Jamaica Reggae
2011
A Bit Of Reggae History
Reggae music has quickly flooded into mainstream music, and it’s become a passion of mine as well.
Reggae was created in Jamaica, only about 50 years ago, and it was developed from ska, mento and R&B music. It began as a way to identify a ragged style of dance music, but it soon acquired a lament-style of chanting and emphasized the syncopated beat.
According to Piero Scaruffi: “It also made explicit the relationship with the underworld of the “Rastafarians” (adepts of a millenary African faith, revived Marcus Garvey who advocated a mass emigration back to Africa), both in the lyrics and in the appropriation of the African nyah-bingi drumming style (a style that mimicks the heartbeat with its pattern of “thump-thump, pause, thump-thump”). Compared with rock music, reggae music basically inverted the role of bass and guitar: the former was the lead, the latter beat the typical hiccupping pattern.”
Perhaps the most recognized Jamaican band was The Wailers, established by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunner Wailer in 1963. They transitioned through ska, rocksteady and reggae music. Bob Marley popularized reggae music with his songs and his political and religious beliefs.
The Golden Age of Reggae refers to the heyday of roots reggae, a spiritual type of music. The lyrics praise God and involve themes of poverty, government resistance and resisting racial oppression.
Jimmy Cliff’s Wonderful World of Beautiful People married reggae with the hippie philosophy of peace and love, and that changed the face of Jamaican music. It transitioned from a ghetto phenomenon to pop culture. Neil Diamond’s Red Red Wine, recorded in 1967, was the first reggae hit in the US by a pop artist.
In 1972, reggae became a staple of western radio stations thanks to the film The Harder They Come.
My band, Island Therapy, provides happy island music with beats from reggae, calypso and soca music influences. Contact us to book your next Treasure Coast island experience: 772-336-7517.
References: Wikipedia.org; Piero Scaruffi
10 – Jamaica Reggae – Los Pericos & The Skatalites – Pericos & Friends (2010)
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Marley Coffee & Tea One Love Organic Coffee, 15-Count $9.95 We are committed to sourcing the finest quality 100% Arabica coffee that is sustainably grown, ethically farmed and artisan roasted. We proudly offer single origin Jamaica Blue Mountain, and Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, along with distinctive blends that present balance and complexity in each cup. These traditional coffees are small batch roasted to ensure the utmost quality. Each pre-measured portion of… |
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Marley Coffee & Tea Lion’s Blend Coffee, 15-Count $9.27 We are committed to sourcing the finest quality 100% Arabica coffee that is sustainably grown, ethically farmed and artisan roasted. We proudly offer single origin Jamaica Blue Mountain, and Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, along with distinctive blends that present balance and complexity in each cup. These traditional coffees are small batch roasted to ensure the utmost quality. Each pre-measured portion of… |
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Marley Coffee & Tea Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, 15-Count $23.17 We are committed to sourcing the finest quality 100% Arabica coffee that is sustainably grown, ethically farmed and artisan roasted. We proudly offer single origin Jamaica Blue Mountain, and Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, along with distinctive blends that present balance and complexity in each cup. These traditional coffees are small batch roasted to ensure the utmost quality. Each pre-measured portion of… |
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London Calling $4.31 The ‘crown jewel’ of the era – remastered! 2 LP set on one CD – 19 tracks…. |
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Live Forever: The Stanley Theatre, Pittsburgh PA September 23, 1980 [2 CD Deluxe Edition] $10.76 MARLEY BOB & THE WAILERS LIVE FOREVER THEATRE PITTSBURGH (2CD)… |
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Songs of Freedom $35.94 When Songs of Freedom was released originally in 1992, it was a perfect complement to either a greatest hits collection like Legend or the entire collection of the reggae master’s albums. Songs boasts enough of the recognizable from Marley’s canon to address the hit seeker, but the set also reaches way, way back to include Marley’s first single, the youthful “Judge Not” from 1962, and then closes … |
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Roots Rock Reggae Inside the Jamaican Music Scene [VHS] $19.98 Fans of 1970s reggae are sure to rejoice at the chance to hear Jimmy Cliff and Joe Higgs talk about their music, to see hyperkinetic producer-musician Lee “Scratch” Perry at work in his legendary Black Ark studio (with Junior Murvin, the Heptones, and the Upsetters), and to enjoy the lively sounds of the Mighty Diamonds, Ras Michael, and U-Roy in concert. Fans of Jamaica’s best-known musical ex… |
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Bongo Man – Jimmy Cliff $59.99 The story of Jimmy Cliff, the “Gentle Rebel” who stirred a nation with his music. Cliff espoused the virtue of peace with his reggae compositions. Includes the songs: Bongo Man, It’s a hard road to travel, stand up – fight back, Vietnam, she is a woman, the harder they come, that’s my philosophy, Wanted Man, Fundamental Reggae, I’m the living, No woman no cry, Going Back West, Let’s turn the table… |
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Reggae & Dancehall Report: Reggae Summerfest … |
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Shottas $7.98 Taking its name from a Jamaican slang term for hustlers, this actioner inspired by a true story concerns two Kingston youths who rob and shoot a truck driver before using the stolen loot to start a new life in America. After their crimes get them sent back to their homeland, they vow to return to the U.S.–unaware that a group of drug dealers plans on stopping their thieving ways. Ky-Mani Marley (… |
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Sting – Jamaica 2003 (DVD) $18.84 Since it first hit the music festival scene in 1984, the Portmore-based Sting Festival has become the final word in the best of Jamaica`s reggae musical acts. This recording of the 2003 concert maintains the fest`s high standard of quality but is parti… |
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