Day 257 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Michael Rose - Guess Who's Coming For Dinner

Switching up the vibe a bit for the 255th day... this one is "Guess Who's Coming For Dinner" by Michael Rose.  Recorded in 1976, a year before Rose joined up with Black Uhuru, this is one that we can all agree can be labeled a reggae classic.  Sure some would say they prefer the version Michael Rose recorded with Duckie Simpson and Puma Jones and released on the 1980 self-titled LP Black Uhuru and eventually as the title track of the revamped version of the same album three years later, but to me I'm diggin' the solo version even more.  But being that I've never been a big Black Uhuru fan to begin with I guess that's understandable.

Day 256 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - The Starlights Featuring Stanley Beckford - Boderation

Plain and simple, I love the hell outta Stanley Beckford.  You see, Stanley Beckford (1942-2007) had one of the most distinctive voices in Jamaican music, especially during the reggae era and mainly because it hearkened back to mento.  His high-pitched, nasal timbre that was prevalent in a lot of singers years before ska ever hit the Jamaican audience's ears, did not work for his first foray into music with the band Soul Syndicate in 1968 and he was quickly replaced.  Beckford in turn had to take a job as a night watchman at the telephone company and one night in 1973 while witnessing an arrest by the local police he wrote the song "You Are A Wanted Man." The lyrics so impressed Alvin "GG" Ranglin that he gave Beckford an audition and when it was recorded, with the Starlights doing the backing, the record's distinctive mento flavor differed so much from the then current wave of reggae sweeping the island, it shot up the chart to number one.  After a string of hits, Beckford parted ways with Ranglin over a financial dispute and sought out another producer, eventually lending his talents to Barrington Jeffrey at Dynamic Sounds with a new band called The Turbines.  He spent the rest of the decade recording mento-influenced tunes until the dawn of the digital era when his output waned.  In 2001 Stanley Beckford recorded Stanley Beckford Plays Mento a straight-up mento album backed by The Blue Glaze band which covered a diverse catalog of songs, including an absolutely beautiful cover of Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds," and it immediately became one of my all-time favorite albums!  His follow-up release Reggaemento in 2004 was just as good!  Sadly when Stanley Beckford passed away of throat cancer in 2007, Jamaican music lost a true living link with its past and I for one am grateful for what he did for me in opening my ears to mento music.  RIP Mr. Beckford, you will not be forgotten.  And with that said, let's get to the 254th track in the 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge... this one is called "Boderation" and it comes from an excellent 1993 Starlights compilation on the Heartbeat label called Soldering.  Pure niceness!

Day 255 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Carl Malcolm - Mek It Tan Deh Version

Carl Malcolm originally started playing the piano at his local Methodist church and after moving to Kingston and working as a shoe salesman and serving as a reservist in the Jamaica Defense Force, he joined The Volcanoes, his first band, in 1965.  He recorded briefly as a solo artist for Coxsone but soon after moved to the United States.  Upon his return to Jamaica in 1975, some of the material he had recorded a couple years earlier were beginning to chart in the UK so he immediately went back to the recording studio where he continued far into the late 70s before he hung up the mic and went to work as a percussionist instead.  Today's track is the b-side version of Malcolm's 1972 tune "Mek It Tan Deh" originally released on the Randy's label.  And while I like the vocal side well enough, I think I like the version even more.  The Youtube video of course includes both sides of the disc so you can give 'em both a listen and judge for yourself!

Day 254 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Tommy McCook & The Supersonics - 7-11

When I came across this song by Tommy McCook & The Supersonics a couple years ago I was more delighted than you can imagine... you see, today is 7/11 or as my kids now affectionately call it "Free Slurpee Day."  And while our consumption of mass quantities of free sickeningly sweet semi-carbonated frozen drinks is being curtailed by my return to work this morning but this unofficial "holiday" created by the 7 Eleven convenience store chain ranks right up there with Christmas on their calendar.  But let's get to the music... this one is called "7-11" by the aforementioned Tommy McCook and his band and it comes from the excellent 2009 Pressure Sounds compilation of tracks cut at Duke Reid's called Pleasure Dub!  "7-11" is actually a pretty badass organ-heavy instrumental version of Alton Ellis' "Girl I've Got A Date" and it sounds as sweet as flavored frozen high fructose corn syrup!  So avoid the "brain freeze" and just give this a listen instead!

Day 253 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Lyn Taitt & The Jets - Bring It On Home

Yes, we made it home and yes there is no rest for the weary... headed down to Waverly Brewing Company for the July edition of our monthly Reggae Spin Cycle this afternoon and thanks to my forward thinking before we left for the beach, all I have to do is grab the records (and the speakers, and the stands, and the amp, and the cables) and head out the door.  It will be nice to ease back into home and the usual routine by spinning some reggae this afternoon before the dreaded first Monday returning to work is hanging over my head and I'm having a hard time staying positive about that.  But oh well, you're not here to listen to my complaining... today's track is a slick number by Lyn Taitt & The Jets called "Bring It On Home," and like yesterday's Mittoo it is also a cover.  Lyn and company give us a rocksteady take on Sam Cooke's 1962 minor hit "Bring It On Home To Me."  Featuring the vocals of The Kilowatts and originally released as a 7" in 1968 on the JJ Records label and will eventually be making its way to the weekly mix via the 2005 Trojan CD set Hold Me Tight Anthology 1965-73.

The 36th Week Mix In All Of Its Uninterrupted Glory!

Here it is!  The completely uninterrupted 36th Week Mix!  And here is what you're going to enjoy!

1.  Cedric Brooks - Sea Breeze

2.  The Revolutionaries - Sweet Version

3.  Ruddy Thomas - Everyday Is Just A Holiday

4.  David Isaacs & Jah Thomas - Just Like A Sea

5.  Dillinger - Racing Pool

6.  Zap Pow - Sunshine People Dub

7.  Jackie Mittoo - Summer Breeze

DOWNLOAD & ENJOY!!

Day 252 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Jackie Mittoo - Summer Breeze

The inevitable sadness that accompanies the end of summer vacation is completely understandable but the one thing that keeps it from being downright depressing is the fact that there's still a whole lotta summer left.  And while I dread the prospect of packing up today and hitting the road for the long trek home, I can rest easy knowing that tomorrow will be warm and in all honesty that's good enough for me.  With that in mind, I'm going to keep up the sweet summer vibes for one more day with the 250th track in the 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge... this one by the great Jackie Mittoo is called "Summer Breeze" and it comes the 2000 Soul Jazz release The Keyboard King At Studio One.  Yes, it's a cover of the Seals & Crofts "harmony-rock" hit from 1972 but Mittoo's version has all the "easy-listening" charm as the original with just the perfect amount of Jamaican flavor that in my honest, yet completely biased opinion makes his version far superior.  And yes, it's also a rare opportunity to hear Jackie Mittoo's singing voice!

 

Day 251 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Zap Pow - Sunshine People Dub

Zap Pow got together in 1969 and played together for the next decade.  Started by Dwight Pinkney, Max Edwards, Mike Williams, Glen DeCosta, Joe McCormack and David Madden and eventually including the lead vocals of Beres Hammond when he joined the band in 1975.  According to Williams, Zap Pow got its name from a comic book he just so happened to be reading at the time.  Today's tune "Sunshine People Dub" comes from their LP Reggae Rules on the Rhino label.  As a side note, Reggae Rules has got one of the best cartoon covers ever; a musclebound superhero punching a disco dancing, John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever lookalike right out of his white suit.  Enjoy!

Day 250 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Dillinger - Racing Pool

I came across today's tune completely by chance a couple months ago.  I was looking for more thematic summer songs for my collection and was delighted to come across this record that pays tribute to the good ol' chlorinated swimming pool, of all things!  The 248th track in the 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge is by the great deejay Dillinger and it's called "Racing Pool," produced by Joe Gibbs and Errol T and released as a 7" on the Belmont label in 1979.  So grab your swim trunks, a towel and the waterproof sunscreen before you take a dip!  Come on in... the water is fine!

Day 249 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - David Isaacs & Jah Thomas - Just Like A Sea

In keeping with the seaside theme, I offer you the next selection in the 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge.  Today's tune by David Isaacs and Jah Thomas is called "Just Like A Sea" and it comes from a 1979 discomix 12" on the Cartridge label... it has that mellow vibe that I'm trying to maintain while the kids and their seemingly non-stop chaos here at the beach keep my blood pressure near the boiling point.   But there's hope, once the afternoon rum drinks have kicked in I become far more agreeable and a lot less stressed but before then... all bets are off.  Enjoy!

Day 248 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Ruddy Thomas - Everyday Is Just A Holiday

"Everyday Is Just A Holiday" is a Jamaican classic... originally recorded by the Sensations for Treasure Isle in 1968, it is one of those rocksteady tunes I loved the first time its seemingly melancholy strains reached my ears many years ago.  It's the kind of song that gets stuck in your head long after the needle has been pulled or the CD has been stopped and with that in mind I decided to mix it up a bit by not using it for the 246th track... instead I decided to go with a 1978 reggae cover by Ruddy Thomas from a 12" discomix on the Errol T label.  Today's tune also features the deejay stylings of Trinity with a little ride on the same riddim called "Natty Dread On The Go."  Most importantly "Everyday Is Just A Holiday" sticks with the little summer vacation thing we've got going-on this week because I swing and dine, I joke awhile, play awhile, 'cause everyday is just a holiday... at least this for week.  Dig it!

Day 247 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - The Revolutionaries - Sweet Version (Sweetie Come From America)

Today is kind of a big deal here in the U.S... it's the 4th of July AKA Independence Day and for me today is gonna be a little odd.  You see, this is only the second time in my 44 years I have spent a July 4th away from my hometown and the traditional festivities that surround this day; the pancake breakfast, the watermelon eating contest, the frog jumping contest, the cookout, the parade, the fireworks.  Yeah I know, it all sounds kinda Norman Rockwell and probably pretty lame to some but it has been a part of my life since I was in a playpen amidst the crowd of oohing and aahing fireworks spectators assembled on the baseball fields of the old Bel Air High School and in all honesty I'm going to miss being there.  But this year, thanks to getting bumped out of the previous week on the vacation schedule at work, I have to get out of my element and try something different.  Oh well, it will be a learning experience I guess.  But you're not here to hear me give you a warm-hearted, nostalgic recollection of the way life used to be, you're here to hear what track I pull up next.  So in celebration of 4th of July I have gone with something "American."  No, I'm not going with John Phillip Sousa or a stirring rendition of "God Bless America," I'm going with the Revolutionaries and a little thing called "Sweet Version."  You see "Sweet Version" is the flip-side to Well Pleased And Satisfied's "Sweetie Come From America" and in my opinion it works well celebrating Independence Day... even if it's in a roundabout kinda way!  The video of course contains both sides of this wicked 1977 High Note single but the mix will just feature the version. 

Day 246 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Cedric Brooks - Sea Breeze

We featured a track by Cedric "Im" Brooks way back in January and today we're gonna pay him another visit!  Today's tune, the 244th in the 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge, is a little mellow instrumental number called "Sea Breeze" which was produced by Winston Riley and pressed on the obscure Tru Soul label in 1970.  Pure niceness!

The 35th Week Mix In All Of Its Uninterrupted Glory!

Whoops!  Sorry for the delay folks in getting this posted... both the 35th and 36th weekly mixes slipped my mind with vacation and all but I am remedying the situation right now!  Judging by the boatload of comments concerning their absence it's great to see there are those of you out there who genuinely enjoy the weekly mixes and I will try my best to keep on top of them for the remainder of the year!

Here is the 35th Week Mix!  And this is what you're gonna hear...

1.  Alton Ellis - Remember That Sunday

2.  Lester Sterling - Doing Horns

3.  Stranger & Patsy - Down The Train Line

4.  The Skatalites - Ska-Ra-Van

5.  Jack Sparrow - Ice Water

6.  The Melodies - Vacation

7.  The Termites - Beach Boy

DOWNLOAD AND ENJOY

Day 245 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - The Termites - Beach Boy

Happy Saturday folks!  Believe me, I'm definitely not trying to rub it in, but thank God I am on vacation!  During the bleak months of winter when I'm white-knuckled driving back and forth to work in snow, sleet and freezing rain with the defroster on full-blast to keep the windshield from freezing-up and the reggae on the car stereo to keep my calm and sanity, the future prospect of me sitting in shorts and a t-shirt on a warm beach with nothing to do seems like an absolute impossibility... but thankfully my mid-winter daydream has come to fruition!  With that said, and as you can probably imagine, today's tune and the line-up for the upcoming week are all going to be "summer-centric."  We're kicking it off with "Beach Boy" by the duo called The Termites!  The Termites were Lloyd Parks and Wentworth Vernal and the rocksteady they recorded with the Soul Vendors for Coxsone Dodd was fantastic!  "Beach Boy" was originally released as a single in 1967 on Dodd's Muzik City label as well as on their LP Do The Rocksteady on Studio One.  Enjoy!

Day 244 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - The Melodies - Vacation

Speaking of the Skatalites, like we did a couple days ago, this is another one from 1964 with them doing the backing for a vocal group called The Melodies for Duke Reid.  "Vacation," a ridiculously appropriate tune for today since I'm counting down the hours until I get to do just that, was originally released on Treasure Isle in Jamaica and Ska Beat in the UK.  I am going with Melodies but I have seen just as many references of the group as the Melodites, so your guess is as good as mine about which is correct.  Also, regardless of the moniker, I am coming up short when it comes to giving you good people any background info on who they were so we'll let the music do their talking.  And with that... the next time you hear from me, which will be tomorrow on schedule of course, I'll hopefully be sitting on the beach with my feet in the sand.  

Day 243 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Jack Sparrow - Ice Water

Sticking with the ska for another day but keeping with the summer feel we've got a hot tune called "Ice Water" by Jack Sparrow and no it's not Johnny Depp's famous pirate character of the same name singing ska in that trademark drunken Keith Richards slur, it's someone else.  And that someone else was Leonard Dillon, lead singer of The Ethiopians a couple years before the group really hit it big, singing under the alias of Jack Sparrow.  Recorded in 1965 for Coxsone Dodd and released on the Studio One label the same year, this one features both the Soul Brothers and some guys you may or may not have heard of called The Wailers, providing the backup voices.  One of my favorite of all ska songs; simple, upbeat, lively and fun.

Day 242 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - The Skatalites - Ska-Ra-Van

Slipping back a few years musically but sticking with the travel theme... this one is "Ska-Ra-Van" by the Skatalites and in my humble opinion it is one of the best covers of the jazz standard "Caravan," originally composed by Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington and first recorded in 1936 by Barney Bigard And His Jazzopators ever recorded.  And believe me... as an amateur fan of mid-century jazz, exotica and easy listening I have heard A LOT of Caravan covers.  I know there are numerous, potentially incalculable numbers of versions of this song since it was written (in the 1950s there were at least 30 different remakes alone!) but the ska take has always been my favorite!  But believe me, as you can probably guess, I am a little biased toward anything Jamaican.  Recorded for producer Justin Yap in one of his legendary marathon sessions and originally credited to Roland Alphonso when it was released as a 7" on the Top Deck label in 1964, this is the Skatalites at their prime and it absolutely cooks!  Dig it!

Day 241 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Stranger & Patsy - Down The Train Line

In preparation for the preordained exodus to rest and relaxation coming up for me just three days from now, I'm inna traveling kinda mood.  It never fails that when I am mentally preparing myself for 8 hours in the car with three teenagers and a "tween" my mind starts thinking of traveling tunes and preferably something a bit soothing that will control the rage when I tell my son to stop pushing his feet against the driver's seat for the 150th time.  Today's tune fits that bill rather nicely!  Stranger and Patsy (AKA Stranger Cole and Patsy Todd) along with The Fugitives give us a smooth, yet pretty unusual rocksteady classic from 1967 called "Down The Train Line" originally released on Sonia Pottinger's Gay Feet label.  What makes this one unusual you ask?  It's the burru hand drumming carrying along the rhythm which was not commonplace at the time but in my opinion adds so much to make this song so sweet!

Day 240 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Lester Sterling - Doing Horns

Lester Sterling AKA Mr. Versatile got his start like so many great Jamaican musicians at Alpha Boys School where he became adept at both trumpet and saxophone.  Sterling originally served as a member in studio bands and Clue J & His Blues Blasters in the late 50s and early 60s before helping to found the Skatalites.  When the Skatalites originally parted ways in 1965, Lester Sterling continued on by recording a stack of great material, joined up with Byron Lee & The Dragonaires for some time and released his first solo album Bangarang for Pama Records in 1969.  Today's tune, the 238th in the 365 Day Challenge, "Doing Horns" was recorded for Bunny Lee circa 1972 and as you'll soon hear it is in fact a tuff horn cut of the 'Doing My Thing' riddim originally popularized by Delroy Wilson on his classic cut "Doing My Own Thing."  I for the life of me can't figure out where I got today's tune, I would assume I downloaded it from some online music retailer but I can't seem to ascertain if this badass track was ever on vinyl or even if it was part of a various artists CD compilation released years later... regardless of its unknown origin, it's a nice one!

Day 239 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Alton Ellis & Phyllis Dillon - Remember That Sunday

Here's a sweet tune for your Sunday... Alton Ellis inna combination with Phyllis Dillon give us a sweet early reggae tune called "Remember That Sunday." Produced by Duke Reid and originally issued on Treasure Isle in 1970, this is one you're sure to enjoy!  A good old-fashioned love song to get the week started and for me personally to begin the countdown to summer vacation.  No that doesn't mean the 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge will be taking a holiday, it just means I've got a lot of writing to do before we pack up the truckster and head on out of here.  

The 34th Week Mix In All Of Its Uninterrupted Glory!

Here it is my friends, the 34th Week Mix in all its uninterrupted glory!  What you're gonna hear...

1.  Roland Alphonso - Song For My Father

2.  Roy Richards - Summertime

3.  Hopeton Lewis - Take It Easy

4.  Bobby Ellis - Step Softly

5.  The Hot Tops - Give It To Him

6.  Dennis Alcapone - Ba-Ba-Ri-Ba

7.  The Kingstonians - Fun Galore

DOWNLOAD AND ENJOY!

Day 238 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - The Kingstonians - Fun Galore

In celebration of the first Saturday of summer we're gonna step back to rocksteady to round out the week with this one by The Kingstonians called "Fun Galore" and it comes from a 1968 7" on the Doctor Bird label!  Produced by J.J. "Sir JJ" Johnson and featuring his house band the Sir JJ All Stars, what absolutely makes this tune is the impassioned and heartfelt vocals of the late great Jackie Bernard.  Pure rocksteady niceness... I hope you dig it as much as I do!

Day 237 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Dennis Alcapone - Ba-Ba-Ri-Ba

I have been remiss in not giving Dennis Alcapone the limelight in these 7 months since I started this "adventure" but I am remedying that today.  Dennis Alcapone, born Dennis Smith, is a true Jamaican deejay legend who got his start in 1969 when inspired by other big sound systems and started his own El Paso Sound.  What makes Alcapone so legendary is the fact that his deejaying style had such a huge influence on generations of up and comers... Big Youth, Trinity, Jah Stitch and Dillinger all owe a great deal to his unique chanting or spoken-word style.  With that said, let's get to today's track... this one is called "Ba-Ba-Ri-Ba" or sometimes "Ba Ba Ri Ba Skank" and was recorded by Duke Reid in 1973 and originally released as a 7" in the UK on the Pyramid label and eventually on the Trojan album Soul To Soul - DJ's Choice the same year.  On this track Dennis (and Lizzy) ride Ken Parker's original 1970 version of "I Can't Hide," a riddim that would eventually be refurbished by multiple producers and used multiple times all the way into the 90s!  My partiality to I Can't Hide is probably a good indicator of why I chose this track but Dennis Alcapone's discography as a whole is a thing of beauty.  Nuff respect Alcapone!

Day 236 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - The Hot Tops - Give It To Him

You know what is amazing about Jamaican music?  Regardless of how much you immerse your ears in the various sub-genres, artists, labels, producers and sounds of this music you always come across something you've never heard before or perhaps overlooked and it is so damn good you don't know how you ever lived without it!  Take for instance today's tune, the 234th in the 365 Day Challenge, "Give It To Him" by The Hot Tops.  Last week in preparation for a live gig we had lined-up for last Saturday I got to work putting together a playlist.  I was in a rocksteady mood and once I had gone through the record boxes and dug for what seemed liked forever I had a healthy stack of vinyl ready to hit the turntables but I had a couple holes in the set that needed filling.  I rifled through my LPs and CDs as well but still felt something was missing.  Finally as a last resort, I cracked open the Spooktacular vault, a case in which I keep all my coveted 7" "duppy" tunes which I utilize every October, and went to exploring the b-sides (or sometimes the a-sides) of the records inside.  I came across the 2001 repress of Derrick Morgan's 1968 song "Father Killam" on the Hop label, flipped it over and saw on the ridiculously mangled label what you are about to hear.  The Hot Tops were in actuality The Viceroys and this tune "Give It To Him" recorded in '68 for Derrick Morgan and featuring Lynn Taitt & The Jets is absolutely killer!  It just goes to show that undiscovered or forgotten treasures abound in Jamaican music... some which you can devote hours locating and laying out the cash to obtain and some just sitting idly in your own record collection right now!  Ya dig?