Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends,

For this Bovine Ska, we wanted to honor two splendid Jamaican artists who just recently passed away: Lloyd Hemmings and James Wilson Samuels. Hemmings was a gifted reggae-dancehall singer who began his career in the mid-1970s by cutting a few brilliant tracks for Lloyd A Campbell. Throughout the 80s and 90s, Hemmings would continue to release great songs for famed artists/producers: Augustus Pablo, Sugar Minott, Lloyd Barnes, and Joe Frasier. James Samuels started his career singing for The Aces who would provide harmony for Desmond Dekker on a plethora of hits, from “007” to “Music Like Dirt” to “Israelites.” Samuels would eventually record in the 1980s as a solo artist and with Leo Hall and Michael Roberts in Shakas. We send our deepest respects to Lloyd’s and James’ families during this sad time. Love, Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends,

Last year saw the passing of many magnificent Jamaican artists, and so, over the last few weeks, we have assembled this program to honor these musicians who left us in 2021. For this memorial show, we put together short sets and information about these performers and producers, and as always, we welcome you to seek out more of their music on your own. This show serves to remind us all about the immense amount of talented people who have left us this past year. May they all rest in peace. Love, Generoso and Lily

Merry Christmas Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends!

This is our 25th Annual Jamaican Christmas Fantastical! We love Christmas time, and we really enjoy doing this program every year since 1996. Last year, we kept our theme ultra playful and dug into traditional Jamaican toys and games, and for this iteration of our holiday show, we’re going to keep it a little more austere by exclusively playing songs about the birth of Jesus. On this show, you’ll hear Hortense Ellis’ and Trinity’s versions of Joy To The World, Jackie Mittoo’s brilliant instrumental take on God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Roy Shirley’s adaptation of Silent Night, and many more!  We hope that you all have a very safe and joyful holiday season! XO Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends,

On December 8th, we lost the great bassist and producer, Robbie Shakespeare. He passed away in Miami after undergoing kidney surgery. He was 68 years old. Robbie was an exceptional musician who joined drummer Sly Dunbar to form one of the most prolific production and rhythm sections in music history. Robbie played on countless cuts over his five decades plus career, many that we hold dear on the show, so to honor Robbie, we picked our favorite bass lines from Robbie’s early career and played them during the first half of our tribute. And for the second half, we played many of the tracks/bass lines that Robbie, himself, selected as his favorite creations. We send our deepest respects to his family, his longtime musical brother, Sly Dunbar, and the countless musicians who worked with Robbie over his five decades plus career. Rest in power, Mr. Shakespeare. Bless you, Sir. Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends,

Back in September of this year, the unstoppable force that is Clint Eastwood, produced, directed, and starred in the neo-western, Cry Macho. The film was his 42nd credit as a director and it marks his 67th year of his professional career as an actor. We love Clint beyond words, and his film work has had a huge impact in Jamaica, where the man has been memorialized in a variety of ways. From songs about the man himself, like The Upsetters’ 1969 track, Clint Eastwood, to songs about the characters Clint played, to artists who even took his name and the names of some of his most iconic roles as their own, like Dirty Harry and Josey Wales. For our show this week, we examined The Power of Eastwood and his massive impact on Jamaican music. All hail Clint Eastwood! XO Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends,

This past Tuesday we lost one of Jamaica’s finest singers, and the co-founder of The Clarendonians, Ernest Wilson. Ernest began his recording career after teaming up with Peter Austin in the early 60s to form The Clarendonians, and the duo would score hit after hit on the Jamaican charts. In 1967, Ernest would branch out as a solo artist and his output for Coxsone, Harry Mudie, and Jo Jo Hoo-Kim was stellar. For our tribute, we followed Ernest throughout his five decades plus career by playing his tracks with The Clarendonians, with Freddie McGregor as Fitzy and Freddie, Ernest’s solo cuts, as well as some of his best performances as a harmony vocalist and instrumentalist for artists like Gregory Issacs, Beres Hammond, Tinga Stewart, and so many more. We send our deepest respects to Ernest’s family, to Peter Austin, Freddie McGregor and the multitudes of artists who worked with and loved Ernest. Rest in power Sir. Love, Generoso and Lily

Happy Halloween Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends, 

For this, our 25th Annual Bovine Ska Halloween, we started by thinking about the Jamaican myth of Annie Palmer, the White Witch of Rose Hall, which led us to delve deep into the religious and cultural arts of Obeah and Voodoo and how they have been reflected in the island’s music.  We discussed the differences between Obeah and Voodoo, and played some awesome tracks like Leo Graham’s “Voodooism,” which was produced by Scratch, Roy Richards’ 74 track for Coxsone, “Voodoo Man,” and Lone Ranger’s “Obeah Man,” just to name a few.  Have a Happy and Safe Halloween Friends XO Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends,

We started off this week’s show with two sets of classic ska, beginning with a birthday tribute to Yvonne Panton.  We played her cut with her beloved partner, Roy Panton, that they recorded for Prince Buster in 1964, Sing To Me. We followed with a mento set that featured another beautiful cut from The Mapletoft Poulle Orchestra entitled, Farm Worker Man. We did a memorial for the late singer/producer/and record shop owner, Earl Moodie in our reggae set, and our label spotlight was on Geoffrey Chung’s Penetrate imprint. Awesome cuts in that spotlight from Jacob Miller, The Abyssinians, and Pablo Moses.  Have a great week friends! XO Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends,

Back in August, we lost the great Jamaican composer, arranger, trumpet & flugelhorn player, and founder of The Fugitives and The Sattalites, Joseph “Jo Jo” Bennett. As a boy, Jo Jo attended the famed Alpha Boys School and soon became an integral part of the bands, Llans Thelwell And The Celestials and Byron Lee and The Dragonaires, before leading his own group. The Fugitives, who backed up many of the legendary artists on Gayfeet and JJ labels. After moving to Canada in 1967, Jo Jo would become one of the forefathers of the Canadian reggae music scene for the next five decades plus. We honored Jo Jo on this show by playing his work with the aforementioned backing bands, as well as playing his productions on his own Fugitive and Bunjo labels. Rest in power, Jo Jo and thank you. Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Friends,

Like many of you, we woke up on Sunday morning to the terrible news that the great Lee Scratch Perry had passed away. A true genius and spiritual man, we loved Scratch, and so, over the course of the day since hearing the news, we listened to many of our favorite recordings that were created by the man whom Keith Richards once described as the “Salvador Dalí of music.” We then decided to put together many of Scratch’s tracks that we love, and do this show this evening to help us deal with his loss which we know that many of you feel as well. God Bless you Scratch and thank you so very much for sharing your vast talents with us. Rest in power. XOXO Generoso and Lily