Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends,

As the skies were a bright blue today, we thought to start with a set of “colorful” ska tunes, beginning with Rolando Alphonso’s triumphant cut for Buster in 1966, “Life In Living Colours.” We followed that set up with another “sweet” set of ska before going into this week’s mento set with Monty Reynolds’ boisterous cut for MRS in 1957 leading the way, “Wrong Man.”  Lily’s reggae set began with a small tribute to Pervis Jackson of The Spinners as his heavenly birthday was on Monday.  Lily selected Otis Gayle’s cover of The Spinners’ classic, “I’ll Be Around” which Otis cut for Coxsone in 1973.  And for our label spotlight this week, we took a look at the short-lived but awesome Soul Flower label, which features great reggaes from Jah Thomas and Jah Ruby. Stay healthy and safe dear friends. XO Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends, 

We began this week’s show with Wilfred Jackie Edwards’ 1965 take on “Stagger Lee,” in honor of the late R&B legend, Lloyd Price, who took the song to #1 in 1959.  We followed up the two ska sets that opened the show with a smooth mento set that began with Chin’s Calypso Sextet and their song, “Adina” which they cut in 1957. For our final set of the first hour, Lily selected some gorgeous reggae cuts, with a highlight being Noel Robinson’s top track for Aires in 1975,” It’s Like Yesterday.” And for our label spotlight this week, we took a look at Dudley Manzie Swaby’s impeccable imprint, Heavyweight, which features some amazing productions from 1977-79 of songs performed by Clint Eastwood, Ronnie Davis, and The Revolutionaries.  Stay healthy and strong, friends! XO Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends,

Last week, we received the very sad news that renowned guitarist and producer,  Ranford ‘Ranny Bop’ Williams, had passed away. Ranny, during his over six decades-long career, performed as a member of some of the greatest backing bands in Jamaican music history from Tommy McCook and The Supersonics, to The Hippy Boys and The Aggrovators that played on essential recordings from The Wailers, Jimmy Cliff, and The Ethiopians. Ranny also arranged and produced a staggering amount of recordings of a multitude of labels, including his own imprints: Spade, Ronnie’s, and others.  For our tribute, we delved deep into our shows of the last 25 years to find our favorite performances and productions from Ranny.  We send our deepest respects to Ranny’s family and friends during this solemn time. Rest in power Ranny. Love, Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends,

We began this week’s program with two sets of glorious ska, starting with Roy Panton and Annette Clarke’s cut for ND Records in 1963, “Go Your Way.”   Our mento set followed with another great track from the 1978 Horace Johnson and The Eagle Star album, Calypso-Rock Songs of Jamaica, entitled “January, February, and March,” and we ended our first hour with a stellar reggae set selected by Lily that features an awesome Big Youth cut from 1977, produced by Devon Russell of The Tartans, called “The Upful One.”  Our label spotlight this week is on another fine Barrington Jeffrey imprint, Dr. Komina, which has stellar sides from The Revolutionaries, Stanley and The Turbines, and many more!  Stay healthy and safe, friends. XO Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends,

We have unfortunately lost another of the master deejays, as the mighty Trinity died on April 9th.  He was only 67. It should come as no surprise to you that we adored Trinity and we hold him in the highest regard while playing his cuts over the years with the utmost respect. An amazingly talented and prolific deejay who began his career in the soundsystems with Dillinger, Trinity would cut some of finest tracks of his era for producers, Vivian Jackson, Joe Gibbs, JoJo Hoo-Kim, before launching out on his own as a record producer.  For our memorial, we played Trinity’s earliest releases from when he was known as Prince Glen, through his change to Trinity.  The second half of our tribute consists of some of Trinity’s best work as a producer.  We love you, Trinity and send the deepest respects to your family and colleagues. Rest in power. Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends,

On March 17th, we lost famed record producer, Sonny Roberts at the age of 89. Born in Manchester Parish, Roberts was a carpenter who emigrated to the UK in 1958.  Soon after he arrived in England, Roberts set up the Love Vendor Sound System and soon after he moved into 108 Cambridge Road in London which was a building owned by Leo Gopthal of Trojan fame. In the basement, Roberts built a recording studio which became the first studio to be owned by a Jamaican in Britain, and it was there where he began the Planetone record label. Roberts would eventually run many labels in England including Sway, Orbitone, Tackle, Cartridge, Affection, and Sun Burn. Roberts recorded Jamaican R&B, ska, and reggae artists as well as Gospel, soca, soul and Afrobeat. You will hear many of Roberts excellent productions on our memorial for him this week.  We send our deepest respects to Roberts’ family, friends, and colleagues.  XO Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends, 

We dedicate this show to actor Yaphet Kotto who passed away earlier this week. Yaphet was a rare talent whose work we both greatly admired and we send up this show to him. For this Bovine Ska we looked at the long and prolific career of The Isley Brothers and their massive influence on Jamaican music. Amongst their many achievements, the brothers from Cincinnati, Ohio scored new hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in FIVE different decades, and you’ll hear many of those hits interpreted by some of the greatest stars in Jamaican music history, from Alton Ellis to Delroy Wilson to John Holt. Amazing ska, rocksteady, and reggae covers of: “Who’s That Lady,” “It’s Your Thing,” “This Old Heart of Mine,” and many more will be on our tribute! We hope that you enjoy it.  XO Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends,

We continued our tribute to the late Bunny Wailer, OM at the beginning of our show this week by playing two more Coxsone Dodd-produced cuts from 1966 that Bunny wrote and sang lead on with The Wailers, “Jerking Time” and “Rock Sweet Rock.” We followed up our opening two sets of ska with a mellowish mento set this week with Sugar Belly’s lovely version of “Land of Sea and Sun” at the beginning. A magnificent set of selected reggaes from Lily followed which featured awesome productions from some of our heroes, including Lee Scratch Perry, Harry J, and Vivian Jackson. For our label spotlight this week we looked at Prince Hammer’s stellar Belva Sound label that contains top tracks from Prince Hammer and Rod Taylor.  Have a safe and healthy week friends! XO Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends,

On Tuesday, March 2nd, singer, songwriter, producer, activist, and founding member of The Wailers, Jah B, Bunny Wailer OM, passed away at the age of 73.  Since hearing the news of his great loss yesterday, we dug through and listened to Bunny’s earliest recordings with The Wailers, his solo work, both as an artist and as a producer for himself and others for his Solomonic label to put together what we feel is a fitting tribute to him. We send our deepest respects to Bunny’s family, friends and to the many artists whom he worked with over his legendary career.  Rest in Power Mr. Wailer and thank you so much for sharing your great gifts with us. XO Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends,

As we are sure that you know by now, the mighty Daddy U-Roy, The Originator, died on February 17th. As the news of his passing went out, testimonials from reggae, soul, and hip-hop flooded in, because as we all know, U-Roy’s impact on music was gigantic. So, when we started putting together a memorial for U-Roy, we thought to play his first cut, a version for Keith Hudson, but then we also looked at the time when U-Roy had the top three songs on the Jamaican charts at once and how influential these cuts were: “Wake The Nation,” “Rule The Nation,” “Wear You To The Ball.” For his tribute, we of course played U-Roy’s versions, but then we also added the many deejay versions of these songs from a who’s who of famed deejays: Dennis Alcapone, Trinity, Dillinger, Big Youth, Lizzy and many others to stress how beloved and inspiring U-Roy was to his peers and the generations after him. Rest in peace Daddy U-Roy and bless you. XO Generoso and Lily