary Jamaican band the Skatalites and were dominated by strong, gospel-influenced close harmonies and Hibbert's soulful lead vocals. After two years with Studio One, the Maytals briefly worked with producer and ska pioneer Prince Buster before signing on with another Jamaican record man of note, Byron Lee, in 1965. The Lee-produced material showed the Maytals were developing a more mature and polished approach, but the group hit a serious roadblock in 1966 when Hibbert was arrested for possession of marijuana; he was convicted and would serve a year behind bars.

The Harder They Come [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]In 1967, Hibbert was a free man, and he reunited with Matthias and Gordon, renaming the group Toots & the Maytals. Hibbert's stay in prison coincided with ska fading from the musical landscape in Jamaica as the proto-reggae sounds of rocksteady took its place. The new style suited Toots & the Maytals, and they signed with producer Leslie Kong, with whom the group would record some of its biggest hits, including "Pressure Drop," "Sweet and Dandy," "Monkey Man," "54-46 (That's My Number)," and "Do the Reggay," the latter often cited as the song that gave the new style of music its name. When "Monkey Man" became a British hit in 1970, Toots & the Maytals began enjoying success outside Jamaica for the first time, and in 1972, "Pressure Drop" and "Sweet and Dandy" were featured on the soundtrack of the film The Harder They Come, starring Jimmy Cliff. The movie was a smash in Jamaica and became an art-house sensation in the United States, as the film and its soundtrack album helped make American listeners aware of the growing reggae phenomenon.

Funky Kingston In 1971, Leslie Kong died, and Warwick Lyn, Kong's primary recording engineer, took over as the group's producer; Chris Blackwell, whose Island Records label was enjoying success releasing reggae material in the U.K. and U.S. (particularly Bob Marley & the Wailers), also joined their production team, and before long he would sign the group to Island, releasing a revamped version of the album Funky Kingston in the United States in 1975. That same year, Toots & the Maytals made their American concert debut opening a tour for the Who, though their stateside audience gave Toots a cool reception. With the 1976 album Reggae Got Soul, Island hoped to open up Toots & the Maytals to the R&B audience in America, but while the album was well-received, their American following remained little more than a lively cult. Toots & the Maytals focused on pleasing their Jamaican and British fans with their next two albums, 1979's Pass the Pipe and 1980's Just Like That, and they made their way into The Guinness Book of World Records with their next release, Live; recorded during a concert at London's Hammersmith Palais, an early limited-edition release of the LP was available in shops within 24 hours of the performance is captured. By this time, a new generation of fans was discovering the Maytals after the Clash covered "Pressure Drop" and the Specials included "Monkey Man" on their debut album.


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Official King Tubby Musical Journey

Official King Tubby Musical Journey



King Tubby is to this day synonymous with dub. He was a man who had a passion for fiddling with sound equipment, and turned that passion into a new musical genre and a veritable art form. He may have started his career as a repairman, but before he was done, his name was one of the most respected around the world. He worked with virtually every artist in Jamaica, and his name on a remix was like gold, a seal of quality that was never questioned.



King Tubby was born under the more humble name of Osbourne Ruddock in Kingston, Jamaica, on January 28, 1941. Initially, the closest he got to the music scene was via the airwaves, as Ruddock spent his teens working as a radio repairman. In the mid-'50s, Jamaica was undergoing a revolution that saw the audiences move out of the dancehalls, which had once packed them in with live music provided by big bands, and onto the streets. There the sound systems ruled as traveling outfits set themselves up on a sociable street or corner and blasted records to crowds through a speaker. Initially they were small, but the sound systems quickly grew in size and legend; the competition extremely fierce and often violent. Speakers were the usual victims of these rivalries (sometimes along with the DJs, organizers, and even the audience). The people weren't the only ones who were damaged, which is why in the late '50s the operator of a Waterhouse sound system approached Ruddock for help. The repairman fixed that speaker, then another, and another, until he was providing first aid for a variety of sound systems around the city. A born tinkerer, Ruddock inevitably began coming up with ways to improve things as well. He spent years working on other people's sound systems, but by 1968, he was ready to open his own shop: the legendary Tubby's Home Town Hi Fi. The sound he provided there was nigh on perfect, which meant King Tubby himself was now beginning to look around for something new to fiddle with. Producer Duke Reid offered the perfect solution via a job at his Treasure Isle studio as a disc cutter. There, King Tubby began deconstructing and reconstructing music in the same way he had sound systems, but these early efforts were really remixes, an already old skill in Jamaica. The remix began as a "version" B-side, nothing more than an instrumental of a vocal track. Ruddy Redwood, a sound system MC and engineer at Treasure Isle, had taken the next logical step forward, physically remixing records in the rocksteady years to place the focus on the bass. King Tubby took this concept to a whole new level. He started stripping out not only the vocals, but cutting up instrumental parts, dropping them in and out of the tracks, adding new effects and sounds, while also making use of phasing, shifts, and echoes. Many of these experiments were pressed onto acetate dubplates and spun at his sound system. These stripped-down tracks were integral to the rise of the DJs, and King Tubby not only cut exclusive dubplates for his favorites, he also hired the best to perform at his sound system. U-Roy, I-Roy, and Big Youth were just some of the stars who made their mark toasting at Tubby's Hi Fi.



In 1971, King Tubby was ready to take another leap forward and opened his own studio. There, the experiments continued as the remixer turned engineer moved into the area of studio effects. The studio quickly became a favorite for the likes of Augustus Pablo, Lee Perry, Prince Tony Robinson, and Glen Brown. It was the latter man who history acclaims as the first to actually credit a King Tubby mix on record. The aptly titled "Tubby's at the Control" was a remix of "Merry Up" by God Sons (an alias for Tommy McCook and Rad Bryan). Robinson followed suit, releasing "Tubby's in Full Swing," on a song credited to Lloyd Robinson and Carey Johnson.



Dub from the RootsKing Tubby began turning out remixes in prolific numbers. Bunny Lee kept him busy with a constant stream of singles to remix and a batch were bundled up in 1974 as the seminal Dub From the Roots album, and more were featured on the follow-up, King Tubby Meets the Aggrovators at Dub Station. Years later, the British Klik label reissued most of Roots as Shalom Dub, buttressed with bonus tracks. Another U.K. label, Attack, has also released the King Tubby-fueled Dub Jackpot, featuring rarer remixes and dubs of Lee productions. Blood & Fire's If Deejay Was Your Trade: The Dreads at King Tubby's 1974-1977 also boasts Tubby's takes on Lee's productions, this time focusing exclusively on DJs, as did the French label Culture Press' Bunny Lee, King Tubby & the Aggrovators. Tubby also worked with Vivian Jackson after meeting in 1971 when Jackson handed him a rhythm and the remixer went to work.



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Official Desmond Dekker Musical Journey

Official Desmond Dekker Musical Journey



Reggae singer Desmond Dekker was born Desmond Adolphus Dacres in St. Andrew, Jamaica. He grew up in Kingston and attended the Alpha Boys' School.



His father moved him to St. Mary, and then St. Thomas after the death of his mother.



He first worked as a tailor before returning to Kingston to become a welder. Dekker was encouraged by co-workers to persue a singing career due to his constant singing on the job.



Desmond was a rocksteady, ska and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. The Aces, his backing group consisted of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard.



According to Wikipedia, before the ascent of Coxsone Dodd of Studio One Bob Marley, Dekker was one of the most popular musicians within Jamaica, and one of the best-known musicians outside it.



Neither and Duke Reid of Tresure Isle were impressed by his audition with them, but was sucessful at Leslie Kong's Beverley's record label.



Reggae singer Desmond Dekker began to record in 1963 with Kong and his first hit was "Honour Your Mother and Father", then "Sinners Come Home" and "Labour for Learning". The next hit "King of Ska", made him one of the island's biggest stars.



Recording music for over 40 years, he had some big hits, but his music changed from being respectable to the rude boy style. His songs did not go to the extremes, although some of his lyrics rested well with the the rude boys. Such songs include the famous "007 (Shanty Town)". This song convey Dekker as a rude boy icon.



He was the first Jamaican artist to have a major hit in the UK and other major Countries. The release of the "Isrealites", topped the UK charts.



The first reggae hit to do so, reaching #1 and reentering the charts that same year of 1968. This song also reached top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100. Dekker continued to record and toured the world, while living in the UK.



His career was a mixture of high and low times. One of his best recording was "You Can Get It If You Really Want", which was written by Jimmy Cliff and was reluctant to record, but was persuaded by Leslie Kong.



By the end of the 70's Dekker was signed with Stiff Records and recorded his album "Black and Dekker", featuring some of his previous hits.



He made the top ten Belgian Chart with the song "Isrealities", and was followed by Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers To Cross" and "Book of Rules".



Although his album "Compass Point" did not sell well he continued to tour and performed live.



In 1984, he was declared bankrupt and was reborned to the public, when his song the "Isrealities" was featured in a Maxwell advertisement.



Survived by a son and a daughter, Dekker died of a heart attack on May 26, 2006.



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Official Reggae History: Wally B Supertone Records - Exclusive Interview...

Official Reggae History: Wally B Supertone Records - Exclusive Interview [UNCUT] 2020



Supertone Sound System starts in 1969. We have always been one of the best entertaining and cultural sounds over the decades. We play in the UK and in Europe. We have never failed to entertain the people, that matter and still maintain our high standard.



Then, in August 1984 we decide to go into the record retail business. Today, with this record shop, we are one of the best reggae record outlet in the business. Well known through out the world, especially in the reggae industry for stocking upon LP' s, CD's, Cassettes of all the different artists, style and labels of reggae music.



We have many friends and customers all around the world, and we always try to satisfy our customer needs, so if you can't find your record, cd, etc. today we will always try to find it for you.





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Official Documentary: Trench Town The Forgotten Land [Jamaica]

Official Documentary: Trench Town The Forgotten Land  [Jamaica]



In Bob Marley's infamous Trench Town, we meet the kids who risk their lives every day to get to school. The constant turf wars, battle for control by the local dons and the fact that police are out-gunned, make this a real life tragedy of Hollywood proportions. Through the children's outlooks, aspirations and fears, we enter an otherwise no-go area.





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Official Documentary: The Battle For Brixton April 1981

Official Documentary: The Battle For Brixton April 1981

The rioting which began in Brixton, in the south London borough of Lambeth, in April 1981 shocked the nation.

For three days, rioters - predominately young, black men - fought police, attacked buildings and set fire to vehicles.

More than 300 people were injured and the damage caused came to an estimated value of £7.5m.

What was most shocking to many people was the unexpectedness of events. On the surface it seemed that black people were well-integrated into the fabric of UK society.

Many were second generation, born to parents who had come to Britain from the Caribbean in the late 1940s and 1950s to help "the motherland" with post-war rebuilding.

And there were high-profile success stories among Britain's black community.

Trevor McDonald had been presenting the news on television since 1973, Lenny Henry was a popular comedian having won a TV talent show aged 17 in 1975 and Daley Thompson had won decathlon gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.


But below the surface tensions had been building up and on 11 April 1981 they boiled over in Brixton, an area where 25% of residents were from an ethnic minority group.

The days of full employment were long gone and in Brixton around half of young black men had no job.

Injured policeman is bandaged
More than 100 officers were injured during the clashes
An amended Race Relations Act had become law in 1976 but police forces were granted an exemption from its conditions.

Many young black men believed officers discriminated against them, particularly by use of the 'Sus' law under which anybody could be stopped and searched if officers merely suspected they might be planning to carry out a crime.

In early April, Operation Swamp - an attempt to cut street crime in Brixton which used the Sus law to stop more than 1,000 people in six days - heightened tensions.

Unsubstantiated rumours of police brutality against a black man later led an angry crowd gathering to confront officers on the evening of 10 April for a few hours before the disturbances were contained.

But an arrest the following night sparked off the rioting in earnest.

But although its immediate causes were specific to Brixton, the rioting was perhaps a sign of the times.

The mixture of high unemployment, deprivation, racial tensions and poor relations with police were not unique to Brixton.

By the time Lord Scarman's report on the events in Brixton was published in November 1981, similar disturbances had taken place in a raft of other English cities, most notably Liverpool and Manchester.

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Official Augustus Pablo Musical Journey

Official Augustus Pablo Musical Journey



Horace Swaby (21 June 1954 – 18 May 1999), known as Augustus Pablo, was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer, melodica player and keyboardist, active from the 1970s until his death.



He popularised the use of the melodica (an instrument at that time primarily used in Jamaica to teach music to schoolchildren) in reggae music. His album King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown (1976) is often regarded as one of the most important examples of dub.



He was born in St. Andrew, Jamaica, and learned to play the organ at the Kingston College School, where a girl lent him a melodica, an instrument that fascinated him. He also met Herman Chin Loy, who after working at his cousin Leslie Kong's Beverley's record shop, had set up his own Aquarius store in Half Way Tree. Swaby recorded early tracks including "Higgi Higgi", "East of the River Nile", "Song of the East" and "The Red Sea" between 1971 and 1973 for Chin-Loy's Aquarius Records. Chin Loy had previously used the name Augustus Pablo generically for keyboard instrumentals recorded by Lloyd Charmers and Glen Adams, and Swaby took the name for this recording.



"East of the River Nile", a unique blend of East Asian and Jamaican sounds, became a moderate hit. He soon joined Now Generation (Mikey Chung's band) and played keyboard with them while his friend Clive Chin began his own career as a record producer. Pablo and Chin recorded "Java" (1972) together, as soon as Pablo quit Now Generation and Clive was able to obtain studio time. This instrumental was a massive hit and launched Pablo's solo career. He recorded with Chin and others including Lee Perry and Chin's uncle, Leonard Chin. Pablo scored another smash hit with "My Desire" (John Holt).



Pablo formed the labels Hot Stuff, Message and Rockers (named after his brother's soundsystem, Rockers), and released a steady stream of well-received instrumentals, mostly versions of older hits from Studio One. In spite of his success with Rockers, Pablo's 1974 album, This Is Augustus Pablo, was recorded with Clive and Pat Chin. This was followed by a collaboration with the legendary reggae engineer King Tubby, 1975's Ital Dub.



Pablo produced a steady stream of hits in the late 1970s, including the hit "Black Star Liner" (Fred Locks). He also worked with Dillinger, Norris Reid, I-Roy, Jacob Miller, The Immortals, Paul Blackman, Earl Sixteen, Roman Stewart, Lacksley Castell, The Heptones, Bob Marley, Ricky Grant, Delroy Wilson, Junior Delgado, Horace Andy and Freddy McKay. This period was eventually commemorated with a series of critically acclaimed LPs including King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown (1976) and Hugh Mundell's classic Africa Must Be Free by 1983. This was followed by East of the River Nile (1978), Original Rockers (1979) and another acclaimed hit album, Rockers Meets King Tubbys in a Firehouse.



In the 1980s, Pablo's career slowed significantly. In 1980, he appeared on the soundtrack of the documentary DOA. He had begun to establish an American audience and released Rising Sun in 1986 to good reviews and sales. Pablo also produced memorable hits, including "Ragamuffin Year" (Junior Delgado), "Humble Yourself" (Asher & Tremble) and "Far Far Away" (Ricky Grant). In addition, he toured extensively throughout the world, recording a memorable live album in Tokyo in 1987. That same year, Rockers Come East re-established his career and he began to release a series of favourably reviewed though somewhat inaccessible albums in the 1990s (including Blowing With the Wind), while producing such records as Dawn Penn's "Night & Day" and Yami Bolo's "Jah Made Them All".



In 1997, he played melodica on Primal Scream's single "Star".



Augustus Pablo died as a result of a collapsed lung on 18 May 1999. He had been suffering for some time from the nerve disorder myasthenia gravis



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Official Peter Tosh Musical Journey

Official Peter Tosh Musical Journey

Singer, musician, composer, and rebel Peter Tosh cut a swathe through the Jamaican musical scene, both as a founding member of the Wailers and as a solo artist. He toured with the Rolling Stones and had an international hit with a duet with Mick Jagger, then toured again to equally rapturous world audiences as the headlining act. His words would cause an uproar at the One Peace concert, but then unlike fellow Wailer Bob Marley, Tosh always made his true feelings known. He was born Winston Hubert McIntosh on October 19, 1944, in the small rural village of Grange Hill, Jamaica. Like so many young island teens searching for a better life, he left home at 15 and headed for Kingston. Once there, he made his way to Joe Higgs' tenement yard, joining other aspiring youths eager for the vocal coaching lessons the singing star provided to local teens. Amongst these youthful wannabes were Bunny, Bob Marley, and the much younger Junior Braithwaite; the four, buttressed by backing vocalists Cherry Green and Beverley Kelso, joined forces initially as the Teenagers before eventually settling on the moniker the Wailers.

Success was immediate; the group's debut single, "Simmer Down," was an instant hit, and the band's career was off and running. Tosh's talent didn't end with his vocal skills as he was also an excellent guitarist; his playing was first showcased in 1963 on the Wailers' single "I'm Going Home." He was also a gifted songwriter, as was Bunny Livingston, which helped the band survive Marley's hiatus from the group while he went to work in the U.S. in 1966. The Wailers, by then reduced to a trio with the departure of Braithwaite, Green, and Kelso, continued on without him. During this time, the remaining duo, with Constance "Dream" Walker filling in, continued releasing singles now credited to either the Wailers, Tosh, or Livingston alone. Thus, over the next year, Tosh's dance-friendly "Hoot Nanny Hoot," "The Jerk," a cover of Sir Lancelot's calypso hit "Shame and Scandal in the Family," the R&B-fired "Making Love," and "It's Only Love," a duet with Rita Marley, all arrived from Studio One. "Rasta Shook Them Up" celebrated Haile Selassie's Jamaican visit, while Tosh also offered up the rudie-fueled "The Toughest."

With Marley's return, the Wailers departed Studio One and launched their own short-lived Wail'n'Soul'M label. With its demise, they returned to the studio circuit. Sessions with producer Bunny Lee went nowhere, but Lee and Tosh had a rapport, and between 1969 and 1970, the Wailers cut a string of instrumentals for the producer and released them under the alias Peter Touch. Tosh was now attempting to learn to play the melodica, and the singles chart his progress on the instrument. "Crimson Pirate," "Sun Valley," the almost psychedelic "Pepper Seed," "The Return of Al Capone," "Selassie Serenade" (actually a rather frenetic version of "Blue Moon") and more, were the end results.

However, in 1971, Tosh made the momentous decision to pursue a true solo career in conjunction with his work with the Wailers. His debut single, "Maga Dog," was cut with producer Joe Gibbs. The song had initially been recorded by the Wailers with Coxsone Dodd, and in its original rhythm arrangement was suspiciously similar to "Simmer Down."

Gibbs would totally re-create it, slowing the tempo down and creating a rhythm perfect for the latest dance rage, the John Crow skank. The single was a major hit and became a favorite of the DJs, with a flood of versions quickly following. The equally hard-hitting "Dem Ha Fe Get a Beating" arrived soon after. In the brief period Tosh spent with Gibbs, he recorded a clutch of seminal numbers, including "Arise Blackman," "Black Dignity," and "Here Comes the Judge." The latter track was built around the haunting rhythm from the Abyssinians' "Satta Massa Gana," but lyrically hearkened back to Prince Buster's "Judge Dread," as Tosh's magistrate tries and convicts Christopher Columbus, Sir Francis Drake, and Vasco da Gama for myriad of crimes against black people. Even on a cover of "Nobody's Business," Tosh's militancy shines through, with the line "Leave my business and mind your own," carrying a definite hint of menace in the delivery. Jumping on the current bandwagon for golden oldie medleys, the singer also delivered up a trio of rude boy hits, Desmond Dekker's "Rude Boy Train" and "007 Shanty Town," and his own, "I'm the Toughest.


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Official Jackie Mittoo Musical Journey

Official Jackie Mittoo Musical Journey



Keyboard virtuoso Jackie Mittoo was among the true legends of reggae -- a founding member of the Skatalites and an extraordinarily prolific songwriter, he was perhaps most influential as a mentor to countless younger performers, primarily through his work as the musical director at the famed Studio One. Born Donat Roy Mittoo in Browns Town, Jamaica on March 3, 1948, he began playing keyboards at the age of four, and was rarely far from a piano through his teen years, performing professionally in groups including the Vagabonds and the Vikings. He frequently skipped school to play with the house band at nearby Federal Studios, and it was there that he met producer Coxsone Dodd, who recruited Mittoo for recording sessions when the scheduled pianist failed to appear on time. While attending Kingston College, he began jamming with fellow student Augustus Pablo, and they eventually formed a trio -- the Jackie Mitree -- which performed his original compositions.



By 1962, Mittoo was earning attention across the island for his work in the band the Sheiks, one of Jamaica's most sought-after club attractions. Despite rechristening themselves the Cavaliers Orchestra, their popularity continued to soar without missing a beat. When Dodd opened Studio One in Kingston in 1963, he tapped Mittoo to serve as musical director; in the years to follow he played on virtually every disc the studio produced, arranging much of the material and helping develop new songs until they were sufficiently polished to meet standards. By the early months of 1964, he set about forming a new band with Studio One session regulars Tommy McCook, Lloyd Brevette, and Lester Sterling, as well as the Cavaliers' Lloyd Knibb and Johnny Moore. Dubbing themselves the Skatalites, they were to become the quintessential ska band of the period; also featuring the legendary trombonist Don Drummond, the group lasted just 14 months -- from June 1964 to August 1965 -- but their influence on music worldwide remains incalculable.



Evening TimeAfter the Skatalites split, Mittoo began a solo career, scoring a major hit with his rendition of the Heptones' "Fatty Fatty." The instrumental smash "Ram Jam" followed in 1967, and resulted in a series of instrumental LPs, among them In London, Evening Time, Keep on Dancing, Now, and Macka Fat. At the same time, Mittoo continued his relentless pace at Studio One -- according to the terms of his basic arrangement with Dodd, he received payment upon delivering five new rhythms a week, which over the years resulted in literally thousands of compositions which he both produced and arranged. Among Mittoo's greatest contributions of the mid- to late '60s were "Darker Shade of Black" (the basis for Frankie Paul's "Pass the Tu Sheng Peng"), Freddie McGregor's "Bobby Babylon," Alton Ellis' "I'm Still in Love with You," the Cables' "Feel Like Jumping" and the rocksteady anthem "Baby Why," and Marcia Griffiths' first hit. In 1970, his "Peanie Wallie" was also versioned by the Wailers, becoming the hit "Duppy Conqueror."



Mittoo relocated from Jamaica to Toronto, Ontario in 1968, one of many reggae performers who found a home among the clubs lining the city's Yonge Street area. He returned to Kingston regularly, however, and was closely aligned with Dodd and Studio One throughout the decades to follow. In Toronto, Mittoo also accepted a day job working for the Canadian Talent Library, an organization which worked to ensure that a sufficient amount of Canadian music was broadcast over national radio airwaves. By 1972, he had lived there for four years, and as such, his work became qualified as "Canadian content," so for the CTL he recorded the album Reggae Magic, which launched the hit 'Wish Bone." During the mid-'70, Mittoo also traveled to England to record a series of LPs with Bunny Lee; during the next decade, he worked regularly with Sugar Minott as well. In 1989, Mittoo joined the reunited Skatalites, but health problems soon forced him to bow out; he died of cancer on December 16, 1990.



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Official Burning Spear Musical Journey

Official Burning Spear Musical Journey

Winston Rodney OD (born 1 March 1945), better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian and one of the most influential and long-standing roots artists to emerge from the 1970s.

Winston Rodney was born in Saint Ann's Bay, Saint Ann, Jamaica. As a young man, he listened to the R&B, soul and jazz music transmitted by the US radio stations whose broadcasts reached Jamaica. Curtis Mayfield is cited by Rodney as a major US musical influence along with James Brown. Rodney was deeply influenced as a young man by the views of the political activist Marcus Garvey, especially with regard to the exploration of the themes of Pan-Africanism and self-determination. In 1969, Bob Marley, who was also from Saint Ann, advised Rodney to approach Coxsone Dodd's Studio One label after Rodney sought his advice during a casual conversation.

Burning Spear was originally Rodney's group, named after a military award given by Jomo Kenyatta, the first President of an independent Kenya, and included bass singer Rupert Willington. The duo auditioned for Dodd in 1969 which led to the release of their debut single "Door Peep" (the session also included Cedric Brooks on saxophone). They were then joined by tenor Delroy Hinds. The trio recorded several more singles for Dodd, and two albums before they moved on to work with Jack Ruby in 1975. Their first recording with Ruby, "Marcus Garvey", was intended as an exclusive track for Ruby's Ocho Rios-based Hi-Power sound system, but was released as a single, giving them an immediate hit, and was followed by "Slavery Days". These recordings featured the backing band The Black Disciples, which included Earl "Chinna" Smith, Valentine Chin, Robbie Shakespeare and Leroy Wallace. The group worked with Ruby on their third album, Marcus Garvey (1975), which was immediately successful and led to a deal with Island Records to give the album a wider release. Island remixed and altered the speed of some of the tracks, much to the annoyance of fans and the group, leading Rodney to set up his own Burning Music label for future releases where he would have full control, although further releases followed on Island including Garvey's Ghost, a dub album, and the Man in the Hills album. In late 1976, Rodney split from both Ruby and group members Willington and Hinds, and from that point on used the name Burning Spear for himself alone. Dry and Heavy followed in 1977, self-produced but still on Island, and with a sizeable following by now in the United Kingdom, he performed in London that year with members of Aswad acting as his backing band for a sold-out show at the Rainbow Theatre, which was recorded and released as the album Live!. Aswad also provided backing on his next studio album, Social Living (1978), which also featured Sly Dunbar and Rico Rodriguez. A dub version of the album, Living Dub (1979), was mixed by Sylvan Morris. His profile was raised further by an appearance in the film Rockers, performing "Jah no Dead".

In 1980, Rodney left Island Records and set up the Burning Music Production Company, which he signed to EMI, debuting on the label with Hail H.I.M., recorded at Marley's Tuff Gong studio and co-produced by Aston Barrett. A Sylvan Morris dub version followed in the form of Living Dub Volume Two. In 1982, Rodney signed with Heartbeat Records with a series of well-received albums following, including the 1985 Grammy-nominated Resistance. He returned to Island in the early 1990s, releasing two albums before rejoining Heartbeat. This arrangement in which Burning Music Productions delivered completed albums of music to EMI, Island and Heartbeat Records for worldwide distribution lasted for many years. When Heartbeat ceased releasing new material, Burning Music took matters into their own hands and began to release music solely through their own imprint. Albums released by Heartbeat through an agreement with Burning Music include: The World Should Know (1993), Rasta Business (1995), Appointment with His Majesty (1997) and the Grammy award-winning Calling Rastafari (1999) which was the last completed album to be solely pressed by an outside label.[citation needed]

Burning Spear spent decades touring extensively, and several live albums have been issued including Burning Spear Live, Live in Paris, Live in South Africa, Live in Vermont, Peace and Love Live, Live at Montreux Jazz Festival and (A)live 1997. Touring the world time and time again, the band’s live sound matured and grew more sophisticated. While remaining firmly rooted in reggae, accents of free jazz, funk and psychedelic music were increasingly in evidence.

His 1999 album, Calling Rastafari brought his first Grammy Award in 2000, a feat which he repeated with Jah Is Real in 2009. In 2000 Home To My Roots Tour he performed in Cape Town, South Africa alongside other reggae icons Joseph Culture Hill.