Contents - Beth Lesser

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eleased Live at Kilimanjaro (Music Works 1983). Dancehall had come full cycle. Even Coxsone Dodd, who started producing records originally to feed his hungry sound system crowd, allowed RAS Records to put out an LP of Dancehall Style Studio One releases, featuring cuts with Little John, Carlton Livingston, Earl Sixteen and others. While not exactly a live session, the LP was still in the dancehall spirit and showed that dancehall was now the new norm, the new standard for recording. 170 | RUB A DUB STYLE – The Roots of Modern Dancehall
The Sing-jay Style TalenT ShowS In the ‘50s and ‘60s, when sounds were operated, played and deejayed by a lone selector, singers were rarely heard in the dance. Who needed a singer live in the dance when vocals were freely available on records and dubplates? Back in the ‘60s, while deejays could get all the training they needed in the dance, singers typically had to go through the talent show circuit. Amateur talent competitions were a mainstay of Jamaican entertainment. That’s where singers like John Holt started out. Performing in these shows wasn’t easy. According to producer and singer Winston Riley, if the audience didn’t think you were up to par, they would “stone yuh down”. * In the ‘‘50s and ‘60s, the Vere John’s Opportunity Hour provided an opening for new artists to get exposure in front of an audience. That’s where Derrick Morgan got his first exposure, doing his Little Richard imitations. On any given show, he might be competing against Jackie Edwards, Hortense Ellis, Eric Monty Morris, or Owen Gray. “Every Tuesday night,” Pluggy Satchmo explains, “[Vere John] put four singer, four dancer together and you get first and second [prize]. Two pounds for first prize and one pound for second prize – but it run to 15 weeks. So, when you win this week, the first and the second go aside, till he get first and second now, ten of we again. Then he put all the first together and then pick again for ten weeks and then [at] the ending of the 10 weeks, we have about six artists – three dancer and three singer and then we have a big show now. That is the final. He might give you say five pound for first and three for the second prize.” The rule was that after you won, you couldn’t enter again. But you could appear as a guest artist. Many performers regularly did the rounds, appearing on different stages, keeping it up for years. If they had talent, they might be picked up by a producer. If not, they often just kept on trying, gaining invaluable experience and training along the way. Even into the ‘70s, performers like Fredlocks, Gregory Isaacs and Earl 16 used talent shows to get their start performing. Youth Clubs also provided another outlet for young musicians. The Victors Youth Club, at Chocomo Lawn, was one example. Run by future Prime Minister Edward Seaga, the club gave a start to artists like Ken Boothe, Marcia Griffiths, Jimmy Cliff, Delroy Wilson and Stranger Cole. “The Victors train guys to play instruments and sing,” Winston Riley explains. “Anything you * Winston Riley perfects musical ‘Techniques’, Krista Henry, Jamaican Gleaner, May 18, 2008, | 171
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Rub a Dub Style The Roots of Modern
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Rub a Dub Style The Roots of Modern
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Thanks to all those who took the ti
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The Dancehall Explosion 136 Junjo L
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earlier days, before radio and pers
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Sound SySTemS rule From that day on
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on and off the truck and the driver
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about three months after U Roy. The
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‘60s, U Roy wasn’t thinking of
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take the sound to the dance, string
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the current motorcycle craze. A yea
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(1976 Channel One), for example, he
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serious time, a time of struggle. P
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porated Rasta symbols, ideas and mu
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heavy manners”. “In ’75, ’7
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Concrete Jungle Rock * . But the gu
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up this morning and you wonder who
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Tosh, Big Youth, Dennis Brown, Ras
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Sounds of the late ‘70s “Empero
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away from U Roy. King Tubby’s sou
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swer Mi Question’. But the songs
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was trying to sell it for him. I re
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people mind you working on. And if
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The Studio One Revival During the
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ight now’.” * Freddy was a lot
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Ragamuffin heard them deejaying in
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playing the ‘Midnight Attraction
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tion over and the verdict in, the s
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ment - nothing mattered. Channel On
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and the dance. “People like Solji
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Solidarity presented The Big Showdo
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Jah Life Comes to Jamaica I n 1979,
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Bounty Hunter, Shine Eye Gal and En
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Barrington Levy & Jah Thomas “I t
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jah ThomaS When Jah Life and Junjo
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his biggest hit was with a singer,
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Anderson or Ansell Collins on keybo
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group founded by Maurice “Blacka
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1970, was a very experimental jazz-
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Scientist & the Greensleeves Dub Al
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‘Heavyweight Champion’. Now Jun
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Slackness T he media, along with th
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gestive lyrics were nothing new in
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General Echo & Stereophonic A fter
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Chat one!’ The first slackness me
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down uumumma’…..” * All this
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SlaCkneSS on reCord Nancy never rel
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until slackness found its second ch
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utes of soul, disco and funky in be
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about his music. In the beginning,
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team, the main attraction of the so
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Squiddley The story of slackness wo
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Lone Ranger & the Eastern Kingston
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In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s
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school. They went to Beverly’s Re
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other side - and the deejays would
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set going. Traveling frequently gav
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Dready, Studio One owner Coxsone Do
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One Studio and wait on [Jojo’s] c
Page 119 and 120: I dreamed last night I was in the W
Page 121 and 122: artists from the past like The Silv
Page 123 and 124: and he began to operate the new gro
Page 125 and 126: there so we just hang on.” The
Page 127 and 128: drink their coffee and eat then fis
Page 129 and 130: Bredren’ and ‘Dance in Montreal
Page 131 and 132: Yellowman E very successful deejay
Page 133 and 134: woodwork.” In the ‘70s, it was
Page 135 and 136: George Phang recalled that Yellowma
Page 137 and 138: General Brain, Echo Minott, Rappa R
Page 139 and 140: SkaTeland When not playing the regu
Page 141 and 142: Junjo Lawes & Volcano While the gre
Page 143 and 144: him want it. Cause, you know, Junjo
Page 145 and 146: lect them himself from the distribu
Page 147 and 148: know, and I tell him, ‘Listen Toy
Page 149 and 150: 1985, a newly Jheri Curled * Junjo
Page 151 and 152: would stop a few doors down at JC K
Page 153 and 154: and search you. So, you rather send
Page 155 and 156: studio], it just came to me.” Two
Page 157 and 158: “and he wrote a song for me, ‘A
Page 159 and 160: “At that time they call them [12
Page 161 and 162: Frankie Paul A deep, commanding voi
Page 163 and 164: troduced Frankie Paul. “Frankie J
Page 165 and 166: on the radio, for example, he spoke
Page 167 and 168: them man. Them have the real thing
Page 169: Cassettes gave everyone a chance.
Page 173 and 174: after Echo had deejayed and come in
Page 175 and 176: There is a posse in the corner, all
Page 177 and 178: Love’ contains lyrics from ‘Lov
Page 179 and 180: the dancehall. Even singers like Su
Page 181 and 182: U Roy’s King Stur-Gav Sound with
Page 183 and 184: certain large amount of crowd. Ther
Page 185 and 186: would know my voice, my tempo, and
Page 187 and 188: He saw himself as a Wild West drift
Page 189 and 190: ing from. So, it make no sense you
Page 191 and 192: inSpeCTor willie “Selecting a sou
Page 193 and 194: Avenue. So, all the singers would p
Page 195 and 196: tal balance between professionalism
Page 197 and 198: push me a lot”, George recalls. S
Page 199 and 200: were struggling to make ends meet.
Page 201 and 202: comes out and the moon goes in…
Page 203 and 204: to clash two or three times for the
Page 205 and 206: everybody.” * Channel One studio
Page 207 and 208: deejay SpeCialS In the very beginni
Page 209 and 210: Whereas during the ‘70s, specials
Page 211 and 212: Network, or RJR. In 1951, the redif
Page 213 and 214: changed the energy.” Barry G was
Page 215 and 216: like what you hear in the dancehall
Page 217 and 218: Without sound owner Clifton Henry c
Page 219 and 220: Building up material for the local
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to day runnings. Not just anyone, b
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income. “I started to deejay on a
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and he knew that to survive, you ha
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1. King Kong - Don’t Touch My Boo
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falsetto but with much more lung po
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Patcheye, from Studio Mix, after de
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guys them refused.” In the end, i
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Sugar Minott’s Youth Promotion So
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However, when problems arose in the
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he wasn’t recording heavily, at l
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Saw’s first big hit was ‘Pumpki
Page 243 and 244:
The Business Side of Dancehall “F
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had all but maintained them for tho
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tribute creatively to each new rhyt
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and know what is what. Then you sin
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Lick-over Rhythms Already an establ
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We used to mix the rhythm first wit
Page 255 and 256:
The first rhythm Channel One select
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Metromedia Sound with Peter Metro
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from having more mouths than they c
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Soca. Heat in de Place featured Arr
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1. For example, his instructional r
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Arrows the Ambassador In 1985, when
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Leroy Heptone had done - enough peo
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Hall. They used to keep big dance a
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The Ladies “People no like women
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do everything to comfort him. That
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couldn’t go back in the dancehall
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The center was only a couple of blo
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Through you no get me, you wan’ l
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as Ce’Cile, Macka Diamond, Lady S
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sound was a small sound but everyth
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was on top of the world. As reporte
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King Jammy & Sleng Teng “Once Sle
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sound for stage shows. Eventually,
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ket his productions so he wasn’t
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Drum Machines & Preprogrammed Instr
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ca weren’t ready for the sound he
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was a different era,” Jazzbo expl
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maybe make that be the sound of the
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The Digital Dynamic Duo - Steely an
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system and their father had built a
Page 305 and 306:
The music was really grooving.” A
Page 307 and 308:
The Local Style T hroughout the ‘
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‘Jamaica Way’ (Skengdon), while
Page 311 and 312:
Fancy track suit and fancy track sh
Page 313 and 314:
Black Scorpio Sound with General Tr
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the most crowds. Sassa figured that
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ing Jamaican’s in their day to da
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Raggamuffin Year During the second
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dia loved him. ‘Wear Your Size’
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had left school and was a full adul
Page 325 and 326:
This was after having made his name
Page 327 and 328:
Chaka Demus on ‘One Scotch, One B
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song about talking to women on the
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een known worldwide.” Yet, despit
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Promotion dance, and laid to rest a
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All over the island, a Don (Chorus)
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But, for the foundation generation
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about “police in helicopter searc
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club and a guy ask you what you dri
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the LP, Ghetto Red Hot, became a cr
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in the later ‘80s, Stone Love beg
Page 347 and 348:
played * . This modification forced
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tions in St. Catherines and Clarend
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musics played in Jamaica,” Franki
Page 353 and 354:
All the nostalgia for the ‘good o
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think to hurt a deejay or a singer.
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