Monday, July 25, 2016

Day 268 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Jah Ruby - Friend & Company

Jah Ruby, born Everald Metcalf, started his musical career in the early 60s as a member of The Schoolboys who recorded for Prince Buster.  He went solo for a couple years using his real name until he switched to the Jack Ruby moniker in 1966 and soon after transformed from a singer into a deejay and worked with a number of sound systems for the next ten years.  Soon after, following an article in the press which featured an interview with Metcalf and a stock photo of the Ocho Rios producer of the same name, Jack Ruby became Jah Ruby.  But instead of being content with being just another deejay, Jah Ruby branched out to form the dance group The Black Invaders who were considered among the best in Jamaica all the way until the early 80s and landed himself and the troupe an appearance in the 1978 classic film Rockers.   Jah Ruby emigrated to the United States in 1983 and remains sparingly active today in the New York reggae scene.  Today's track "Friend And Company" comes from his lone 1977 LP release Dread Affairs on the Dynamic label.  Check it!
 

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