Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Day 164 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Shenley Duffus - Digging A Ditch

Shenley Duffus got into music in 1958, recording for Federal Studios but never had anything released until 1961.  The following year he scored a hit as part of the duo Shenley and Annette with the Blue Beat 7" "The First Time We Met/Million Dollar Baby"; the tunes gained popularity in Jamaica, in the UK and even to a lesser extent in the U.S.  The same year he moved to Studio One and after addressing the feuds between rival producers which occupied much of his output during the time, he went to Vincent "King" Edwards.  Duffus' recording career lasted through the ska era, through rocksteady and he even cut some early reggae stuff for Lee Perry in the early 70s, but he abandoned the studio to pursue his love of performing onstage and continued to do so right up until his death in 2002.  Today's track was produced by King Edwards and originally released in 1963 simultaneously on the Giant label in Jamaica and the Black Swan label in the UK, "Digging A Ditch" is a sweet tune!  I acquired this one from a 1989 various artists LP on the King Edwards label called Ska Ba Dip - The Essential King Edwards, that I can't recommend highly enough. Enjoy!

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