Happy Holidays Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Listeners!

As we did our 21st Annual Jamaican Christmas show last week, we decided this week to steer clear of Christmas songs (well, not really), and give you a spotlight midway through our show of Sonia Pottinger’s magnificent gospel label, GLORY! During this spotlight you will hear beautiful songs of faith and devotion recorded from 1966-1975 sung by Claudelle, Clarke, Reuben Anderson, and Otis Wright and many more! Before the Glory Label spotlight we started off our show with two sets of mid-tempo ska and rocksteady, an uptown mento set, and a long set of JA rhythm and blues. PLEASE SHARE our show where you see fit! We’ll be back next week with our special New Year’s Show! Have a happy and safe holiday season! XO Generoso and Lily

Merry Christmas Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Listeners,

For the 21st year in a row, we celebrate the holiday season on the Bovine Ska, the only way we know how.. by playing wonderful Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and this year, some Jonkonnu songs as well. You’ll hear classic holiday carols done by The Gaylads, Jackie Mittoo, and Barry Biggs, as well as original holiday songs written by the likes of Trinity, Hopeton Lewis, and Prince Buster to get you in the season spirit.! We want to wish you a jolly and safe holiday season with those you love! PLEASE ADD THIS SHOW TO YOUR PLAYLIST ON MIXCLOUD or SHARE IT ON FACEBOOK. XO, Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Listeners,

We have a bouncy show for you this week beginning with two sets of mid-tempo ska/rocksteady from 1967, and we know what you’re thinking, isn’t 1967 a bit late for ska? The answer is, no, not this week! We have a grand mento set for you, beginning with a Lord Tanamo cut we have never played before, and then we went into a pretty set of reggae that was selected by Lily that features an amazing version of Al Wilson’s soul hit, Show and Tell, done beautifully by Horace Andy! Our spotlight is on Sam Mitchell’s reggaetastic, Mitchie’s Label which features fantastic cuts from Roy Shirley, Boris Gardiner, Noel Bunny Brown and Ernest Wilson! PLEASE SHARE our show where you see fit! Next week is our 21st annual Christmas in Jamaica Show! XO Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Listeners,

We hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend 🙂 Lily and I spent the time pulling top tunes for this week’s Bovine Ska, including some amazing reggae cuts from Dennis Brown, Jimmy Riley, John Holt and Freddie McKay for our spotlight on Eddie Wong’s DOWN TOWN LABEL which starts about an hour into our program. We started off the show with some rare ska, including a mid-tempo ska by The Sensations that we have never played on this show before. We then eased into mento, and then we ended the first hour with smooth rocksteady before you get the superb Down Town label cuts! PLEASE add our show to your playlist here on Mixcloud and share it wherever you see fit. We’ll be back next Tuesday as always! XO Generoso and Lily

Happy Thanksgiving Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Listeners,

This is our 21st Thanksgiving celebration here on The Bovine Ska and Rocksteady, but this extra special this year for us as you successfully funded our Kickstarter which will go into Lily and I purchasing a new mixer and microphones to improve the audio quality of our show! We send you our deepest thanks for this and in honor of your efforts we sent a shout out and a special dedication to each person who kindly donated to our Kickstarter, and a thank you to all who spread the word too! On this special show, you will hear Jamaican songs of thanks like like Roy Shirley’s 1967 rocksteady classic for Bunny Lee, “Thank You,” Derrick Morgan’s 1971 cut for his own Hop Label, “Give Thanks,” and Bunny Clarke’s 1975 reggae cover of the William DeVaughn track, “Be Thankful For What You Got” called “Be Thankful,” and many more! Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving! XO Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Listeners,
We dedicate this week’s Bovine Ska to a lovely man and a true lover of cinema, David Pendleton, who passed away last week after suffering from colon cancer at the age 52. In honor of David, we have selected an hour of beautiful and fun Jamaican covers of songs and soundtracks from the films of the 50s, 60s, and 70s to begin our show. Don D Junior’s 1969 reggae version of the theme from Marcel Camus’ Black Orpheus, Roland Alphonso’s 1967 rocksteady take on the soundtrack of the Stanley Donen film, Charade, and many more which will hope will honor David’s memory in a way that he would’ve enjoyed as he loved Jamaican music. Rest in peace David.

This week’s label spotlight is on Ruddy Redwood’s short-lived reggae imprint (1969-72), SRS Supreme Ruler of Sound. Through SRS,, you will hear superb cuts from from Tommy McCook, Dennis Walks, and Winston Wright. XO Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady listeners,
We started off this week’s Bovine Ska with two sets of rare rare ska, beginning with the Maytals 1966 cut for Ronnie Nasralla’s Gala Label, “Please Don’t Leave Me.” We then jumped into our mento set, and then a long set of cool rocksteady, which included Jeanette Simpson’s beautiful 1968 song, “The Rain.” before giving you the reggae sounds of Joe Gibbs and Lee “Scratch” Perry’s short-lived but significant, REFLECTIONS LABEL. We think you’ll like this spotlight of inventively produced cuts from 1973-75 from Nicky Thomas, Gregory Issacs, Jacob Miller and Time Unlimited! We’ll be back next week as always. XO Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady listeners,
We were deeply saddened last Tuesday when we heard that Antoine “Fats” Domino had passed away at the age of 89. An amazing talent, Fats Domino sold more than 65 million records during his brilliant career! In the1950s, Jamaican soundsystem operators would take trips to the southern United States to acquire the hottest American rhythm and blues records they could find for their dances. Beginning in the early 60s, the Jamaican artists from Eric Monty Morris to Prince Buster to Derrick Morgan would emulate Fats Domino’s songs on the records they would cut. On our show this week, you will hear the Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae covers of the songs that Fats made popular all over the world. Rest in peace Fats and thank you.

Happy Halloween Bovine Ska and Rocksteady listeners!

We love Halloween here at the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady and since 1996 we have celebrated All Hallows’ Eve by playing the spookiest early Jamaican cuts ever! This year we have a long tribute to everyone’s favorite gothic horror soap opera, Dark Shadows! Wonderful cuts will follow from King Horror, Ansel Collins, The Crystalites and of course The Upsetters! Backing us are the scary disco sounds of The Sins of Satan! We dedicate this year’s show to the brilliant masters of horror who left us this year: George A. Romero, Tobe Hooper, and Umberto Lenzi, Please add our show to your playlist here on Mixcloud and share it wherever you see fit. We’ll be back next week as always! Happy Halloween! XO Generoso and Lily

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady listeners!
First, we just wanted to thank everyone who wished Generoso and Happy Birthday last week. This week, it’s back to the our normal format as we begin with two sets of ska, starting with a wonderful mid-tempo ska from Studio One in 1966 with The Ethiopians doing “Love and Pity.” After the two sets of ska, we put on a bouncy mento set starting with The Wrigglers from 1958 and “Boo Boo Man.” A long set of rocksteady followed, and then our label spotlight of Errol Dunkley’s Silver Ring Label with top reggaes from 1972-75 from King Smiley, Vin Gordon, and Dunkley himself! Please add our show to your playlist here on Mixcloud and share it wherever you see fit. We’ll be back next week with Generoso’s birthday show. XO Generoso and Lily