Monday, February 01, 2016

Day 93 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Johnny Moore - Tribute To Sir Alex

Johnny "Dizzy" Moore knew a guy.  It seemed this guy was a student at the Alpha Boys School for wayward boys and Johnny Moore wanted to get in so that he could hone his musical skills.  So he began intentionally misbehaving and after a lot of hard acting-up, pranks and general premeditated mischief he got admitted.  After taking up the trumpet at Alpha he went into the military for a short three year stint to play with the Jamaica Military Band before he was discharged for being "not amenable to military service."  In 1964 Moore joined the Skatalites with Jackie Mittoo, Lloyd Brevett, Lloyed Knibb and Tommy McCook and a year later, when the band split, he linked-up with the Soul Vendors which were led by Roland Alphonso.  He went back to the Skatalites when they reformed in 1983 and sadly died in 2008 from colon cancer.  Today's tune, and the 93rd in the 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge, is from a 1968 7" on the Pama label called "Tribute To Sir Alex."  A fine example of Dizzy Moore's trumpeting ability and a song that clearly blurs the lines in Jamaican music when rocksteady evolved into reggae.

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