Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2009 Track Two - Jackie Mittoo's "Hot Blood"

Welcome back to the Spooktacular! Today's groovin' spooky tune comes to us from the Keyboard King Jackie Mittoo and it's called "Hot Blood" and comes from his 1977 album of the same name released on the Third World label.

Mittoo started his career as one of the founding members of the legendary Skatalites and served as a mentor to many up and coming artists when he served as musical director at Coxsone Dodd's Studio One.

Today Mittoo provides sensational musical accompaniment for the wonderfully melodramatic alarmist trailer to the 1963 low-budget, cult film Blood Feast directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis and considered by many to be the first splatter film. Blood Feast is the story of a Fuad Ramses, the deranged Egyptian caterer who takes to brutally murdering people so that he can use their body parts in his cooking and satisfy his desire to offer sacrifices to his goddess Ishtar.

Blood Feast's direction, acting, camerawork, screenplay and even its musical composition were all attacked by critics but future slashers like Jason Vorhees and Michael Meyers had a lot to owe to Fuad Ramses. Maybe if the director had hired Jackie Mittoo to score Blood Feast they could have guaranteed one aspect of the film would have been well received... I know I would've loved it!

I'll be back on Monday with more of the Spooktacular but unlike years before I am attempting to post something non-reggae related on the weekends as well! So cruise on by Saturday and take a look at what I come up with!

Spooktacular Track Two

Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2009 Track One - Mikey Dread's "Pre-Dawn Dub"

And we're off! We start this year's Spooktacular with a track from the late great artist, producer and broadcaster Michael Campbell AKA Mikey "The Dread At The Controls" Dread and it's called "Pre Dawn Dub" and is taken from his 1978 album African Anthem (The Mikey Dread Show Dubwise).

The album was originally released on Mikey Dread's Dread At The Controls label and re-released on Island and Cruise over the course of the last 20 years. It's no wonder it has been re-pressed so often because it's a fantastic dub album and one in which I never tire of listening.

This is a great dub tune and already comes complete with ear splitting screams, odd creaking noises and even the occasional goat "bleat" all while immersed in Mikey Dread's trademark far-out echo and reverb... I have only embellished Pre Dawn Dub with the prerequisite thunderstorm background effects.

Spooktacular Track One

Coming Thursday! The Countdown To Halloween!

I don't know why I punish myself by doing this every year but Thursday marks the beginning of October and my yearly countdown of spooky themed Jamaican tunes... a little mix I like to call the Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular. Now if you're new to the blog I should probably fill you in how I go about doing this... I post an individual song every weekday in the month complete with scary sound effects and soundbites from old Halloween records, movie trailers and other creepy stuff I accumulate throughout the year... you download each tune individually then reassemble them in order on your Itunes or on a CDR and you'll have the complete Halloween mix and a nice sampling of the haunted sounds of Jamaican music!

"Haunted sounds of Jamaican music?" you may ask. Yes, just like any mainstream genre of music, Jamaican musicians and artists, ranging from calypso styled mento of the 1950's to ska to rocksteady to reggae and all of its various incarnations in between until today, are capable of recording material that explores themes and subject matters outside the stereotypical notions of what a lot of people think reggae "is about." Over the last 5 years I have researched and sought recordings in any of the aforementioned subgenres of Jamaican music that explore subjects and use titles that would be best suited for late night horror movies.

Yes, I know many will find this hard to believe but there is a dark side to this music and though it doesn't begin to compare in intensity to death metal, slasher films or any other genres that people closely associate with black eyeliner and body piercings, I believe it holds its own with the rock and roll styled Halloween novelty music everyone knows and loves.

I should probably back up a bit and let you know why I've been doing this for the past 4 years... Aside from my 20+ year obsession with Jamaican music, I love Halloween, horror movies, EC horror comics, monsters and all that scary shit that goes bump in the night and I have ever since I was a kid. I mean I grew up in the safe confines of suburban America in the late 70's and early 80's... watching the same Saturday morning cartoons while eating the same Count Chocula, listening to the same Top 40 Music and being your typical American kid.

I initially got into reggae music when I was about 15 and there was that teen stage where I tried to identify with the patchouli/hippy crowd that many associated with reggae but I just didn't fit in. Sure I had the long hair and the goatee but my love of this music went far beyond trying to look hip and working to be a part of a scene. I completely immersed myself in discovering 50 years of Jamaican music instead... all in between skateboarding, watching horror films, making horror movies about my murderous elderly neighbors, driving my 1951 Ford and getting my ass in gear to prepare for community college ... now that I think about it... maybe I should have devoted more of that time to experimenting with drugs and getting laid but that's probably something I need to discuss at length with a therapist (lol). I have very clear recollections of a long awaited box of records from RAS Records arriving on Halloween and my friend Nick and I listening to them before gearing up for whatever Halloween festivities followed that evening. I guess the long and short of it is that I don't see anything odd about the peaceful coexistence of reggae and Halloween... to me they've been that way for as long as I can remember.

So please, give the Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular a chance. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by what you hear! Keep tabs on the blog throughout the month of October and whatever you do please leave some feedback.

If you're into Halloween, like I am, you're gonna have a fun month ahead... and be sure to check out the gargantuan listing of blogs and sites that'll also be doing Halloween countdowns of their own!

RIP Wycliffe "Steely" Johnson

Some sad news in the reggae world... taken from the Jamaica Gleaner dated September 2nd and quoting directly from the write-up by staff writer Howard Campbell...

"Wycliffe "Steely" Johnson, half of the influential production duo Steely and Clevie, has died. The keyboardist, who was in his early 50s, passed away in a New York City hospital yesterday (Tuesday) morning.

The Gleaner has learnt that Johnson suffered heart failure around 5 a.m. yesterday and died at 10:32 a.m. at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital in Long Island, New York.

His medical problems began last December when he was being treated for kidney failure at the University Hospital of the West Indies. He went to New York for further medical treatment, where it was discovered he had a benign tumour on his brain the size of an orange. It was successfully removed at Brookhaven but he later contracted pneumonia.

Johnson also suffered from diabetes.

STUDIO MUSICIAN

Although the Trench Town-born Johnson was best known for creating some of dancehall's biggest techno jams of the 1980s and 1990s with drummer Cleveland Browne, he started his career as a studio musician.

He worked with several producers, including Augustus Pablo, and was a founding member of the Roots Radics studio band for producer Henry 'Junjo' Lawes, owner of the Volcano label.

Johnson and Browne became an official unit during the 1980s, after playing on Bob Marley and the Wailers' Confrontation album. They were members of producer Lloyd 'King Jammys' James red-hot team that played on a flood of hit songs by Admiral Bailey, Shabba Ranks and Nitty Gritty.

While they were one of the most in-demand producers in 1990s dancehall, Steely and Clevie said one of their most cherished projects was a Studio One tribute album they recorded in 1992.

The set featured covers of 10 songs from the legendary studio. One of them, Dawn Penn's "No, No, No" became an international hit two years after the album was released by Heartbeat Records and resurrected the career of Penn, who first recorded the song at Studio One in 1969.

"The first song I played on a piano was "No, No, No." I always wanted to do the song, it's something Clevie and I premeditated for years," he said in a 2001 interview.

The following year, the duo hit it big again when their production of Sean Paul and Sasha's "I'm Still In Love With You" entered Billboard magazine's pop chart. The song was originally done in the 1960s by Alton Ellis and his sister Hortense.

Culture Minister Olivia Grange paid tribute to Johnson, saying in a statement, "Jamaica has lost another brilliant musician but we must give thanks for Steely's creativity and abundance of talent which enriched our music immeasurably.""

Below you'll find the tracklisting for the Steely Tribute Mix...

1. Freddie McGregor - Prophecy - The Anthology CD - VP
2. Flourgon - Bounce - King Jammy's Selectors Choice Vol. 3 CD - VP
3. Shabba Ranks - Caan Dun - Strictly The Best Vol.3 CD - VP
4. Supercat, Nicodemus & Junior Demus - Cabin Stabbing - Cabin Stabbing CD - VP
5. Foxy Brown - Fast Car - Fast Car CD - VP
6. Barrington Levy - Here I Come - Here I Come LP - Profile Records
7. Garnett Silk - Love Is The Answer - The Definitive Collection CD - Atlantic
8. Dawn Penn - No, No, No (You Don't Love Me) - Strictly The Best Vol.12 CD - VP
9. Beres Hammond - Double Trouble - Can't Stop A Man CD - VP
10. Cutty Ranks & Beres Hammond - Love Me Have Fi Get - Lethal Weapon CD - VP
11. Red Dragon - Duck Dance - King Jammy's Selectors Choice Vol. 3 CD - VP
12. Clement Irie - Live Good - Real Rock Style LP - VP
13. Captain Barkey - Do The Poco - Soundboy Clash CD - Profile Records
14. Anthony Malvo & Daddy Lizard - Take You To The Dance - Strictly The Best Vol. 1 CD - VP
15. Bionic Steve - How Dem A Go Manage - Soundboy Clash CD - Profile Records

STEELY TRIBUTE MIX

R.I.P. Steely

Your Honor, please I want a quick divorce!

Without saying anything specifically, this post and the accompanying mix should clue you in to what I've been going through over the course of the last year and perhaps better explain why I haven't been able to devote much time to the blog. But now that I've relocated and again have unrestricted access to my Mac and my music, things should be picking up around here from this point on!

I'm not going to bore anyone with my details so let's get to the music...

We start it off with the King Yellowman and his classic tune "Getting Divorce" from the 1982 Junjo Lawes produced album Just Cool on the Jah Guidance label.

Next up is the man Errol Brown and the appropriately titled tune "The Attorney" lifted from the album Pleasure Dub on the classic Treasure Isle imprint... a great album with Brown doing his dub interpretations of a bunch of Treasure Isle classic instrumentals.

Taking a step over to Studio One with a song called "Big Mistake" by the Bassies from the 1987 CD on the Heartbeat label Full Up: The Best Of Studio One Volume 2.

Dr. Alimantado gives us "Marriage License" from the 1981 Greensleeves LP Sons Of Thunder... "I wish that a marriage license was just like a drivers license, that expires every two years..." truer words have never been spoken!

Barrington Levy and Lui Lepki follow up the Good Doctor with the tune "Quick Divorce/Mek You Lie" taken from a 1980 12" on the Joe Gibbs label. A wicked set of tunes that obviously inspired this mix!

The vocal trio of Ansel Cridland, Danny Clarke and Winston Watson better known as the Meditations, give us "Marriage" taken from a 2003 Makasounds CD re-release of their 1978 album Guidance which was originally pressed on the Tad's label. Another fitting discussion of the subject matter at hand... "marriage is like a trap that's set for a rat."

Jah Thomas and the Roots Radics are up with a tune called "Lawyer Dub" borrowed from the 1999 Trojan CD Jah Thomas Meets The Roots Radics Dubbing. I added some audio from the 1940's radio show Suspense which deals with divorce and honestly really had little to do with my situation it just sounded cool hidden in the mix.

Dobby Dobson gives us his interpretation of the Burt Bacharach and the Drifters' 1961 tune "Mexican Divorce" and it comes from a 1978 anthology LP on the United Artists label called Oh God, Are You Satisfied.

The Cool Ruler Gregory Isaacs is up next with the song "Mistake" and it comes from his 1980 album Showcase AKA Sly & Robbie Present Gregory Isaacs on the Taxi label... mine was from the 1988 RAS re-issue.

We wrap it up with the late South African reggae great Lucky Dube and his tune "Divorce Party" which comes from his 2003 CD The Other Side released on the Rounder label.

Enjoy... or check with your lawyer, sign here on this line and initial where specified, get three notarized copies, enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope and get it in the mail by Thursday... then if you're lucky you might be able to get down to listening!

Download

Michael Jackson Tribute

I received Michael Jackson's Thriller album for Christmas in 1982... I was 11 at the time and even though I was young and I didn't recognize it at the time, listening to this album was really a life-changing experience. I played Thriller from side to side and with the help of the included lyrics on the inner sleeve, memorized all the songs... uh...except for "The Lady In My Life" which in my 11 year old opinion was the only weak spot on the whole thing...but I digress. At the time my family lived in a rural area that had yet to witness the miracle of cable television and no matter how hard I longed to plaster myself in front of MTV, my only taste of the then emerging music video was on a weekly late-night program that aired on NBC called Friday Night Videos. Now there were two sure-fire ways of making my weekend when I was a kid; one was earning enough allowance to buy some top 40 pop 45s at the local K-Mart and two was getting to see a "world premier" Michael Jackson video on Friday Night Videos. I remember how much I was amazed by "Billie Jean" and the light-up sidewalks, Michael's pairings with Paul McCartney on "The Girl Is Mine" and "Say, Say, Say," and of course the super cool dancing zombies in "Thriller" and the fact that watching it was like watching a mini movie... I still think that "Thriller" is the greatest music video ever created and I put it right up there with A-Ha's "Take On Me" as my two all-time favorites... okay I know I'm probably saying too much and a lot of you may be appalled by my frankness in admitting that I was into Top 40 music but in all seriousness, we all had to start somewhere.

Michael Jackson was a huge part of my musical education and for that I'm forever grateful for his musical genius and talent... I want to remember Michael for what he meant to me as a kid and not let those unsavory episodes of his more recent past that filled tabloids and in turn left him the butt of many jokes cloud my memory. Regardless of his personal life and problems, Michael Jackson was an amazing entertainer and I think we all can recognize that...

Now what's this gotta do with reggae music you ask? Read on...

What you're gonna hear... we start it off with Derrick Lara and Trinity with the tune "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" from a 12" on the Joe Gibbs label from 1980... like the original, a real bad-ass tune.

We follow that up with the man Little Kirk and his rather soulful interpretation of "Man In The Mirror" and it comes from his 1990 album Can It Be Me on the RAS Records label.

Peter Metro is up next with his glowing tribute to Michael from "back in the day," this one is called "Visit Of Michael Jackson" and recounts a dream in which Metro envisions a visit to Jamaica from the then-reigning king of popular music. This one comes from his 1986 LP on the Black Solidarity label called The DJ Don.

Junior Reid gives us his version of Michael's "Human Nature" and it's called "Junior Nature" and is taken from his 1985 LP Original Foreign Mind on the Black Roots label.

Next up is Wayne Wade and his cover of Michael's 1991 hit "Heal The World" - Wayne's version is riding the wicked Donovan Germain/Penthouse records produced General riddim from 1992. A smooth cover!

Yellowman and Peter Metro take jabs at each other, in place of Michael and Paul McCartney, when they fight for bragging rights with their version of "The Girl Is Mine," from a 1984 single on the Dynamite label. An interesting note about this tune... it was banned from the Jamaican airwaves because Yellow and Metro altered the original "doggone girl is mine" to "goddamn girl is mine."

Lord Sassafras or Sassa Fras, if you prefer, is up next with his tribute to Michael Jackson with a record called "ABC." Sassa basically covers all aspects of MJ's career and all the aspects that endeared him to so many back in the early 80's. This tune comes from a 1985 7" produced by Maurice Johnson on his Black Scorpio label and riding the wicked Answer riddim. In my opinion, one of the best Michael Jackson tunes but... I am biased toward anything on this riddim.

The man named Shinehead follow it up with his tune "Billy Jean" which is obviously his interpretation of MJ's original... with a little change in the spelling of Billie, in order to avoid any confusion. This is a pretty smooth digital tune and sticks pretty close to Michael's original, besides the nod to Ennio Morricone at the beginning of the track. "Billy Jean" originally appeared on Shinehead's 1986 LP Rough And Rugged originally released on the African Love Music label.

Yellowman is up with his solo tribute to Jackson with his tune called "Beat It" lifted off his George Phang produced 1985 CD Galong Galong Galongon Greensleeves.

Finally, we'll top it all off with a tune from last year, which I heard for the first time the other day and added at the last minute, by the man Tarrus Riley and it's his cover of "Human Nature."

Mike

More Music Coming Soon... I promise!

Hello all! I checked the blog today and notice it's been nearly 3 months since I posted anything... I will be remedying that in the very near future! I've finally gotten reunited with my music and have started to make sense of the haphazard fashion in which I had packed them for my move... I will also be able to spend quality time with my Mac and my beloved GarageBand and have got quite a few ideas bouncing around in my head! Hold tight... I see an upcoming rub-a-dub mix and some more music from the Blue Riddim Band in our near future!

A Tribute To Producer Arthur "Duke" Reid

Here's the second part in my "Producer Tribute Series." This time I'm serving you a hearty helping of Duke Reid for your hungry ears. During the last couple months I have had an insatiable appetite for anything related to Reid's rocksteady/early reggae productions and originally released on his Treasure Isle label. Don't get me wrong I find comfort in nearly all eras of Jamaican music but this music has consistently lifted my mood numerous times throughout the years and I thought it was about time to pay tribute to one of the true greats!

As I did with the Leslie Kong mix, I've spared some time by not researching a lot of background information and I didn't even attempt to try and chronicle all the hit songs that flew out of the doors of 33 Bond Street.

But instead of going the quick Wikipedia route I wanted to share some sentiments found inside the liner notes of some of the Treasure Isle various artist CDs that I tapped to put together the mix...

The first quotation comes from the 2001 Heartbeat release called By Special Request (18 Top Rock-Steady & Reggae Classics) written by Chris Wilson...

"Duke Reid was a true pioneer in Jamaica. A colorful character that wore a bandoleer and carried a pair of pistols... who was a former police man and yet attracted some of the roughest followers to his sound system... whose wife's liquor store was stocked with bottles of alcohol and policemen. By all reports he dealt with artists well and they repaid him by giving him some of the greatest songs ever recorded in Jamaica. An era ended with his death in 1975 and his legacy has not received the proper examination it deserves. The legacy of Treasure Isle seems more important outside of Jamaica today than it does on the island where memory of the label's many hits has receded into the distant past. Maybe in the future this glaring oversight will be corrected so that Duke Reid can again receive the accolades he so richly deserves."

The second quotation comes from the liner notes to another Heartbeat compilation called "Treasure Isle - More Hottest Hits" released in 1994. This one is attributed to Karl Anthony from WLIB in New York...

"I started out as a DJ in Jamaica at RJR in 1968, but before that time I remember listening to the radio, I think every Saturday, and hearing "My Mother's Eyes" by Tab Smith and his Orchestra and then the Radcliff Butler voice saying "It's Treasure Isle Time." For the next half hour it would be nothing but side after side of Duke Reid's Treasure Isle recordings. I loved that music, and when I started working at RJR I actually got to meet Duke himself. Of course, we DJs always knew him as "Rings and Things." He never wore anything too far out, but he had a ring on almost every finger. Duke was one of the nicest men you could ever meet. His voice was soft and he always had a smile on his face. Always. As DJs we would see him on occasion, particularly around Christmas time. He would have us over to the liquor store and give us records and a bottle of liquor as a Christmas present. I don't drink, but I'd take it anyway. He was generous to everyone. I remember one time he had just given me some records to play on the radio. I had problems with a belt on my car and unfortunately I had no money. The mechanic saw the records in my back seat and asked what they were. I told him I had just gotten them from Duke and he said "I'll fix your car for the records." And he did. He wanted to be the first on his block to have a new Treasure Isle record. Today that wouldn't happen. I talked to Duke a couple of days later and told him that I had left the records in my car and something had happened to them. He just gave me replacements. He never worried about what he gave people, he just wanted them to have the records. So many great songs were produced by Duke Reid and the Treasure Isle label. Whenever I hear those great songs I always think of Duke Reid. The big smile on his face and the rings on his fingers."

On October 16, 2007 Duke Reid was posthumously awarded the Order of Distinction for his contribution to Jamaican music, 32 years after his death. Better late than never I guess...

Here's what you're going to hear...

1. Royals - We Are In The Mood
2. The Paragons - On The Beach
3. The Three Tops - It's Raining
4. Phyllis Dillon - Don't Stay Away
5. Jamaicans - Things You Say You Love
6. The Melodians - What More Can I Say
7. The Conquerors - Lonely Street
8. Ken Parker - True, True, True
9. Alton Ellis - Girl I've Got A Date
10. Techniques - Love Is Not A Gamble
11. Girl Satchmo - Come Back My Darling
12. The Termites - Love Up Kiss Up
13. The Paragons - The Same Song
14. U-Roy - The Same Song
15. Dennis Alcapone - DJ's Choice
16. The Sensations - Baby Love
17. Duke Reid Group - Soul Style
18. Freddie McKay - If I Should Make It
19. The Sensations - Everyday Is A Holiday
20. Phyllis Dillon - Perfidia
21. The Silvertones - In The Midnight Hour
22. The Melodians - Last Train To Ecstasy
23. The Dynamic Man - Boss Boss
24. The Ethiopians - Mothers Tender Care
25. The Melodians - Everybody Bawling
26. U-Roy - Everybody Bawling

Enjoy!

A Tribute To Producer Leslie Kong

I know it has been awhile but I'm starting to see the "light at the end of the tunnel," so to speak, and will be able to post a little more frequently. To be honest with you all, I just haven't been able to find the motivation to get things rolling again and I hope this post will be the sign of better things to come.

I've been planning on doing a couple mixes to highlight two of Jamaican music's most important producers and two of my all-time favorites; Duke Reid and Leslie Kong. I have really been listening to a lot of both producers work over the last couple months and look forward to sharing my love for this music with you you. I actually did this as a coin-flip and because tails won Leslie Kong will go first.

Now I didn't do a bunch of research or compile all the hit songs into one mix, I just put some great tunes together for your listening pleasure. And... since I'm not doing a lot of research and sincerely fighting the urge to stay lazy I'll give you the Wikipedia biography...

"Leslie Kong and his brothers (Fats and Cecil) used to run a restaurant, ice cream parlor and record shop called Beverley's in Orange Street, Kingston. In 1961, he met Jimmy Cliff singing outside of his shop; this encounter led him to decide to launch his own record label, "Beverley's", and to record Cliff's first song "Dearest Beverley", thus launching his career.

In 1962, he recorded Bob Marley's first singles: "One Cup of Coffee" and "Judge Not," as well as Jimmy Cliff's hit, "Miss Jamaica". Kong, known in Jamaican music circles as "the Chinaman," quickly established himself as the island's leading producer of local popular music. Throughout the 1960s Kong kept recorded many Jamaican artists from ska to reggae through rocksteady and into reggae including Joe Higgs, Desmond Dekker, Toots & The Maytals, Derrick Morgan, John Holt and Stranger Cole. A wise businessman, Kong made from 1963 a license deal with Chris Blackwell's Island Records subdivision "Black Swan" label, then Graeme Goodall's Pyramid imprint and then with Trojan Records by the end of the 1960's.

Kong is also known for being the first Jamaican producer to get international hits with long-time collaborator Desmond Dekker, in 1967 with "007 (Shanty Town)" and above all in 1969 with "Israelites" which topped the UK Charts in April 1969 and went to number nine on the US charts in July 1969, selling over two million copies. During the early reggae period, he worked with Bob Marley again this time with his band The Wailers and enjoyed several successful hits with The Pioneers' "Long Shot Kick The Bucket," The Melodians' "Rivers of Babylon" and "Sweet Sensation". His work with The Maytals also led to many hits including "54-46 That's My Number" and UK top chart single "Monkey Man."

Throughout his career, Kong employed the best musicians in town as a session band under the name of "The Beverley's Allstars" including musical directors, Drumbago, in the ska era or Roland Alphonso during the rocksteady/early reggae times. Other artists who recorded at Beverley's include Ken Boothe, Bruce Ruffin, The Gaylads, Delroy Wilson and Peter Tosh.

Kong died of a heart attack at age 38 in August of 1971, after being allegedly 'cursed' by Bunny Livingston of The Wailers after a dispute over the release of an album entitled The Best Of The Wailers; the Wailers believed that the release of such an album was premature, saying that their best music was yet to come. Kong makes a cameo appearance in the film The Harder They Come, where he is seen overseeing a recording session with Toots & the Maytals."

Here's what you're gonna hear...

1. Desmond Dekker - Pickney Gal
2. The Pioneers - Driven Back
3. Beverley's All Stars - Be Yours
4. Bruce Ruffin - Bitterness Of Life
5. Delroy Wilson - Show Me The Way
6. The Wailers - Caution
7. The Gaylads - Cold And Lonely Night
8. Ken Boothe - Keep My Love From Fading
9. The Melodians - It Took A Miracle
10. The Maytals - Peeping Tom
11. The Melodians - It's My Delight
12. Peter Tosh & The Wailers - Stop The Train
13. The Maytals - Walk With Love
14. Tyrone Evans - Let Them Say
15. Jimmy Cliff - Hard Road To Travel
16. The Pioneers - Money Day
17. The Wailers - Back Out
18. The Gaylads - Someday I Will Be Free
19. Ansel Collins - Sentimental Journey
20. Desmond Dekker - Ah It Mek
21. Delroy Wilson - Gave You My Love
22. Jimmy Cliff - Hello Sunshine
23. Ken Boothe - Now I Know
24. The Maytals - One Eyed Enos
25. The Wailers - Cheer Up

Enjoy!

For those of you in the Baltimore/DC area...

Happy New Year everyone!

Yes, Virginia, There Is A Reggae Santa Claus!

Just like Santa Claus, I've pulled through the frigid winds, drifting snow and near blizzard like conditions and pulled off the seemingly impossible! I honestly didn't think I would be able to do it this year with the bullshit I've got going on outside this blog and I definitely didn't want anyone to think I was terminally ill or anything so I did it anyway! Distinctly Jamaican Sounds has become like the mafia to me... every time I think I'm out it keeps dragging me back in! And all of the warm wishes from those of you out there who take the time to read and listen to the things I post are my inspiration for keeping this Yuletide tradition alive... hold on I think I've got something in my eye. :)

Let me tell you... this was a marathon! But I got it done on a whim over the course of the last two days and I hope it is as well received as previous year's installments! To save valuable time I didn't split it up this year and now you can get the entire Distinctly Jamaican Christmas Mix 2008 with one download!

Here's what you're gonna hear...

We start off with the man Nigger Kojak AKA Floyd Perch and a wicked tune called "Christmas Style" taken from a 1978 7" on the Joe Gibbs label and riding the classic "Still In Love" riddim.

Bunny and Skully follow it up with their version of "White Christmas" borrowed from a various artists Christmas CD called Vintage Christmas on the Sonic Sounds label. They don't do it like Bing either, it's more in the classic Drifters doo-wop style; a real nice interpretation.

We then take a turn for the calypso with Lord Nelson and one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs, regardless of genre, called "Party For Santa Claus." It was originally released as a 7" in 1963 on the Jump Up label and I got it off a CD called Mas! A Caribbean Christmas Party on Rykodisc.

The Wailers, with Peter Tosh doing the lead vocals, are up next with "Go, Tell It On The Mountains" from a generic Best Of The Wailers compilation CD featuring a nice sampling of music recorded for Leslie Kong at Beverly's circa 1969. The song's lyrics have been modified from the traditional versions we usually associate with Christmas but nonetheless it goes with the Christmas vibe we've got goin' on!

Frankie Paul is up next with the song "Merry Christmas" from the 1985 various artists Rub-A-Dub Christmas LP on the Black Solidarity label and recorded at Tuff Gong.

It pains me to say this but... the late great Alton Ellis is up next with the song "Christmas Coming" taken from the Heartbeat CD Reggae Christmas From Studio One.

Glen Adams follows it up with a nice rockin' organ driven tune called "Xmas Rock" and it comes from a 7" on the Gem label.

The DJ duo of Papa Michigan and General Smiley give us the next tune... it's called "Little Drummer Boy" and comes from the 1984 LP RAS Records Presents A Reggae Christmas. Not exactly comparable with their best non-holiday work from the same era and even before that at Studio One but a decent reggae interpretation of a Christmas classic.

Slipping out of the reggae groove completely with the next tune... Desmond Dekker And The Aces give us "Christmas Day" originally released as a 7" on the Pyramid label in 1968 and lifted for our purposes from the crucial Trojan Christmas CD boxset. You might get to this track and think that I've tried to slip in some R & B but I guarantee you that it's Desmond Dekker!

Up next we've got "Natty Dread Christmas" from the group Iron Phoenix and backed by the Revolutionaries and it comes from a late 70's 45 on the Thing label. This is an absolutely killer roots tune regardless of the holiday subject matter and I've also included the B-side version "The Rise And Fall Of The South African Regime" for your skanking pleasure.

Gregory Isaacs gives us "It's Christmas Time Again" a mid-80's King Tubby's digital production released on the Taurus label. Not one of my favorites but since I used my favorite Gregory Christmas tune last year when I gave you "White Christmas" so this will have to suffice.

Following that up we've got Johnny Clarke and his smooth adaptation of the song popularized by Jimmy Boyd in 1952 and actually commissioned by the department store Neiman Marcus to promote their Christmas cards designed by New Yorker magazine's artist Perry Barlow. The song is "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" and the version you're gonna hear was produced by Bunny Lee and released on the Total Sounds label in 1975.

Winston Groovy is up next with an early reggae tune appropriately titled "Merry Christmas" and lifted from the 2005 Pulse various artist CD The Reggae Christmas Collection.

The fourteenth tune in the mix is from the classic Jacob "again not to be confused with Jacob Marley of Christmas Carol fame" Miller album Natty Christmas (alongside DJ Ray I) originally released on the Jamaican Top Ranking label in 1978 and eventually made available to a larger worldwide audience by RAS Records in the 80's. The song is "Silver Bells" and as Miller has been known to do with all his holiday interpretations he strays far from the originals lyrics but stays miraculously dead-on with the original melody. I think I probably said this in years past but I'll say it again... if you're in the market to buy one reggae Christmas album in your lifetime, this is the one to get!

That brings us to the next tune... from the same album and this time we give Ray I the mic. He gives us a little number called "Natty No Santa Claus" on the same riddim as the aforementioned "Silver Bells" and sounds nearly as wicked. If you're in the market to buy one reggae Christmas album... oh wait! I already told you that! Sorry...

Staying with the DJ stylee... we've got a smooth cut by Jah Walton called "DJ Christmas" and it comes to us from a 1983 Carlton Patterson produced 7" on the Black And White label and riding the Weather Balloon riddim.

The soulful sound of Toots & The Maytals are up next with a tune called "Happy Christmas" and no it's not a rendition of that annoying John Lennon song either. This one comes from the late Byron Lee's Christmas album Christmas Party Time In The Tropics on the VP label. One of the real gems hidden on this release.

Horace Andy gives us his sweet toned rendition of "Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem" and in my opinion, this is one of the best tunes in this year's mix. Horace Andy's voice really does this classic Christmas carol justice and the Joe Gibbs production make it a real killer! This is borrowed from the VP CD reissue of the 1979 Joe Gibbs Family Wishes You A Merry Rockers Christmas originally pressed on his namesake label and at one time featuring a festive ganja Christmas tree on the sleeve. "Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem" was never released on previous pressings of the same album and thankfully came to light when VP got ahold of it.

Up next we've got the Silvertones from the 2002 Heartbeat Christmas Greeting From Studio One CD with a little number called "Bling Bling Christmas." I know what you're thinking... "first he snuck in that Desmond Dekker R&B song and now he's slipping in some hip-hop!?" But no it's not the "bling bling" that popular culture stole from gangsta rap lyrics and adopted a couple years back making it a household expression that even Grandma added to her vocabulary. Believe me, Studio One and the Silvertones weren't hyping up diamond and platinum jewelery.

Sticking with Studio One for the next track... Freddie McGregor follows up the bling with another smooth Coxsone production called "Irie Christmas." This is a nice mellow one and it comes from the other Heartbeat Christmas album; Reggae Christmas From Studio One from 1992.

And yet another Studio One tune! This time from the man named Charley Fresh and its called "Jam Down Christmas," and is taken from the 1993 Studio One Christmas CD called Christmas Vibes. This is not the best Studio One Christmas release and to be quite honest with you aside from a couple classics made available on the Heartbeat releases and Half Pint's title track which I shared last year, the majority of it is un-listenable digital style... definitely not my cup of egg nog.

DJ duo Tippa Lee and Rappa Roberts are up next with a song called "Christmas Is Coming" from a 1986 7" on the Moodisc Records International label and produced by the man Harry Mudie. I'm actually kinda surprised that I like this record as much as I do but Lee & Roberts do a good job delivering the festive lyrics.

The first lady of Jamaican song, Hortense Ellis, gave us her interpretation of the 1940 Irving Berlin Christmas favorite "White Christmas" but hers is a little more in keeping with positive Afrocentric vibes instead of sentimentality. As you've probably guessed by now it's called "Black Christmas"... let's see Bing Crosby wrap his lips around this version! It's from the Top Ranking International LP African Christmas featuring Hortense and DJ Trinity circa 1979-80.

Speaking of Trinity he's up next. He gives us the title track from the aforementioned album "African Christmas" and he chats over the same Black Christmas riddim that Hortense Ellis utilized. Another nice tune!

Finally... we've reached the end! The 25th and final track in 2008's Distinctly Jamaican Sounds Christmas Mix and it is from yet another Studio One Christmas album. This is a funky organ instrumental by the man Richard Ace and it wraps it up on a nice up-note! This is lifted from the Studio One LP Christmas In Jamaica and was recorded somewhere between 1965-1970.

Distinctly Jamaican Sounds Christmas Mix 2008

I hope you enjoy this year's mix! I'm confident that it will add a bit of welcome Caribbean spice to your holiday season and give you a break from the well-worn Christmas music that you're accustomed to hearing since the day after Halloween... man it's so clique to say it but the retailers do start earlier and earlier each year!

I want to thank everyone ahead of time for your comments and I wish anyone who reads this a very Merry Christmas and a healthy New Year... I know right now the world seems like it's on the brink of a major meltdown with all the violence, financial crap, terrorism in India, recessions, suffering, unemployment, wars, etc. But keep your head up, hope for the best, stay strong, remember to tell those you love how much you love them and spend quality time with those people because they are the glue that keeps our sanity in place!

Also, every now and then do yourself a favor and listen to some Jamaican music... because like Bob Marley sang, "one good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain!" Lots of love everyone!

JUST ADDED!
2007's Christmas Mix

I hate to be the bearer of bad news...

...but I'm not going to be able to put together the Christmas mix this year. I'm in the middle of taking care of some serious personal business and there is no way I can find the time to get it started... the fact that I've yet to receive music I ordered for the mix nearly two months ago is another story in itself.

Happy Halloween From Distinctly Jamaican Sounds!

Happy Halloween everyone! Below you'll find links to the final Halloween treats from Distinctly Jamaican Sounds this year...

The Complete Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2008

And for those of you who haven't taken the leap with an Ipod...

The Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2008 - CD Size!

But wait! There's more! My 2008 distinctively non-Jamaican Halloween Mix that I've entitled, "Satan Takes A Holiday." This mix is chock full of mostly surf and rockabilly (with two reggae tracks thrown in for good measure) and it was the first time I've ever devoted the entire Halloween mix to one subject; all the songs are about Satan, hell and the devil. I know it sounds frightening and uncharacteristically far removed from the usual vibes I try and create with my Jamaican mixes but I've taken on the subject with a relatively light-hearted approach... on second thought maybe I should save this one for election day! It may be just me but when I think of politricks, McCain & Obama, the sorry state of the international economy, lying, stealing and cheating politicians I immediately start thinking of Satan. Nah, I've got something else in the works for election day.

Non-Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2008 - Satan Takes A Holiday

Here's the tracklist...

1. Los Tiki Phantoms – Satan’s
2. Ghoultown – Fistful Of Demons
3. Anton LaVey – Satan Takes A Holiday (vocal)
4. Langhorns – The Sinner
5. Deadbolt – Devil Took Mrs. Jenkins To Hell
6. The Chop Tops – El Diablo
7. Steve King – Satan Is Her Name
8. Misfits – Devil’s Whorehouse
9. Bauhaus – Party Of The First Part
10. Satan’s Cheerleaders – Satan’s Stomp
11. Reverend Horton Heat – The Devil’s Chasing Me
12. The Success All Stars – Dr. Satan Echo Chamber
13. Mable John – Sweet Devil
14. Messer Chups – Go Satan Go!
15. Gein & The Graverobbers – The Devil’s Skin
16. Southern Culture On The Skids – Devil’s Stompin’ Ground
17. Rocky Velvet – Lou Siffer
18. The Cramps – Papa Satan Sang Louie
19. Screaming Jay Hawkins – Little Demon
20. Nekromantix – Demons Are A Girls Best Friend
21. Satan’s Pilgrims – Satan’s Theme
22. Rosengarden & Kraus – Satan Takes A Holiday
23. Lee “Scratch” Perry – Seven Devils Dead

Whatever you're doing or not doing tonight be sure to have fun and I hope to see you on Tuesday! After trick-or-treating with the kids I'll be down in Washington DC for DC Soundclash where I'll be getting the opportunity to play some of these Halloween tunes for a live audience! Needless to say, I'm pretty psyched!

Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2008 Track 23 - Vampire Initiative

Holy shit! We've reached the end of the road and here it is... the final track of the Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2008!

This one is called "Vampire Initiative" by Scientist, with the Roots Radics providing the drum and bass of course, and comes from the excellent 1983 Greensleeves LP Scientist Encounters Pac-Man that you see pictured on the right.

Now this cover may not be as Halloween appropriate as Scientist Rids The World Of The Evil Curse Of The Vampires but if you look behind the glass you see all of Scientist's vanquished foes from previous albums; Prince Jammy, the Space Invaders and a few of the monsters from the Rids the World album as well laughing with fiendish glee as Pac-Man proceeds to devour our hero. I'm not usually one to discuss album covers in detail but Tony McDermott's illustration for this one is absolutely killer!

Music wise, there's very little to say... I'll put it to you in the form of an equation - Scientist+Roots Radics= F*%^ing Wicked!!!

Again I used the audio from "The Vampire Speaks" throughout "Vampire Initiative" because it's just too good to only use the opening snippet in yesterday track!

Track 23

And on that note... I'll close the creaking door to the vault of haunted Jamaican music for another year. I hoped you've enjoyed the mix and as always I've appreciated the comments along the way. Happy Halloween!

Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2008 Track 22 - Beware Of The Vampire

Here we are a day away from Halloween and I can't believe how quick this month has blown by! I hope you've been enjoying listening to the mix as much as I enjoyed putting it together... this yearly marathon is truly a labor of love because if I didn't have such a weak spot for Halloween I wouldn't bother. But enough of that...

We're going back to visit Count Dracula this time with the help of Denzel Laing and an early Lee Perry production recorded somewhere around 1968-69 and it's called "Beware Of The Vampire." The track comes from the 1998 Trojan compilation CD of Perry productions, from the aforementioned late sixties period, and it's called Dry Acid.

Denzel Laing is probably better known for his percussion work for artists such as Toots & The Maytals, The Heptones and the Gladiators than for his vocals but nonetheless this is a great song. The subject matter is more of a warning to single young men about the "vampires" that they may encounter when looking for love than of the supernatural variety.

I added audio from a 7" by a man named Al Zanino called "The Vampire Speaks" and originally released on a record label called Al-Stan in 1957. Very few copies of the record exist today and "The Vampire Speaks" has been known to fetch as much as $200 at record shows worldwide... but luckily it was limitedly repressed in 1997 and also made available on a various artists CD featuring music recorded by artists from in and around the town of Reading Pennsylvania called Al-Stan Masters: The Best Of Reading's Oldies.

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Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2008 Track 21 - The Thing

We're moving into the homestretch now with only 2 more tracks to go! I hope you've been following along thus far and if you haven't, shame on you! But don't despair... I gotta another trick up my sleeves come Friday for all you slackers! But we'll get to that on Halloween... right now, we'll get to today's terrifying track...

The Thing is a 1982 science fiction/horror film directed by John Carpenter which is loosely based on the 1951 film The Thing From Another World. Wikipedia says, "The story centers around a shape-shifting alien that is revived after being frozen in ice and infiltrates a scientific research station in the Antarctic and kills a Norwegian research team. A nearby American research team investigates the incident and is in turn attacked by the alien."

"The Thing" is also an early reggae tune performed by the Sound Dimension, produced by the legendary Coxsone Dodd and taken from a 1969 various artists LP called Swing Easy on the Coxsone label. It doesn't include the same shape-shifting alien as the movie but it does include some pretty groovy Hammond organ that I hope you'll dig! Also... I think you'll prefer getting up and moving your feet while listening to the reggae version instead of cowering in the fetal position beneath your sofa after watching the film.

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Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2008 Track 20 - Lon Chaney

Leonidas Frank Chaney, better known to cinema fans simply as Lon Chaney, was born on April 1, 1883. Nicknamed "The Man Of A Thousand Faces" and one of the silver screen's first actors synonymous with special effects make-up and for playing grotesque monsters, he was a truly a horror film groundbreaker.

Between 1912 and 1917, Chaney worked under contract for Universal Studios where his previous vaudeville experience with creative theatrical make-up made him a hot commodity when tales of the macabre were concerned. But unfortunately for Universal they didn't think his ability was worthy of a higher salary so he left the studio.

Chaney's breakthrough performance, playing the decidedly un-monster roll of The Frog in 1919's gangster film The Miracle Man, which grossed a hefty $2 million dollars at the box office, garnered him praise throughout the industry and earned him the title of "America's foremost character actor."

Most well known for his portrayals of Quasidmodo in Tod Browning's 1923 Hunchback Of Notre Dame and for Erik, the horribly disfigured phantom, in Browning's 1925 Phantom Of The Opera, Lon Chaney firmly planted himself into the mind of horror fans who to this day revere him for his contributions to the genre!

Speaking of contributing to a genre... Sir Lord Comic was one of the first deejays and a real pioneer in Jamaican music. Comic got his start initially as a dancer or "legs man" for the Admiral Deans soundsystem and once he heard Sir Coxsone Downbeat's selector, the legendary Count Machuki, chatting on the mic he was inspired to become a deejay as well. He got his first break in December of 1959 when he filled in for Admiral Deans regular sound man when he was too drunk to function and the rest is history.

Now... you may be asking yourself what does this have to do with the Halloween Spooktacular and I'll tell you... The 20th track in the Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2008 is of course by Sir Lord Comic backed by the Skatalites and it's a scorching ska number called appropriately "Lon Chaney." It comes off the various artists CD What A Skandal - King Edwards The Giant on the British King Edwards label.

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Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2008 Track 19 - Back To Back

We're up to the last week of Jamaican Halloween Spooktacularness for 2008 and we're doing it up right by giving you a tune inna Ska-lipso style!

Track 19 in the mix is called "Back To Back" AKA "Jumbie Jamboree" by accomplished mento singer Count Owen and comes from his album Come Let's Go Ska-lipso on the Kentone label.

Count Owen, born Owen Emanuel was born in the parish of St. Mary in 1933 and started out at 19 years old by singing ballads and blues on the RJR Talent Parade Show and the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour. He initially recorded some tracks for Stanley Motta that were released on his MRS label in the 1950's and also for Ken Khouri's Kalypso around the same time.

This album from the early 1960's had Owen doing revamped ska versions of traditional mento and calypso classics and with great success I should add. If you're a fan of the mento and ska eras of Jamaican music this is a very enjoyable slab o'vinyl from start to finish!

The song "Back To Back" is exactly like the countless versions of "Zombie Jamboree," performed by artists such as Lord Jellicoe, Harry Belafonte and even the American folk group the Kingston Trio, except zombie is replaced with jumbie in the lyrics and the feisty ska beat replaces the mento/calypso instrumentation one usually expects! According to Caribbean folklore and legend a Jumbie is a black ghost... Westerner's often associate ghosts and spirits with a misty white form the jumbie is a dark shadowy figure. It should also be noted, that in Jamaica and some other islands in the Caribbean, "duppy" is usually used to denote any ghostly presence and in islands where duppy isn't the common operative word, "jumbie" is usually substituted.

Track 19

A Couple Of Brain Eaters For Your Halloween Listening Pleasure!

In an effort to eat a little more of your brains, in a good way of course, I've uploaded both the 2006 and 2007 Halloween Spooktaculars! Tracklists are available by checking out the Distinctly Jamaican Sounds archives for October 2006 and October 2007 because I'm feeling particularly lazy this afternoon! Be sure to listen with the lights out... it tends to add to the macabre mood!

If you play these at high volume next Friday that time honored tradition of playing scary sound effects for the trick-or-treaters when they approach your house will be turned on its ear! Think about it this way... you'll either have children shrieking in fear as those distinctive Jamaican basslines riddled with spooky sound effects thump through the crisp night air or you'll have the cops busting down your door thinking there's a Halloween party inside that's getting out of control! Whatever you choose to do with them is up to you but I only have one request... enjoy!

Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2006

Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2007

Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2008 Track 18 - Phantom Meets Spooks-A-Poppin'

Let me preface this comment with a foreword... I sincerely appreciate all of those who have left kind comments regarding the Halloween mix but... judging by the lack of response this week it seems that it isn't being received as well as I had hoped. So instead of wasting time writing long-winded posts I'm just going to keep it simple from now on out and get this over with for those of you have been following along this month. Don't get me wrong, I love doing these mixes and I've got nuff "duppy tunes" left for a couple more years worth of Spooktaculars but I'll just do it through e-mail instead or posting them here.

Today's tune is "Phantom" by producer Clancy Eccles' studio band The Dynamites and was originally released in 1970 as a 7" on the Clandisc label. The Dynamites were Winston Wright on organ, Hucks Brown on guitar, Gladstone Anderson on piano, Jackie Jackson on bass and Paul Douglas on drums.

Phantom artwork courtesy of Ryan Heshka's book ABC Spook Show.

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Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2008 Track 17 - I'm A Witchcraft Man!

Short and sweet today. Partially because, as hard as it may be to believe, I'm kind of pressed on time with real life obligations outside the blogging world and partially because I can't find any real biographical information about the artists responsible for the scary song we're going to hear today.

Track 17 in the Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular is by Blue Rivers And The Maroons and it's called "Witchcraft Man." I took it from 1992's The History Of Ska, Blue Beat & Reggae Vol.1 CD on the Lagoon label. Here's what I do know... Blue Rivers, who was a "star artist and prolific composer," or so I've read without further alliteration... recorded three tracks for London based record producer Siggy Jackson and his fledgling Blue Beat label sometime between 1966-1968. The story goes that Jackson was so impressed with the new "Jamaican Blues" which immigrating Jamaicans were bringing with them to England around the time that he decided that he wanted to take a part in forwarding and promoting this new genre of music to English ears. These records were often played alongside soul music and added a new and important component to the emerging skinhead and Mod cultures of the 1960's.

The three songs Blue Rivers initially recorded, "Guns Of Navarone," "Seven Steps To Power," and of course in keeping with the frightening festivities, today's tune "Witchcraft Man," on a Phillips 3-track recorder! Thunderstorm embellishments are kept to a minimal on this one and when you listen I defy you to keep your feet still. I need to warn you, this is a super "dance-able" tune and as a public service to those who may be so inclined to get up and do so, I've provided a couple fairly concise diagrams illustrating the proper technique for doing "The Ska." Because if you're gonna do it, you gotta do it right!



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Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2008 Track 16 - Dub It Inna Black Cat Stylee

We're up to track sixteen with only seven more to go! This time we're tackling one of those quintessential icons of the spooky Halloween Season... of course you can tell by the image you see on the left, that I'm talking about the ubiquitous black cat.

For thousands of years, the black cat has been regarded as a mysterious creature with supernatural powers and were always closely associated with witchcraft and death. Folklore says that witches are able to turn into black cats, in fact, legends say they are only able to do so nine times which may account for the belief in the cat having nine lives.

The list of black cat superstitions is extensive and usually quite different depending on where you live in the world so instead of trying to paraphrase I found a great article on a website devoted to cat owners and those interested in cats in general and am quoting directly from that piece...

"If you live in the United States, or most European countries, then black cats passing in front of you will likely make you believe that no matter how dismal things are now, things are going to get worse. If however you live in the United Kingdom, or in Japan, black cats crossing your path will probably make you smile, and think that good fortune is on its way.

Live in Germany and you will probably believe that black cats crossing your path from right to left, is a bad omen. But from left to right, and the cat is granting favorable times for you.

In Italy many hold the superstition that if an inky feline lays on a sick persons bed, death will follow. In China there are those that believe black cats to be harbingers of famine and poverty. Latvian farmers, that find black kitties in their grain silos, dance with joy. They believe these felines to be the spirit of Rungis, a god of harvests.

Crossing the path of a black cat, as opposed to it crossing yours, is generally thought of as inviting the very worst of luck. In Scotland folks believe finding black kittens sitting in their porch is a sure sign of riches, and happiness to come.

In most parts of the world it is thought that a black cat walking towards you is a certainty of good luck coming your way. Should the cat stop and turn away, before it reaches you, then don't take any risks or place any bets, fair fortune is not to be yours.

Chasing black cats out of your house is a certain way to ensure that yours will not be a lucky house. Stroking the fur of black felines will bring you both health, and wealth. In some fishing communities, the fishermen's wives keep their cats indoors, believing that this will keep their men folk safe from peril whilst at sea.

Many people around the world believe that there is a single white hair to be found, on even the blackest of cats. Pull out the hair, without getting a scratch, and yours will be a long, happy and prosperous marriage."

With that in mind, let's get to the music. This one is called "Black Cat Version" mixed by Errol Brown and comes from the 1996 Heartbeat double CD set called Dub Over Dub: 27 Track Dub Extravaganza. Errol Brown is the nephew of the legendary Duke Reid who started and operated the Treasure Isle Recording Studio. He attended Kingston Technical High School where he concentrated on radio and television but received his real world training under the tutelage of Duke Reid himself. When Duke Reid died in 1974, his long-time friend Sonia Pottinger, bought the Treasure Isle label and continued operations. It was during that time that Errol Brown, with Mrs. Pottinger's encouragement, became a full-fledged engineer for the seminal High Note label working on albums for Culture, Marcia Griffiths and many others. This set captures some of Brown's masterful High Note dubs and if you're a fan of dub and haven't given this one a try yet you're really missing out on some great stuff... it ranks right up there as one of my all-time favorites!

I have embellished "Black Cat Version" with audio borrowed from the 1963 Boris Karloff LP on Mercury Records called Tales Of The Frightened Volume 2 and as you would imagine I concentrated on Karloff's tale "Never Kick A Black Cat" and I think it works great with the tune! And of course I couldn't help myself and added some echoey cat shrieks to the mix just to keep it fun. Enjoy!

I dedicate this one to my first childhood pet... the black cat my family named Felix. I'm not a cat person, but Felix is the reason I've always liked black cats and why I haven't entirely ruled-out the idea of ever having another. :)

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Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2008 Track 15 - Black Magic Woman

"Black Magic Woman" was a song written by Peter Green, first released as a single by Fleetwood Mac in 1968 and eventually made its way onto their album English Rose the following year. In 1970, "Black Magic Woman" became a hit for Santana, reaching as high as #4 on the American pop charts and from that point on became closely associated with the group.

Okay, so you're probably thinking to yourself, "that's all well and good but what does this have to do with Jamaican music?" If you'll read on I'll fill you in...

In 1972 the song was covered again by the late great Dennis Brown and the results were, in my humble opinion, outstanding! "Black Magic Woman" was produced by Phil Pratt and originally released as a 7"on the Sunshot label. I think once you give this one a listen you'll be even more amazed that when this song was recorded Dennis Brown was only 15 years old!

Dennis Emmanuel Brown, sometimes called the Crown Prince Of Reggae was born February 1, 1957 and died July 1, 1999, and was one of reggae's most prolific artists and one of Jamaican music's all-time greats. Brown started his career recording for Derrick Harriott and Coxsone Dodd's Studio One, who released his first hit single "No Man Is An Island" in 1969. Dennis spent the majority of time in the 70's freelancing for any producer who was lucky enough to get him in the studio before settling into a contract with Joe Gibbs where he recorded countless classic tunes such as "Money In My Pocket," "Sitting And Watching" and "Ain't That Loving You," to name a few.

To be honest with you, when I look through all the great stuff Dennis Brown recorded and realize that I've yet to do a complete mix with his material I'm disappointed in myself. Look for that in the near future... once we get done with the Spooktacular, of course.

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