Day 274 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Brigadier Jerry - Jamaica Jamaica

This upcoming Saturday marks Jamaica's 54th Independence Day and I thought as a small tribute to the tiny island nation whose music and culture has meant such a big thing in my life that I would devote this entire week to paying her tribute.  It's hard to explain to those who don't listen to Jamaican music on a regular basis or have an understanding of its history why a guy who doesn't have any roots in the Caribbean has such a love for a country he has only visited twice in his 44 years.  Family and friends have asked me why I go through all the trouble to host our yearly Jamaican Independence Day party every year and why I grill 15 pounds of jerk chicken, spend countless hours making rice and peas, buying cases of Ting and Red Stripe (whose authentic Jamaican brewed beer I hear will soon be available in the States again instead of the imitation shit brewed in Pennsylvania), move around tables and chairs and set-up the deejay booth in the backyard for this event every year.  My explanation is simple... I love Jamaica and I want to share that love by providing them with the party of the summer and giving them a taste of what makes me respect and admire this country so much.  Jamaica has provided me with this music that has brightened my days and put joy in my heart when it looked like all hope was lost, in fact, it's the least I can do to show my appreciation.  Above it all, the yearly Jamaican Independence Day party is my way of paying tribute to my late brother, whose love of reggae music was what inspired me to drop the needle on his copy of Bob Marley's Rastaman Vibration for the first time many years ago.  By honoring Jamaica I am in turn honoring his memory and letting him know while he smiles down on us that he will never be forgotten.  But let's get to the music... today's track is by The General himself, the great Brigadier Jerry and it's appropriately titled "Jamaica Jamaica," from his 1985 album of the same name on the RAS label.  This one features the absolutely killer dub version that is just as sweet as a stalk of pure Jamaican sugarcane!  Give it a listen!