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Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the word "reggae", effectively naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience. While sometimes used in a broad sense to refer to most types of popular Jamaican dance music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that was strongly influenced by traditional mento as well as American jazz and rhythm and blues, and evolved out of the earlier genres ska and rocksteady. Reggae usually relates news, social gossip, and political commentary. It is instantly recognizable from the counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat and the offbeat rhythm section. The immediate origins of reggae were in ska and rocksteady; from the latter, reggae took over the use of the bass as a percussion instrument.
The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top 10 hit single "Cloud Nine" in October 1968, pioneered psychedelic soul, and was significant in the evolution of R&B and soul music. The band members are known for their choreography, distinct harmonies, and dress style. Having sold tens of millions of albums, the Temptations are among the most successful groups in popular music.
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish reggae, including harmony groups such as the Techniques, the Paragons, the Heptones and the Gaylads; soulful singers such as Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, Bob Andy, Ken Boothe and Phyllis Dillon; musicians such as Jackie Mittoo, Lynn Taitt and Tommy McCook. The term rocksteady comes from a popular (slower) dance style mentioned in the Alton Ellis song "Rocksteady", that matched the new sound. Some rocksteady songs became hits outside Jamaica, as with ska, helping to secure the international base reggae music has today.
Musical Youth are a British-Jamaican reggae band formed in 1979 in Birmingham, England. They are best remembered for their 1982 single "Pass the Dutchie", which was a number 1 in multiple charts around the world. Their other hits include "Youth of Today", "Never Gonna Give You Up", and a collaboration with Donna Summer, "Unconditional Love". Musical Youth recorded two albums and earned a Grammy Award nomination before disbanding in 1985 after a series of personal problems. The band returned in 2001 as a duo.
Edward James Kendrick, better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temptations, and was one of their lead singers from 1960 until 1971. He was the lead voice on such famous songs as "The Way You Do the Things You Do", "Get Ready", and "Just My Imagination ". As a solo artist, Kendricks recorded several hits of his own during the 1970s, including the number-one single "Keep On Truckin'".
Kenneth George Boothe OD is a Jamaican vocalist known for his distinctive vibrato and timbre. Boothe achieved an international reputation as one of Jamaica's finest vocalists through a series of crossover hits that appealed to both reggae fans and mainstream audiences.
Leslie Kong was an influential Chinese-Jamaican reggae producer.
Van Allen Clinton McCoy was an American musician, record producer, arranger, songwriter, singer and orchestra conductor. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful song "The Hustle". He has approximately 700 song copyrights to his credit, and for producing songs by such recording artists as Gladys Knight & the Pips, The Stylistics, Aretha Franklin, Brenda & the Tabulations, David Ruffin, Peaches & Herb, Lesley Gore and Stacy Lattisaw.
China Black were a British pop-reggae duo, consisting of Simon Fung and Errol Reid (singer-songwriter).
The Equals are an English pop, R&B and rock group formed in North London in 1965. They are best remembered for their million-selling chart-topper "Baby, Come Back", though they had several other chart hits in the UK and Europe. Eddy Grant founded the group with John Hall, Pat Lloyd, and brothers Derv and Lincoln Gordon, and they were noted as being "the first major interracial rock group in the UK" and "one of the few racially mixed bands of the era".
Delroy Easton "Bitty" McLean is a British reggae, lovers rock and ragga singer. He is best known for his three UK Top 10 hits in 1993 and 1994, including his debut offering "It Keeps Rainin' ".
John William Bristol was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a native of Morganton, North Carolina, about which he wrote an eponymous song. His composition "Love Me for a Reason" saw global success when covered by The Osmonds including a number 1 in the UK charts in 1974. His most famous solo recording was "Hang On in There Baby" recorded in 1974, which reached the Top Ten in the United States and number 3 in the United Kingdom. Both singles were in the UK top 5 simultaneously.
The Techniques were a Jamaican rocksteady vocal group mainly active in the 1960s.
"My Whole World Ended " is the solo debut single for former Temptations lead singer David Ruffin, released on Motown Records in early 1969. The song was written by Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Bristol, Pam Sawyer, and James Roach. Fuqua and Bristol handled the recording's production.
Dave Barker is a reggae and rocksteady singer who has made a string of solo albums along with recordings as a member of The Techniques and as half of the duo Dave and Ansell Collins.
Horatious Adolphus "Pat" Kelly was a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae singer, whose career began in the mid-1960s. He recorded as a solo artist and as a member of the vocal group the Techniques.
"Reflections of My Life" was a 1969/1970 hit single for the Scottish band, Marmalade. It was written by their lead guitarist Junior Campbell, and singer Dean Ford. Released in late 1969, it was the band's first release on Decca following an earlier spell at CBS.
Carl Malcolm is a Jamaican reggae singer and percussionist.
Owen Gray, also known as Owen Grey, is a Jamaican musician. His work spans the R&B, ska, rocksteady, and reggae eras of Jamaican music, and he has been credited as Jamaica's first home-grown singing star.
"A Message to You Rudy" is a 1967 rocksteady song by Dandy Livingstone. Originally titled "Rudy a Message to You", the song later achieved broader success when, in 1979, a cover by The Specials reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Moskowitz, David V. (2006) Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall, Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-33158-8, p.260
- ↑ Pat Kelly page at Reggae-Reviews.com
- 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 474. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 261. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
