JAMAICAN MUSIC
With the 50th anniversary of Jamaican independance rapidly approaching (Aug 2012), I thought I would pay my tribute to the event, by writing a brief history and personal account of the genre.
EARLY DAYS
The earliest influences on the Jamaican scene would have been the African songs and rythyms. Interesting to note that drumming was outlawed on the plantations. There was a £10 fine for any owner who was allowing the slaves to communicate in this way. Such was the fear of up risings.
Other influences would have been Spanish Guitar and English folk and sea shanties.
MENTO
Mento was the first clearly defined Jamaican music, which shared a kinship with calypso. Prelevant from the 1930's through to today. The music is still played in tourist hotspots.
BLACK AMERICA
The music of black America, filtered into the islands of the Caribbean. Via the airwaves and importation by visiting sailors. Blues, Swing Jazz and then R & B found their way onto the jukeboxes of bars and into the hands of individual collectors. When rythym and blues hit, the teenage scene became a viable market and Sound systems were set up to cater for the increasing numbers of dances.
Names like "Tom the Great Sebastian", "Coxsone Dodds" and "Duke Reid" became synomonous with the sound system scene. In America black R & B became white Rock and Roll. During this period the sound systems found it hard to have fresh tunes for their shows. In response to this need home grown artists were taken into the recording studios set up by the DJ's. Early Jamaican R&B was pressed and released from about 1958 onwards.
Some of these early recordings found their way to England onto Melodisc records. One early song I have is "Mary Lee" By Laurel Aitken, on the melodisc label. This tune bounces along and is a step towards the next big milestone in Jamaican music history. Interesting to note that Laurel Aitken's backing band at the time was called "The Bluebeats". Its possible that Emile Shallot and Ziggy Jackson used it as the inspiration for their next label venture. Bluebeat Records.
SKA
Who invented the ska riddem, will be forever lost in time. Certainly some R&B and Jump Blues have the rudiment structure and sound of early ska. (As with the afore-mentioned "Mary Lee"). Yet the music was to become the sound track of a new Era, heralded by independance. All hopes were on a rosy future and ska was as bright and alive as those hopes.
ROCKSTEADY
If the ska scene was the heady celebration of independance. Then Rocksteady was the "morning after". The bright hopes gave way to despondancy as political corruption and crime esculated. This was the era of the "rudeboys" and they were used as muscle by the opposing political factions, who supplied them with guns.
REGGAE
the earliest phase of the reggae beat came 1968, in Jamaica and arrived on these shores in 1969. Just in time to be the soundtrack of the new youth culture - "skinheads". This marriage was to last about four or five years before the Jamaican music began exploring its roots. A move which saw white interest in the music dwindle from around 1972 to 1975. When Reggae once again had a commercial resurgence in the UK. with little ditties like "Barbados", "Ire Feelings", "Hurts so good", "Love me baby", etc etc.
ROOTS
Roots music had been recorded in Jamaica from about 1973. It became a world wide phenomonon between 1975 and 1977 and has stayed ever since. As a young skinhead I had been collecting the latest reggae sounds. When the music transformed I had no problem with carrying on an interest in the latest JA sounds.
DUB
Versions of the lead track were the most common form of B-side material. Till dub techniques were employed in the studios by all the major players: Lee Perry, King Tubby, Prince Jammy, Errol T and Joe Gibbs. Dub was to become the flip side of choice over night. Employing echo phasers, dropout and track isolation a whole new Genre of music was born.
WHITE REGGAE & SKA REVIVAL
White reggae was nothing new, the earliest tribute to Jamaican rythyms was recorded in 1964, by the Migil 5 and their version of "Mockingbird hill". In the seventies, white reggae tracks were produced by Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Andy Fairweather-low. 10 cc and a whole host of others.
These tracks stood in isolation, until the advent of Punk rock. When reggae, roots and dub were adopted by the Clash city Rockers and rude boys. A whole heap of punk artists recorded reggae: Elvis costello, the Clash, The Ruts, The Members, Leyton Buzzards. When punk gave way to new wave. A restylisation of ska occurred and 2-tone was born.
DANCEHALL & RAGGA
Today, the riddems are dancehall and ragga, which co-exists with reggae, roots, dub, 3rd wave ska and punk reggae. Artists as diverse as Vybz Kartel, Shaggy, Love Grocer, Rancid, Reel big fish are complimenting each other.