Duke Reid spinning a platter that, most likely, mattered. A foundation man of the Jamaican music scene, with the exception of Coxsone Dodd you won’t find a man who had a more profound affect on the birth and growth of the Jamaican music industry. A one time police officer, Reid decided there was better money to be made in the sound system industry. It wasn’t long before he took over the Tom the Great Sebastian’s sound, likely with a little bit of help from the “dancecrashers” Reid became familiar with during his time wearing the badge. One the desired sound of R&B started drying up in the States Reid decided to move on and produce his own tunes, working out of the now legendary Bond Street studio with the tunes being released on the legendary Treasure Isle label (amongst others). Although Studio One certainly ruled the day during the ska period, he hit his stride during the rocksteady era which can likely be attributed too Reid never developing a real appreciation for the ska sound. His Trojan Sound System was legendary in Jamaica and once he started putting out his tunes in the UK on the Trojan label created for his productions the rest was history. As you know by now, they were kind of a big deal.
Someone has gone to the trouble of putting the entire “Reggae” documentary, directed by Horace Ove, onto YouTube. A lot of the classics are present here including “Skinhead Moonstomp” and “Israelites”. Skinheads, suedeheads and rude boys are all present in this one as well. Sit back and enjoy.
Great clip of some of Bristol’s West Indian population dancing the rocksteady in 1968. Classic stuff!
Ricardo Vaz Te is a legend after his late winner yesterday. Truth be told he’s been massive for West Ham since he signed in January and cemented a place in West Ham folklore with yesterday’s strike. Nice bit of business from Big Sam we’d say. James Tomkins had a season as well, hasn’t he?
Couldn’t play this in the lead up to the Playoff Final for superstitious reasons. Now it’s getting played a few times. The feeling after Vaz Te scored was something that cannot be forgotten. Ever.
Our Bobby outside Wembley. We need his spirit with us tomorrow.
“Isn’t it good to do the rocksteady?” might be one of our favorite lines ever. It’s real damn good to do the rocksteady when its this tune you’re moving too. Lloyd and the Groovers backed by the stellar Lynn Tait and his Band on the very first Bunny Lee production ever. If you’re an avid reader of this blog, you probably understand why that’s such a huge deal. Hell if you’re simply a fan of Jamaican music you should understand why this record is a huge deal. Caltone put out some great stuff.
