Generoso and Lily’s Bovine Ska and Rocksteady

Generoso and Lily’s Bovine Ska and Rocksteady: Enid Barnett’s Deltone Label 5-31-16

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The Versatiles bizarre version on Deltone!

Howdy Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Listeners,

The May 31st, 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady  began with a never before played on the show ska single from Justin Hinds and The Dominoes which was released on Treasure Isle in 1965, Zion Higher.  In fact the first two sets of the show were of the ska variety ending with Trial and Crosses from a very young, Lee “Scratch” Perry which was released on Coxsone’s Worldisc label in 1964.  In honor of Memorial Day, we began our weekly mento set with a 1956 MRS recording entitled, Soldier Man, from the seldom played Arthur Knibbs.  I say seldom as even though he was as prolific an artist that existed during mento, finding his recordings has been a real chore but as always we continue to search the racks.  We started the final set of the hour with the Bassies, too pretty for words rocksteady cut on Coxsone in 1967, River Jordan.  When that set ended, with the end of the first hour. we launched right into our spotlight of Enid Barrett’s DELTONE LABEL.

One of the most interesting things about Deltone is the names of two women attached to it. There is solid evidence to believe that Dorothy Barnett owned the label. Meanwhile, there are other claims that Enid Barnett owned the label, which most likely comes from the fact that Enid is credited as the producer of many records on Deltone. From what we can tell, Enid is a relative of Dorothy’s or Dorothy’s producer name, if anyone listening has any thoughts on this, we’d love to hear from you. We do know that Dorothy Barnett had some solid experience in the record industry before she ventured out to create her own label and record shop. She worked as Coxsone Dodd’s secretary, and from her observations of the ins and outs of the record business, she opened up Deltone, the shop and label. The shop, like other legendary ones, had its storefront on Orange street, and as a result, Barnett’s record label had the ability to attract much talent, including Lee Scratch Perry, who would engineer plenty of tracks for Deltone. We kicked off this spotlight in the rocksteady with Some of Them A Bawl from The Pioneers.

Deltone was somewhat of a family business. One of the musicians who saw the greatest success at Deltone was Keeling Beckford, who was Dorothy’s cousin. Also, as a result of Keeling’s presence at the label, Theo Beckford, Keeling’s uncle, would play piano on multiple Deltone tracks. The Versatiles had worked consistently with Joe Gibbs, but they decided to venture out and went over to Deltone. Teardrops Falling, Someone to Love, and Children of Today were engineered by Scratch for Deltone!

XOXO Generoso and Lily

Here is the May 31st, 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady for your listening pleasure….

Generoso and Lily’s Bovine Ska and Rocksteady: Coxsone Dodd’s Sensational Label 5-24-16

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The Jiving Juniors on Sensational!

Howdy Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Listeners,

The night after the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady this week, The Rastafarians played a brilliant set at Dub Club here in LA, that was further enhanced by Scientist, who was manning the boards and spinning the band’s sound into wild beautiful experiments.   We are still a bit tired as their set went very very late which is tough for a Wednesday but who’s complaining.  It was great.

The opening set of the May 24th 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady  was inspired by my good friend Douglas Purdy, who posted Kris Kristofferson’s 1971 classic, Loving Her Was Easier which started a conversation about the famed singer/songwriter and actor.   We wondered if the current generation was even aware of Kristofferson’s huge impact on music during the 1960s and 70s and as a response, I selected a few of my favorite Jamaican versions of his songs including: Ken Parker’s take on Help Me Make It Through The Night which he cut for Treasure Isle in 1972 and Glen Adams interpretation of For The Good Times, released on Straker in 1971.

After the next set of early reggae from 1971-1973, we went to our weekly mento set that started with Count Owen’s Draw Down More from the Rock Steady Calypso record  which was released on Kalypso in 1968.  We then ended the first hour with a long set of Jamaican rhythm and blues to get you ready for this week’s spotlight on the early Coxsone Dodd imprint, SENSATIONAL.  The set of rhythm and blues began with the very first recording by famed vocalist Gene Rondo, who cut a two sides for the Magico label in 1960.   We played his track with Roy entitled Little Queenie.   We followed that with a rare cut from the famed duo of Joe Higgs and Roy who cut the early rude boy tune,  Gun Talk for Luxor in 1961.   When the set was over, we started the second hour with our spotlight on The Sensational Label…

We’ve been focusing quite a bit on reggae labels recently, and for this week’s show, we thought we should go back in time and genre to the Jamaican Rhythm & Blues.  This early style had plenty of smaller producers such as BSR favorites Charlie Moo and Simeon Smith, but the era was dominated by Coxsone Dodd.  The man of the Downbeat Sound System, Clement Seymour Dodd received the nickname Coxsone from the sport of cricket, far from the world of music where he would make his name. As a young man, he was a strong cricket player, and for that he was given the nickname “Coxsone” after Alec Coxon, a member of the Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

Dodd had many imprints that released R&B tracks, and Sensational was one of them. It’s a special one because there was a lot variety in sounds here, with the short life of the label including multiple backing groups and distinct arrangements. And to begin the spotlight, we’ll start off from a group that epitomized the R&B sound, The Jiving Juniors.  In these early days of Coxsone productions, two of the backing bands he relied on a great deal were  Rolando Alphonso and his Alley Cats and Hersang & the City Slickers.

We hope that you enjoy the show.  Here is the May 24th, 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady:

 

Generoso and Lily’s Bovine Ska and Rocksteady: Baba Brooks’ Double B Label 5-17-16

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Barbara Jones cut her first tune for Double B!

How’s it going, Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Listeners!

Lily and I were super excited after dancing to a fantastic set of original reggae and ska from David Hillyard and The Rocksteady Seven at La Cita on Friday night that we went home at 1AM and began pulling a massive Bovine Ska and Rocksteady for May 17th! Sure, we were a bit danced out, but we still grabbed some killer tracks for you, beginning with two sets of ska which started with Lee “Scratch” Perry’s anti-Prince Buster tune for the N&D Label in 1963, Don’t Copy!  Our second set of ska began with a version to version of Count Ossie and The Upsetters’ ( the vocal group, not the Lee Perry backing band) Studio One gem, Turn Me On, which was followed by the version from Rolando Alphonso, also on Studio One in 1965, Tall In The Saddle. 

A mento set followed with Percy Dixon and His Merry Boys leading the way with their version of the naughty, Ben o Dict.  We ended the first hour with rocksteady to get you in the mood for the DOUBLE B Label spotlight.  Part of that rocksteady set had a tune  from beautiful voice of Ken Parker, from the DOUBLE D Label which has nothing to do with your spotlight label, DOUBLE B, called The Search Is Over from 1968.  Yes, we did that just to confuse you.  Soon, we were off to do the DOUBLE B Label spotlight! Major props to Lily for doing the research on this one as there is very little known about this small, but vital label.

The Double B label existed from 1972 to 1975, and all of the records were produced in Jamaica and based on the early releases and the name of the label, we have reason to believe that the owner of the label was Baba Brooks.  Baba Brooks produced the debut single for Double D, and then most of the remaining productions were created by vocalist Glen Lee.  We began the label spotlight, with Barbara Jones’s Sad Movies, followed by Sir Harry’s version of the track, both produced by Baba Brooks. Sad Movies is a cover of Sue Thompson’s track of the same name from 1961, which went to #5 on the American Billboard charts. Sad Movies is also Barbara Jones’s debut recording.

As mentioned in the introduction, Glen Lee was both a vocalist and a producer. He recorded as a singer for Double B as he produced other artists. In the early 70s, he would gain further notability as a producer for his work with George Faith. And Glen Lee’s recording studio was not too far from Lee Scratch Perry’s record shop, and this proximity would facilitate the beginning of Lee Scratch Perry’s collaboration with George Faith.  We hope you enjoy the spotlight!

For news on the upcoming spotlights and fun discoveries tied to early Jamaican music, join the group for the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady on Facebook.

XO
Lily and Generoso

Here is the May 17th, 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Radio Show.  Please share!

Generoso and Lily’s Bovine Ska and Rocksteady: Pete Weston’s Advance Label 5-10-16

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Alton Peanuts Davis 1972 Cut On Advance

Howdy Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Listeners,

A lovely week of weather and good eating lead into the festive May 10th, 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady so we decided to do a deep and extended spotlight on Pete Weston’s wonderful, reggaerific ADVANCE LABEL which features top tune from Junior Byles, Alton Ellis, Shorty The President, Ken Boothe and many more. The spotlight, as always, begins in the middle of the show!

The show began with two sets of ska, beginning with Eric Monty Morris’s forthright tune for Duke Reid from 1964, Drop Your Sword!  Prince Buster and Hazel followed with World Peace, a top cut on Buster’s own Voice Of The People label from 1963.   Sammy and the Drumbago Band was next with You’ve Been Drunk which was originally released on Count John The Lion in 1963 and we ended that first set with the Spanishtown Ska Beats and King Solomon from 1964.   The mento set started with a track never before played on The Bovine Ska, a mento from the Chin’s label entitled, Not Guilty, which is amazing considering we have been doing a mento set for almost fifteen years!  A long rocksteady set was next and that began with a cool one from the vocal group, The Lyrics on Coxsone’s Studio One, called A Get It from 1966.  That set ended with a Tommy McCook instrumental released on Sure Shot in 1967, Soul For Sale.  We then got into the special one hour spotlight on the ADVANCE LABEL.

We do not know a ton about the Advance label, but we do know that it was a subsidiary of Micron Music, which was owned by Michael Johnston, Ronnie Burke, and Pete Weston. Michael Johnston and Ronnie Burke were roommates at Jamaica College who loved jazz, and the two founded Micron Music together. They soon brought Pete Weston on board, with Pete adding his production gift to Johnston and Burke’s distribution and promotion sensibilities. Pete Weston entered the world of production when he approached Herman Chin Loy. At the time, Pete wanted to leave his work in the insurance industry to become a producer, and Herman Chin Loy took him in, allowing him to work on Chin Loy’s projects. Quickly, Weston established himself as a strong producer, and he headed over to Micron Music. It is unclear when the Advance imprint opened up, but it must have been shortly after the creation of Micron and Pete Weston’s arrival because Weston’s productions dominate the releases. However, the label had some flexibility with production, and as a result, a variety of artists and producers released a handful of tracks for the imprint.

Scouty Whyte was one of these producers, recording one of Advance’s earliest releases in 1971, Ken Boothe’s Make Me Feel Alright, which is the track that kicked off the spotlight. As a producer, Pete Weston attracted quite a bit of talent to Advance, and one of the major artists was Lee Scratch Perry. Their collaboration was solidified in 1975, and Scratch would distribute records through Micron, and he would also collaborate with Pete as a producer and as an engineer on the Advance label.

For news on the upcoming spotlights and fun discoveries tied to early Jamaican music, join the group for the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady on Facebook.

XO
Lily and Generoso

Here is the May 10th, 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Radio Show.  Please share!

Generoso and Lily’s Bovine Ska and Rocksteady: Lord Tanamo Memorial And A Sugar Label Spotlight 4-26-16

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1970 Classic From Richard Ace On Sugar


Howdy Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Listeners,

For those who love music like we do, this last week has been a tough one to take.  On April 21st, Prince and Lonnie Mack passed away.  Two days later Philly soul legend Billy Paul also passed at the age of 82 and a few days before them all, the great vocalist, Lord Tanamo died at the same age of 82 as Billy Paul.  A sad week indeed.

Lord Tanamo was born Joseph Abraham Gordon and was raised in Denham Town in Kingston. He began singing mento on the street and then in hotels with Cecil Lawes, a rhumba box player but eventually Tanamo would cut great mentos at Caribou. With ska quickly becoming the island’s national rhythm, Tanamo, along with Doreen Shaffer and Jackie Opel, would eventually become one of the main singers of The Skatalites.  In fact it was Tanamo himself who gave the band their name as he would proudly tell me himself whenever we met.

I first met Tanamo back in 1998, when The Allstonians, who did a great job his backing band at the time, graciously brought him down to WMBR where I got a chance to interview him.  I would chat with him on a few occasions after that over the years.  A great singer and performer. He will be very missed by many.  

Before the April 26th, 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady, Melanie Gordon, the daughter of Lord Tanamo, kindly asked me to read the following statement before our tribute on our program:

Speaking on behalf of my family ..we would love to pass our heartfelt appreciation and thanks to you and your listeners for their tributes and kind words.  We celebrate with joy, dads music forever.

We honored Lord Tanamo by opening our show with four of our favorite tracks that he sang on. Three amazing skas:  You’ll Never Know (caribou-1965) , If You Were Only Mine (caribou-1965) , and Come Down (SEP-1965) and a superb mento, Little Fist (caribou-1955).  R.I.P. Tanamo.  Thank you for all you did.

Anglo-Indian Charles Ross as a producer in Jamaica, Charley Ross was best known for his rocksteady productions from his Flame label and from the records that were distributed in England on the Blue Cat label, a subsidiary of Trojan. Given Ross’ reach to England, it is no surprise that he would continue to work with labels there, and in 1969, the Sugar label, a subsidiary of Pye Records, the label responsible for releases from Lonnie Donegan, The Kinks, and Petula Clark, opened, and Ross was named as the production director of the label.

Ross would produce the records in Jamaica, and Pye Records would press and distribute the records in the UK and then Bell Records would distribute them in the U.S. For reasons unclear, this deal with Pye somewhat came to a close, and Sugar was then under the supervision and control of Decca. Hoping that Sugar would be Decca’s definitive reggae arm, the label giant became disappointed in the very short lived output of the label, and Sugar’s last record would be released in 1970.  

Sadly, that was the last the music world heard from Charley Ross, and it’s such a shame because his productions were recorded exceptionally well. We kicked off this spotlight with the beautiful vocals of Joe White and My Guiding Star from 1969.

Sugar released two full-length LPs in its final year: Claude Sang’s World of Reggae Volume One and Charles Ross Reggae Combo’s World of Reggae Volume Two.  The Two  Zorro Five tracks that we played on the spotlight before our favorite cut from Sugar were supposed to be released on Sugar toward the end of the label, but given its mysterious termination, the Zorro Five singles were transferred to Decca.

For news on the upcoming spotlights and fun discoveries tied to early Jamaican music, join the group for the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady on Facebook.

XOXO,
Lily and Generoso

Here is our April 26th, 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady which featured the Lord Tanamo Memorial and spotlight on the Sugar Label:

Generoso and Lily’s Bovine Ska and Rocksteady: Vincent Chin’s Pat’s Label 4-19-16

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A Killer Ska From Alton Ellis On Pat’s

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Listeners,

As our Pat’s Label spotlight was a mix of hot ska and early reggae, we decided to start the April 19th, 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady with some smooth, pretty rocksteady…Two  sets worth actually, beginning with Dandy Livingstone and Play It Cool from his 1967 LP release on Giant, Rock Steady With Dandy.

A mento set followed the rocksteady sets which had a wonderful tune from The Jamaican Calypsonians on Times Record entitled, Donkey City and for the final set of the hour, we have you a fierce set of ska beginning with the Buster’s All Stars and their TV inspired song, The Fugitive which came out of Voice Of The People in 1965.  After that set, we went full force into the Pat’s Label spotlight.

In terms of dynasties in Jamaican music, there is no family more prolific than the Chins. Born in Kingston, Vincent “Randy” Chin got started in the music industry working for Isaac Issa, who owned jukeboxes across the island. Vincent would rotate in new records and remove older ones from the jukeboxes. With this job, the old records were discarded, and knowing that these records, while not the newest should not be wasted, Vincent accumulated them, creating the starting inventory for the Randy’s Record Mart when it opened in Kingston in 1958.

First, Vincent recorded and produced artists in Jamaican Rhythm and Blues in the early sixties for his Randy’s label, seeing success with Lord Creator and Bunny and Skitter and by 1962, Vincent and Patricia, his wife and business partner, built the formal recording studio known as Studio 17, which would see the talents of everyone from The Skatalites to John Holt to Lee Scratch Perry to Bob Marley as the studio progressed.  Besides the signature Randy’s label, during the early sixties, the Chins also created Pat’s Record as an imprint, which is the subject of our record spotlight tonight. Absolutely named after his wife, Vincent would take the helm of producing the tracks released on Pat’s Record.

While Vincent did produce the recordings, this spotlight would not be right without discussing the role of the lovely Miss Pat, the inspiration for Pat’s Record, in the Chin family music career. Pat was seminal in the creation of a one-stop record store in Kingston while Randy’s Record Mart did of course sell in house productions, it also sold the records of other producers, and those distribution deals were created by Miss Pat.

For news on the upcoming spotlights and fun discoveries tied to early Jamaican music, join the group for the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady on Facebook.

XOXO,
Lily and Generoso

You can listen to our April 19th, 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady with our spotlight on the Pat’s label here:

Generoso and Lily’s Bovine Ska and Rocksteady: Keith Hudson’s Inbidimts Label 4-12-16

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Dennis Alcapone’s I’m Rocking On Imbidimts

Welcome Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Listeners,

The Tuesday, April 12th edition of Generoso and Lily’s Bovine Ska and Rocksteady began with a hearty tribute to Toots and the occasion that he will be on tour again this summer after a three year hiatus due to the jerk who hit him with a bottle for no reason whatsoever.  We have always loved Toots and have honored him multiple time during the twenty years of the radio show but this time means something more so we started off the beautiful cut that he and the Maytals recorded in 1964 for Coxsone, Heaven Declare.  We stayed on the ska for the first two sets of the show with a highlight being BB Seaton as Bibby with The Astronauts on the Astronaut label from 1964 and Wicked Men.

For our mento set, we began with one of the many tunes featuring a mento band attached to a Jamaican hotel, which was the thing back in the day.  Here we have the Montego Beach Hotel Calypsonians on the (you guessed it) Montego Beach Hotel Gift Shop Label and the song, Red Head, from 1959.   Thanks as always to Mike from mentomusic.com for the information on many of the mento cuts we play on the show.  An invaluable resource for us over the years on the Bovine Ska.

The final set of the first hour started with a version to version of Lloyd Young’s killer reggae from 1972 on Shalimar, Butter and Bread which we followed with The Shalimar All Stars and Bread and Butter.  After a few more early reggae cuts, we launched into our spotlight of Keith Hudson’s IMDIBIMTS LABEL!

Often referred to as the Dark Prince of Reggae, Keith Hudson is an amazing figure in Jamaican music.  He attended the Boys Town School in Kingston and frequented Coxsone’s Downbeat sound system constantly which would lead to also hanging around Coxsone’s studio musicians, carrying Don Drummond’s trombone to recording sessions. As a teenager, Hudson became very well known for his sense of style and his pragmatic sensibilities when it came to his music

First, Hudson was a newspaper salesman, and afterwards, he became a dental technician, specializing in fitting dentures, and from this work, he used his earnings to fund his first record label, Imbidimits, named for the patois word for dental embedments. Imbidimits featured plenty of stars, including John Holt, who recorded for Keith Hudson in 1969, and who will kick off the spotlight with “Never Will Hurt My Baby”

Zap Pow were a Jamaican reggae band, whose members have included guitarist Dwight Pinkney, singer Beres Hammond and trumpeter David Madden. They existed from 1969 to 1979.   In terms of great talents at Imbidimits, the house band for the label was Soul Syndicate, who Hudson somewhat strongarmed into working with. Hudson’s muscle, Derrick Stamma Hobson, was sent to convince the group to record for Imbidimits, and though that almost led to a violent confrontation, Hudson reassured the group that he was simply a fan of the group and would like to work with them

Ken Boothe’s Old Fashioned Way put Keith Hudson on the map as a producer and after that, his collaboration with Dennis Alcapone would launch Alcapone’s career.  Speaking of deejays, Hudson would also be integral in the rise of Big Youth, who recorded S90 Skank for the Imbidimts label which had the rhythm of Keith Hudson’s own We Will Make.

Trojan’s imprint Green Door would distribute Hudson productions. By the mid 70s, Hudson stopped producing and transitioned into a career as a singer. He moved to London then New York, where he signed a deal with Virgin records, who hoped he would be the next Bob Marley. Always trying to record something new, Hudson was always trying out something. It’s such a sin that he was diagnosed with lung cancer in August 1984 and passed only three months later. He was an enormous talent

For news on the upcoming spotlights and fun discoveries tied to early Jamaican music, join the group for the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady on Facebook.

XOXO,
Lily and Generoso

You can listen to our April 12th, 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady and our tribute to Keith Hudson’s Imbidimts label right here, right now!

Generoso and Lily’s Bovine Ska and Rocksteady: Jimmy Riley Memorial Show 3-29-16

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R.I.P. Jimmy Riley

It is with sadness that we must share the new that Jimmy Riley passed away on March 23 from bone cancer at the age of 61.

Jimmy Riley is a chameleon of music. As a singer, he performed with the Uniques and the Sensations prior to becoming a solo artist, and additionally he emerged as a producer as reggae grew. Furthermore, he is also the father of the noted musician Tarrus Riley. Jimmy will be remembered as a fine singer, a talented producer, a caring father, and a dedicated mentor to musicians. We are so very sad to hear of his passing, and tonight, we will spotlight each facet of Jimmy Riley’s career. We send much respect to his family and all who worked with him.

To start off, we will began with recordings from the group that he helped form: The Sensations. Jimmy Riley went to school at Kingston Senior High School with Slim Smith, and he very much wanted to be a member of the Slim’s group, The Techniques, but the group already had four members, so adding a fifth did not make sense, even though Jimmy did his best to join the band, helping to carry clothes to and from shows and rehearsing with them as well. As a result, Jimmy formed the Sensations with Cornell Campbell, Aaron Davis, and Buster Riley, creating a group that had great talent in their own right. The quartet auditioned for Gladdy Anderson at Treasure Isle and were accepted on the spot. King Sporty came by the studio and brought Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers’, “Juvenile Delinquent,” and the Sensations began to rehearse their own version of it. The group’s version of that iconic track was their first recording, and they saw success with it at the dances in Jamaica. Next, we’ll hear The Sensations’ “Juvenile Delinquent,” the track that marks the strong beginning of Jimmy Riley’s career as a recording artist.

After the Techniques disbanded, Slim Smith founded the Uniques with Franklyn White and Roy Shirley. That first version of the Uniques separated after their early recordings failed to take off, and Slim took some time to record as a soloist. Well, the Sensations would disband during this time, and upon this, Jimmy reunited with Slim Smith along with Jackie Parris and Lloyd Charmers as a vocalist for the second version of the Uniques. The Uniques saw great success, defeating Bob Marley and Wailers to win the Battle of the Groups at the Ward Theater. We’ll heard Jimmy Riley with the Uniques next. “Lesson of Love” was written by Jimmy Riley.

After the Uniques split up, Jimmy Riley began to record as a soloist, first for Bunny Lee. Born as Martin James Norman Riley, Jimmy is credited as a recording artist and a producer as either Martin or Jimmy Riley. While most know Jimmy as a soloist for his track, “Love and Devotion,” which he recorded for Sly and Robbie, his early solo works are excellent, and you’ll hear them next.

As a producer, Jimmy Riley created his own labels, which included PEE, the subject of one of our label spotlights, along with Yes and Full Moon later in reggae. Plenty of his productions also made their way to England, to be distributed by some of our favorite English imprints. To kick off this hour of Jimmy Riley productions, we’ll start of with three tracks from the mighty PEE label.

For a younger generation, many know Jimmy as the father of Tarrus Riley, and the two of them would often perform as a duo, including most recently at Central Park’s Summer stage last year. We send much respect and many condolences to Tarrus.

For news on the upcoming spotlights and fun discoveries tied to early Jamaican music, join the group for the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady on Facebook.

XOXO,
Lily and Generoso

Here is our March 29th, 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Jimmy Riley Memorial Radio Show

Generoso and Lily’s Bovine Ska and Rocksteady: Tribute To Jamaican Women Vocalists 3-15-16

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One Of The Prettiest Skas From Doreen Shaffer

Howdy Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Listeners,

Per the request of our longtime listener Melody,  we decided to dedicate the entirety of the March 15th, 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady  to our favorite women vocalists in Jamaican music history.  We started that show with a long set of the male/female duets that were quite popular during the Jamaican rhythm and blues era.

  1. In 1956, “Let the Good Times Roll” from American duo Shirley & Lee hit the number spot on the US R&B charts. Given the fact that at that time, American music was still very much prominent on Jamaican radio and at sound systems, the male-female duo started emerging in Jamaican Rhythm & Blues, pulling female voices into the foreground more than ever before. The duos succeeded and included:  
    1. Keith & Enid were Keith Stewart and Enid Cumberland, and they were one of the first duos to see chart success, scoring a #1 single in 1960.
    2. Derrick and Patsy’s “Love not to brag,” which was inspired by Eric Monty Morris, who was better off than Derrick’s family and may have had the tendency to brag about the things he had.
      1. Patsy Todd
        1. Born in West Kingston, Patsy grew up adoring Frankie Lymon, so much so that her dream was to marry him. When Patsy ended up leaving school at the age of 14, Derrick Morgan approached her to sing on a record a duet with him on a tip from Patsy’s mother, who had approached Derrick and told him that Patsy had a great voice. And that help from her mom started a successful duet that began with “Love Not To Brag, Love Not To Boast,” a hit for Duke Reid’s Dutchess label. Patsy also collaborated with Stranger Cole; then in the late 60s, she moved to America, giving up on the music industry, and worked as a hospital secretary for three decades, only to return to music in more recent years with retro shows.
  2. Millie Small
    1. Millie Small is the first Jamaican female singer to achieve international success with her cover of Barbie Gaye’s “My Boy Lollipop,” which introduced a much wider audience to ska. But before that enormous hit, she got her start at Vere Johns Opportunity Hour, winning the contest at the young age of twelve. In her early recording career, she recorded in duos, including the track you just heard from Millie and Roy Panton, “We’ll Meet,” which was a hit in Jamaica.
  3. The Soulettes
    1. The Soulettes were Rita Marley, her cousin Constantine Walker, and Rita’s school friend Marlene Gifford. One day, Rita heard that the Wailers walked by her house, and the Soulettes approached them and sang a quick song, which Peter Tosh reacted to and consequently invited them to record at Studio One, where Bob was auditioning singers at the time and gave the trio their name.   
  4. Doreen Schaffer
    1. Doreen got her start at Studio One, and was one of the original four singers for The Skatalites and the singing partner of Jackie Opel.
  5. Phyllis Dillon
    1. Born in Linstead, Phyllis began her musical career performing with the Vulcans as a young singer, and when the group played at the Glass Bucket Club in Kingston, she caught the eye of Lynn Taitt, who brought her over to Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle. In 1967, Phyllis moved to New York, but she would continue to fly back to Jamaica to record for Duke Reid.  
  6. The Gaylettes
    1. The Gaylettes were originally Judy Mowatt, Merle Clemenson, and Dawn Hanchard. The earliest tracks of the original group were not successful, so Judy Mowatt returned to dancing, which was actually her original desired career path, and The Gaylettes went on hiatus. While dancing with a group in Kingston and selling products for the Colgate-Palmolive Company to survive, Judy met Beryl Lawson. While rehearsing a dance routine at the Baby Grand Club, Judy and Beryl began to sing together, and upon realizing their ability to harmonize together, Judy called over Merle Clemenson, forming a trio that would become the next incarnation of The Gaylettes.  
  7. Marcia Griffiths
    1. As a teenager, like so many of Jamaica’s great voices, Marcia Griffiths’ passion for singing began as a member of the church choir. However, her singing at home would launch her career. Philip James of the Blues Busters heard Marcia’s voice next door when he went to visit his girlfriend, and he immediately brought her over to Byron Lee and insisted that she be a part of the line up for an upcoming talent show at the Carib Theater on Easter Sunday. Though skeptical, Byron Lee included her in the show, where Marcia’s cover of Carol Thomas’s “No Time to Lose” caught the attention of Ronnie Nasralla, who brought her over to JBC that same evening to perform on television.
  8. Ebony Sisters
    1. Originally a gospel group who recorded for Coxone Dodd’s Tabernacle label as the Soul Sisters, the group would also record as the Reggae Girls before becoming the Ebony Sisters. As the Ebony Sisters, they recorded for Harry Mudie and Bunny Lee. During their career, they would also join forces with I Roy and Ralph Haughton.
  9. Nora Dean
    1. One of the most creative and daring of singers, Nora Dean recorded in many forms. As a solo artist, she recorded for the big producers in Jamaica including Coxone Dodd, Duke Reid, Lee Perry, and Bunny Lee. She was also a member of The Ebony Sisters, The Soul Sisters, and The Soulettes.
  10. Hortense Ellis
    1. Hortense Ellis, like many of the great Jamaican artists, got her start on the Vere Johns Opportunity Talent Show, entering her first contest at 18 and making it to the final round four times. As the sister of Alton Ellis, Hortense did get a bit overshadowed by her brother, but she did see success with her talent, winning the silver cup as Jamaica’s Best Female Vocalist in 1964 and 1969. She toured with Byron Lee and the Dragonaires in the 60s and recorded with the major producers in Jamaica, including Duke Reid, Coxone Dodd, and Ken Lack.
  11. Cynthia Schloss
    1. The wife of Winston Blake, Cynthia got her start in 1972 when her friends from work at the Jamaica Telephone Company tricked her into auditioning for the Merritone talent series. She caught Blake’s attention, and he produced and released her record Ready and Waiting, which was a success for her and the Merritone Music label.

Other key female figures

  1. Sonia Pottinger
    1. Sonia was one of the most powerful women in the Jamaican music industry, for she was the first female record producer and label owner. She and her husband first recorded artists and sold records from their home, and after the two split up, she built a pressing plant and recording studio behind the record store.
  2. Janet Enright
    1. Janet Enright got an early start in music, performing as a guitarist for the prime minister and Louise Bennet as a teenager. She joined the Eric Deans Orchestra at the age of fourteen. Here, she befriended Don Drummond and Wilton Gaynair, and she would join them as a member of Wilton Gaynair and the All-Stars. When Janet formed her own band, she performed for American artists who visited Jamaica.
  3. Doris Darlington
    1. Coxone Dodd’s mom and the first female sound system operator
    2. When Coxone was traveling to buy records, Doris would setup dances and select  records for the Downbeat soundsystem. She also sold Studio One records at her shop, Music Land, providing a store front in Spanishtown to sell records.

For news on the upcoming spotlights and fun discoveries tied to early Jamaican music, join the group for the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady on Facebook.

XOXO,
Lily and Generoso

Here is our March 15th, 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady tribute to Jamaican women vocalists:

 

Generoso and Lily’s Bovine Ska and Rocksteady: Rupie Edward’s Opportunity Label 3-8-16

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Opportunity Label A

Hot Reggae Cut From Joe White On Opportunity

Hello Bovine Ska and Rocksteady Listeners,

We started off the March 8th, 2016 Bovine Ska and Rocksteady with two sets of uplifiting ska to counterbalance the reggae heavy OPPORTUNITY LABEL spotlight that starts midway through the program.  We kicked off the ska with a rollicking Derrick Morgan cut from 1965 which was released in England on Blue Beat entitled, Baby Face.  A mento set followed the opening two sets of ska and had as part of it one of our favorite golden age mentos, Chamboline by Lord Power.  We ended the first hour of the show with a set of early 1970s reggae to put you in the mood for the reggae of the Opportunity Label beginning with Errol Dunley’s 1973 track for the African Museum Label, Movie Star. We then went into the Opportunity Label spotlight…

Here on the Bovine Ska, we adore Rupie Edwards. We underscored his well known Success label a few months ago, and on one of our search excursions, we saw the sweet label art of Opportunity, and we knew we had to spotlight this label, which has some excellent Rupie reggae on it.

Born in Goshen, St Ann’s Parish but raised in St. Catherine, Rupie Edwards had a very early start in music. As a child, Rupie learned about music in school by his teacher’s lessons where she would tap a melody and the class would have to recognize it. By the age of 7, Rupie had a band with his classmates. As his bandmates played tin cans, drums, and comb kazoos, Rupie played the bamboo pipe, and at the age of 13, he moved to Kingston with his mother, arriving to a growing, thriving music scene.

After attending Kingston Senior School for two years, Rupie focused on his music career at the young age of 15, first recording for Simeon Smith and his Hi-Lite label. The tracks did not take off his recording career, so Rupie pragmatically became a mechanic who repaired cars, and one of his jobs included Coxsone Dodd’s own Buick.

During his time as a mechanic, Rupie did not give up music. He recorded with the Virtues, receiving his first production credit in 1966 for their track, “Burning Love,” but by 1968, the group split up. That same year, Rupie was able to open up his Success record store, where he hired Bob Andy to run the store, since Rupie still needed to be a mechanic for a bit in order to finance the shop. But ultimately, the music industry always beckoned him, and Rupie took the record shop as his full time job, focusing on his work as a producer and record label owner, releasing his productions on both Success and our label of tonight, Opportunity.  

Gregory Isaacs introduced Errol Dunkley to Rupie Edwards, and we are thankful for that because Dunkley’s tracks for Rupie are just too good.

In his excellent biography, Some People Rupie hypothesizes that his own fascination with versions may have come from the fact that when he was a child, he learned God Save Our Gracious King and sang it in school. Then, when King George passed and Queen Elizabeth took over, the children all had to sing God Save Our Gracious Queen, giving Rupie a primer on how to change parts of songs while keeping the same melody, a technique he would most certainly utilize for his excellent versions on Opportunity.

For news on the upcoming spotlights and fun discoveries tied to early Jamaican music, join the group for the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady on Facebook.

XOXO,
Lily and Generoso