Top rocksteady from Dermott Lynch on Flame!

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Listeners!

We started off the June 28th, 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady with two sets of Jamaican rhythm and blues, beginning with the tune, Call Me, a superb 1961 track on Wild Bells from his eminence, Prince Buster and ending with Bunny and Skitter’s song, A Little Mashin’ for Vincent Randy Chin’s Randy’s label.   We then followed with our weekly mento set and a top cut from Chin’s Calypso Sextet, Give Her Love, released on Chin’s in 1956 and we ended that first hour with a very long set of rocksteady that started with Rugged Girl, Bumps Oakley’s cover of The Four Seasons hit, Rag Doll. After that set, we went right into our spotlight on Charles Ross’ Flame Label!

As a Trojan subsidiary, Blue Cat distributed the recordings of many producers including:  Joe Gibbs, Joe Mansano, Bunny Lee, Alvin Ranglin and Coxsone Dodd. Some of the strongest releases came from a producer whose legacy has not received as much attention over the years, and that producer is Charlie Ross. Outside of his own Sugar label, which had its own distribution in the UK, Ross also owned the Flame label in Jamaica, which reached the UK via Blue Cat. On the Bovine Ska, we love Charlie Ross as a producer, and we are thrilled to present these Flame recordings because Ross’s work is exceptional. Keep in mind that there were two other well known labels that share the same name with this label, but those labels existed later, and you can identify this one because of Ross’s excellent understanding of arrangement and production.

Backing up many on the Flame label was Lynn Taitt and Karl Cannonball Bryan. Of the major saxophonists, we’ve discussed Roland Alphonso and Cedric Im Brooks, but we also would like to highlight Cannonball Bryan. Like many other phenomenal Jamaican musicians, Cannonball attended the Alpha Boys’ School. As a performer, he backed many touring artists during their visit to Jamaica, including everyone from the Mighty Sparrow to Jackie Wilson. As a recording artist, he worked with many producers including Coxsone Dodd, Prince Buster, Clancy Eccles, and of, course Charley Ross

We hope you enjoy the June 28, 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady: