Day 16 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - The Melodians - Come On Little Girl Come On

The vocal trio The Melodians (Tony Brevett, Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton) got together in Greenwich Town area of Kingston around 1963.  They started recording for Prince Buster before stepping over to Coxsone Dodd's Studio One and in 1966 hey tracked "Lay It On" one of the first acknowledged rocksteady tunes.  In 1967 they moved over to Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label and soon after the next year they released "Come On Little Girl Come On" which is today's track in the 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge... a delicious slice of rocksteady goodness!  Enjoy!

Day 15 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - U-Roy & Hopeton Lewis - Tom Drunk

Starting off week three with a scorcher from Hopeton Lewis and U Roy called "Tom Drunk," produced by Duke Reid and released on his Treasure Isle label in 1971 and appearing on a heap a' various artists compilations since, it's a great, upbeat tune to get this week rolling properly... an all time favorite!

The 2nd Week Mix! Available For Your Uninterrupted Listening Pleasure!

What you're gonna hear in this second installment...

1.  The Black Brothers - Give Me Loving

2.  Lloyd Charmers - Confidential

3.  Charlie Ace - Silver & Gold

4.  Scotty - Skank In Bed

5.  The Tonettes - I'll Give It To You

6.  Marcia Grffiths - Feel Like Jumping

7.  Michigan & Smiley - Compliment To Studio One

Come back tomorrow for the start of Week 3!

Check It Out Here!

Day 14 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Michigan & Smiley - Compliment To Studio

What the hell, let's finish off the second week with one more Studio One tune!  This one by Michigan & Smiley called "Compliment To Studio One" and riding the Pretty Looks riddim comes from their 1980 LP "Rub A Dub Style" on Studio One of course... dig it!

Second week mix will be uploaded today!  Stay tuned!

Day 13 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Marcia Griffiths - Feel Like Jumping

Sticking with Studio One and with 1968 as well... a huge rocksteady tune by Marcia Griffiths and an absolutely blistering performance by the Sound Dimension called "Feel Like Jumping."  And with an upbeat tone and joyous lyrics it works well for a Friday too!  Originally pressed on the Studio One label and repressed a multitude of times on Coxsone as well, it's guaranteed to get your feet moving!

Day 12 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - The Tonettes - I'll Give It To You

Stepping over to Brentford Road for the next track... a Coxsone Dodd, Studio One rocksteady production from 1968 featuring the Webber Sisters (Merlene and Cynthia Webber) AKA The Tonettes and it's called "I'll Give It To You." A brilliant upbeat rocksteady rhythm coupled with some perceivably risqué lyrics make for a great listen and one of my all-time favorite Studio One productions bar none!

Day 11 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Scotty - Skank In Bed

Up next is a tune from David Scott AKA Scotty called "Skank In Bed" and it's basically the DJ version of Lorna Bennett's classic cover of the Dusty Springfield song "Breakfast In Bed."  Bennett's vocals are interspersed throughout the track and the end-result is one that I've always dug.  When Scotty breaks down the riddim and "calls out" a talent-less trespasser in the studio halfway through the track... absolutely classic!  Produced by Harry J in 1972 and originally released on his namesake label and simultaneously on both Island and its Blue Mountain imprint, it's a killer tune!

Day 10 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Charlie Ace - Silver And Gold

Onto the tenth track in the 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge and it's a good one... Vernel Dixon AKA Charlie Ace, one of early reggae's often overlooked DJs, gained notoriety when he started recording with Lee "Scratch" Perry in the early 70s.  But it was what he did outside of the studio that became legendary, Charlie Ace began distributing music by converting a Morris 1000 van into the Swing-A-Ling mobile recording studio; the image of the festively hand-painted van becoming absolutely iconic to fans of Jamaican music.  What we're gonna hear today is a tune from 1970 called "Silver and Gold," produced by Phil Pratt and released in the UK on the Punch label.

Day 9 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Lloyd Charmers & The Hippy Boys - Confidential

Keeping with the late 60s vibe we're pulling out an organ-heavy slice of early reggae!  Lloyd Charmers and the Hippy Boys from 1969 with a little tune called "Confidential," which was originally released in the UK as a single on the Camel label...

Day 8 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Black Brothers - Give Me Loving

I have always found that rocksteady works beautifully with Sunday mornings... it has a lot to do with the slower pace and for the most part the heartfelt lyrics that were seemingly running rampant during this era of Jamaican music, case in point... The Black Brothers "Give Me Loving" featuring Lyn Tait & The Jets.  A cry for love in a "strange world" is something we can all identify with and this one simply rocks!  Produced by Derrick Morgan in 1968, it's the kind of tune you could listen to on a loop!

The 1st Week Mix! Available For Your Uninterrupted Listening Pleasure!

What you're gonna hear in this first installment...

1.  Ken Parker - Sad Mood

2.  Chosen Few - Chain Gang

3.  General Echo - Boom Boom

4.  Tony Tuff & Jah Thomas - Fire Bun/Family Affair

5.  Hugh Mundell - Going Places

6.  Joe Tex & U Black - Friday Evening

7.  Bunny Wailer - Ballroom Floor

Come back tomorrow for the start of Week 2!

Check It Out Here!

 

Day 7 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Bunny Wailers - Ballroom Floor

An upbeat tune for a Saturday!  "Ballroom Floor" is one of Bunny Wailers best tunes and it comes from one of his best albums, Rock N' Groove from 1981 on the Solomonic label.  Bunny takes a departure from the conscious lyrics for a twirl on the dance floor and this song never fails to put a smile on my face.  Backing by the Roots Radics with "special guest artists" Sly & Robbie on drum and bass, dig it!

Day 6 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Joe Tex & U Black - Friday Evening

Yes, folks it's Friday and nothing could be more appropriate than this ode to one of the sweetest days of the week!  A Joe Gibbs/Errol T produced combination stylee on the Real Rock riddim with Joe Tex and U Black called "Friday Evening" from 1979 on the Belmont label!  You'll see some inconsistencies with my story when you check out the attached video because the Belmont release states that the A-side is called "Rub A Dub Evening" but the original release a year earlier on the Joe Gibbs label clearly titled the vocal side as "Friday Evening." Maybe Gibbs didn't want to relegate the playing of this tune to just Friday so he flipped the titles on the later release?  Regardless, some sweet vibes for the end of the work week!

Day 5 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Hugh Mundell - Going Places

Hugh Mundell was one of a multitude of voices in reggae music that was silenced way too early.  Under the wing of Augustus Pablo, Mundell was only 16 when his debut album Africa Must Be Free By 1983 was released in 1978 to critical acclaim; Rolling Stone even gave it five stars.  Around that time, using the alias Jah Levi, Mundell recorded a handful of 12" singles and performed live for a heap of sound systems including Kilimanjaro and Volcano Hi-Fi... and it would be safe to assume it was where he met Henry "Junjo" Lawes and in 1980 recorded the album Mundell at Channel One with the Roots Radics doing the backing and eventually released in the UK on Greensleeves.  Today's song "Going Places" was on the aforementioned album and has always been in the top 5 of favorite Hugh Mundell tunes!

Day 4 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Tony Tuff & Jah Thomas - Fire Bun/Family Affair

Plain and simple... I love this tune!  On "Fire Bun" Tony Tuff delivers some badass fire and brimstone lyrics over a rousing horn-driven riddim followed up with some free marital and relationship advice from the man Jah Thomas!  Released as a 12" on the GG Hit label roundabout 1979 and cryptically labeled as being produced by Laws, quite possibly Henry "Junjo" Lawes I assume, it makes for a nice listen!

Day 3 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - General Echo - Boom Boom

The fact that General Echo is mostly remembered for his bawdy and vulgar "slackness" lyrics is a damn shame... the guy put out some wicked "family friendly" stuff through the course of his unfortunate short-lived career and this tune is one of them.  Today's track is called "Boom Boom," appropriately riding the Baba Boom riddim, was recorded and released in 1979 on Dudley 'Manzie' Swaby's namesake label.

Day 2 of the 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - The Chosen Few - Chain Gang

It's Monday... it's back to work... it's time to get back in line for the chain gang.  Day 2 of the 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge is a reggae reworking of a Sam Cooke classic by the Chosen Few... it's the perfect way to start another week.  And though calling my office job a chain gang may be a bit of an exaggeration, okay a huge exaggeration, it sucks to be staring about work week in the face.  This tune comes from a 1989 release on the Ethnic Fight Records label of a session originally recorded in 1975, remixed and released years later.

Day 1 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Ken Parker - Sad Mood - I Am Taking The Plunge... The 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge!

In an effort to keep my blog from becoming a stagnant once-a-year stop on the web, I have decided to do something to keep up my involvement with Jamaican music on a more frequent basis... I have decided from this point forward, I will post a song a day for the next 365 days!  From this point until November 1, 2016!  I will post a little write-up about each as well as a video clip for those interested in just hearing today's song.  At the end of each week, I will mix the seven songs together, upload them and provide a link for uninterrupted listening or download... and much like the Spooktacular, the "week long" mixes can be pieced back together for a gargantuan 365 track uninterrupted mix!

And we begin now with the first track in the 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge with a little rocksteady number by Ken Parker from 1968 called "Sad Mood."  It pretty much sums up how I'm feeling today and I figured it would be a good place to start.  Produced by Bunny Lee and originally pressed as a single on his Lee label and in the UK on Island, it appeared on a multitude of various artists albums as well.  The slow, almost moping feel of the tune works wonders on a day like today.

November 1st, to a Halloween fan such as myself... the saddest day of the year.

Happy Halloween From Distinctly Jamaican Sounds - The Complete 2015 Spooktacular!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM DISTINCTLY JAMAICAN SOUNDS!!

The 10th Annual Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular Complete and Uncut!

Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2015 - Track Twenty Two - Darkness

And it all comes down to this... the twenty second and final track in the 2015 Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular... it's a little number by the Revolutionaries called appropriately enough, "Darkness."  This song and the album called Phase One Dubwise Volume 1 & 2 is a collection of dub sides cut by the Revolutionaries at Channel One and/or Joe Gibbs' studio and exclusively mixed by Channel One's Ernest Hookim circa 1978.  The album is basically dub versions to a heap of tunes produced on Roy Francis' Phase One's label and released in one big delicious lump.  

Now I decided to go all out on this final tune... what you're going to hear is the "extended version" of "Darkness" complete with Basil Rathbone's complete reading of Edgar Alan Poe's classic The Raven. I wanted to end the tenth annual Spooktacular with a bang and this one I think fills the bill rather nicely and clocking in at 10 minutes, it is definitely the longest track I have ever spookified on here.  I hope you enjoy it!

And with the last track just a mouse click away, I wanted to thank my friends and contributors here for a job well done!  So to Teddy Garcia, Reverend Tom Frost, Sam Votsis, Bobby Bobson, Brian "Uncle Fee" Schaffer, Nate Taiapa, Toby Gohn, Mark Williams, Nick Jones and Gordy Robertson, I can't thank you guys enough for humoring me and providing the facts for this yearly wacky project!  You guys definitely made it a lot easier for me and it was great getting varying perspectives on the tunes contained within!  I also want to thank my man Roger Wilkerson for doing the covers again - I can't thank him enough for the effort he put into these works of art and a Spooktacular wouldn't be complete without your visual embellishments!  Finally, I want to thank those of you who left comments and likes over on Facebook... it's your appreciation and kind words that makes this major undertaking seem worth the effort!  It truly is a labor of love and I hope that shows!

Tomorrow is the big night and again I am taking on trick or treat duties and again I wouldn't want to do anything else!  We've got a Martian, a Dracula and a Guy Fieri this year (lol)... sadly my oldest daughter has aged-out and is no longer a part of the Halloween night mob.  So whatever you've got going on this Halloween be sure to have a great time and please for the love of God be safe!  Much love my friends and Happy Halloween!!

Revolutionaries - Darkness - 2015 Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular Track Twenty Two

Oh and before I forget... the complete unedited Spooktacular will be up at midnight, just in time for repeated playing all-day on Halloween!

Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2015 - Track Twenty One - Mad Man Party

The thin line between sanity and insanity is one that hopefully many of us never step over.  In this day and age, treatment of mental health disorders is not a laughing matter and since I'm not a trained psychiatrist or even a licensed therapist I won't get into specifics because quite honestly, that goes beyond my scope of understanding.  God knows how I was able to bullshit my way through Sociology when in college because trying to understand the human mind and the dysfunctions of such is enough to personally drive me insane.  Regardless, where would the modern horror film be without homicidal maniacs?

Let's get to today's tune!  "Mad Man Party" is the twenty-first, and second to last track in the 2015 Spooktacular and it's from one of my favorite early to mid-80s DJs Peter Metro.  Recorded and released as a single in 1986 on the 10 Roosevelt Avenue label and produced by Harry "Harry J" Johnson.  This tune, like a good deal of Peter Metro's early work, is definitely meant to be comical and takes a decidedly lighthearted tone in describing the unsettling behavior exhibited by some of the patients at Kingston's notorious Bellevue Hospital...

"I sight a mad man drinking ink and glue
who wears two plastic bag and say them shoe
I sight a mad man who eat bamboo
it look like cane but it hard to chew...
Search through the garbage when you feel hungry
eat a rotten mango and a dirty patty
Sleep anywhere when you feel sleepy
talk to yourself when you get lonely
Wear up your clothes until they get dirty
walk naked inna Kingston city..."

The introduction and the "maniacal laughter" embellishments on this track are courtesy of one of Amicus Studios' best horror anthology films, Asylum from 1972.  I discovered this film last October when I scooped up as many of the Amicus films on DVD for some marathon viewing and this was one of my favorites and I had filed away the bit of dialog in the back of mind for a future Spooktacular that required something madness related.

Peter Metro - Mad Man Party - 2015 Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular Track Twenty One

Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2015 - Track Twenty - Public Enemy Number One

Gordon "Big Gordy" Robertson, based in Barnsley England is a top-notch selector and DJ of Jamaican music from Ska to Reggae, as well as Northern Soul and even R&B!  Gordy has an extensive knowledge of damn good music and a completely enviable record collection.  Gordy has helped out with other Spooktacular tracks in the past by providing me with an MP3 of the "Adams Family Theme" by the JJ Allstars, a tune in which I had been fruitlessly trying to locate for years but never actually had an opportunity to wrap my ears around.  When the spirit hits him he updates his DJ GreedyG's Foundation Selections Podcast - you can check it out here! Thanks Gordy!!


"Max Romeo - Public Enemy Number One. Released on "Truth" in 1971 in Jamaica. An early roots outing for Lee Scratch Perry and Max Romeo, who would work together many times over the years (resulting in tunes like the great Chase The Devil and Melt Away). Riddimwise it's a very close relation of Eric Donaldson's "Cherry Oh Baby". Max "buns fyah pon Satan" and hints towards the final battle between good and evil in the lyrics."

Max Romeo - Public Enemy Number One - 2015 Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular Track Twenty

Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2015 - Track Nineteen - Wishes Of The Wicked

Aside from growing up on the same dead end street here in rural Maryland and being a life-long friend, Nick Jones is a huge reggae fan, record collector and a devout member of the 12 Tribes of Israel.  Nick is also a highly talented illustrator and DJ for his Napthali Sound and though he doesn't get a chance to "play out" often, he and I have been known to nice-up a few Jamaican Independence Day celebrations in my suburban backyard every August.  Once facing charges for "telephone misuse" Nick had to serve 40 hours of community service for making a prank phone call to our high school's vice principal... and there was the time with the pickle jar and the old dude in the mobile home but I'll just stop right there.  Thanks Nick, you're like a brother to me!


"Title: Wishes of the Wicked.  Artist: Lee Perry.  Release Date: 1965.  Label: Ska Beat.  Producer: Clement Dodd at Studio One.

With an inspired sense of independence from the English crown in 1962, arose a new sound from the island of Jamaica - an upbeat rhythm known as Ska.  In the late 1950s, traditional American rhythm and blues was losing its hold on the dance floor.  Young producers like Clement "Coxsone" Dodd and Duke Reid began recording their own 'version' of R&B, utilizing local talent.  With a few years, the American 'shuffle' style morphed into a new beat characterized by guitar chops on the off-beat.  With screaming horns sprinkled into piano or organ riffs, complete with  drumming to keep everything in time - this new sound had a true celebration vibe.

Enter Rainford Hugh Lee Perry AKA 'Scratch' - a handyman and shop keeper for the then leading sound system owned by Sir "Coxsone" Dodd, know as Studio One.  Over time, Perry proved to have a keen ear for sound.  After graduating from handyman to soundman under Dodd's tutelage, Perry tried his hand as a vocal performer - cutting scathing warning to rival producers and sound systems.  Perry prided himself on "upsetting" the status quo - hence his chief moniker - The Upsetter.

In 1965 Perry explored new ground with his cut Wishes of the Wicked.  No longer was he directing his cryptic warning to unscrupulous producers.  This one is directed to all wayward thinkers and workers of iniquity, as the opening verse declares: 

"The wishes of the wicked shall never prevail.  The more they try, the more they fail."

Perry does not give specifics as to what these "wishes" are - he just seals the statement with: 

"What is to be must be."

The declaration is then back up with a stern Scriptural warning directed to would-be thieves: 

"It was written by the Prophet.  That the seed you sow, that's what grow.  If you sow good seed, you will reap good seed."

Perhaps the prophet being referred to is King Solomon, chief compiler of the book of Proberbs: 

"The wick worth a deceitful work: but to him that south righteousness shall be a sure reward."  (Proverbs 11v.18)

Following the "words of the prophet," we are treated a a horns arrangement complete with saxophone wailing over the upbeat tempo.  This paves the way for Perry to reiterate his previous warnings as the horns take over again.  The musical ride then fades to a reluctant close with horns blaring.

This musical excursion captures the raw essence of original Jamaican music.  It more importantly captures an early glimpse of the man responsible for a musical revolution - Lee "Scratch" Perry. 

"Everything starts from Scratch" 

-LSP

So, if you find yourself to be an unfortunate target of the "wishes of the wicked" this season, don't take the law into your own hands - just blast this tune and watch the wicked flee!!!"

Lee Perry - Wishes Of The Wicked - 2015 Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular Track Nineteen 

Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2015 - Track Eighteen - Now That You're Dead

Mark Williams AKA The Kaiser, is the driving force and one of the originators of Washington DC's preeminent reggae oldies night, DC Soundclash.  Mark is as knowledgeable as they come in regard to Jamaican music but his scope of musical appreciation stretches far beyond the Caribbean, he can often be found spinning his musical wares at the Marx Cafe and whether it's an obscure ska tune or a wicked piece of psychedelic pop, Mark is the man to get your feet moving!  Check out the latest scheduled Soundclash or any of the multitude of other shows Mark has got going on by checking out DC Soundclash here!  Thanks Mark! 


"It's hard to say if "Snappin" Beckford is singing about death literally or figuratively here, though one suspects the latter. We might have indirect duppy contact, in other words. I was initially going to assume that Beckford was lashing out at his erstwhile employer Coxson Dodd, who vampirically sucked him dry for his song-writing talents and rewarded him sparingly. But a woman and ex-prisoner are sourced into the lyrics, and those mercurial and beguiling saxophones playfully conjure up a sauntering ride that is more bemusement than anger or fear. No, this is actually a warning to the foolish, buried or alive."

Theophilus Beckford - Now That You're Dead - 2015 Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular Track Eighteen