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. Despite the name, rocksteady is not directly related to rock.
Alton Nehemiah Ellis was a Jamaican singer-songwriter. One of the innovators of rocksteady who was given the informal title "Godfather of Rocksteady". In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.
Robbin' the Hood is the second album by the Southern California ska punk band Sublime, which was released in 1994. It is noted for its experimental nature, low production values, and numerous samples and interpolations of other artists.
Marcus Garvey is the third album by the reggae group Burning Spear, released in 1975 on Fox Records in Jamaica and then internationally on Island Records later in the year. The album is named after the Jamaican National Hero and Rastafari movement prophet Marcus Garvey. A dub version of it was released four months later as Garvey's Ghost.
Mighty Diamonds are a Jamaican harmony trio, recording roots reggae with a strong Rastafarian influence. The group was formed in 1969 and remained together as of 2012. They are best known for their 1976 debut album Right Time produced by Joseph Hoo Kim and the 1979 release Deeper Roots.
Two Steps from the Blues is the debut album by Bobby Bland, in 1961. It compiles five songs recorded between 1956 and 1960 and seven songs recorded in two sessions from August 3 to November 12, 1960. The sessions took place in the Universal Studio in Chicago, where Bland and his backing band moved after a series of successful singles and albums. The backing band was composed of Joe Scott and Melvin Jackson (trumpet), Pluma Davis (trombone), Robert Skinner and L. A. Hill, Rayfield Devers, Teddy Reynolds (piano), Clarence Holloman, Wayne Bennett, Hamp Simmons (bass), and John "Jabo" Starks (drums). Scott also served as an arranger.
Me and You are a Jamaican reggae trio.
John Kenneth Holt CD was a reggae singer and songwriter from Jamaica who first found fame as a member of The Paragons, before establishing himself as a solo artist.
Phyllis Dillon was a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae singer who recorded for Duke Reid's lucrative Treasure Isle record label in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The Wailing Souls are a Jamaican reggae vocal group whose origins date back to the 1960s. The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years with Winston "Pipe" Matthews and Lloyd "Bread" McDonald the only constant members. They have been nominated for Grammy Awards three times.
The Complete Studio Recordings is a box set of all of the studio material released by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released on November 7, 2005 and consists of 9 CDs and 2 DVDs, plus a full color booklet with a timeline and photos. Another booklet containing complete lyrics to all of the music was also included.
For the Record is a two-disc, 44-track greatest hits package released by the American country music band Alabama.
Roy Anthony Johnson, better known simply as Anthony Johnson, is a Jamaican reggae musician who was a member of the group Mystic I and is known for the 1980s hit song "Gunshot".
Forever Version is the debut album from Jamaican reggae deejay Dennis Alcapone. It was released in 1971 by Studio One, and features Alcapone toasting over some of the label's greatest hits. The album was engineered by Sylvan Morris who left large parts of the original vocal tracks in the mix, with Alcapone appearing to answer back to the singers. Tracks which formed the basis for the album include Larry Marshall's "Nanny Goat", The Cables' "Baby Why", Carlton and The Shoes' "Love Me Forever", two tracks from The Heptones, and one from The Wailers. The album was reissued by Heartbeat Records on compact disc in 1991, and again in an expanded form in 2007, with six bonus tracks.
Bob Andy's Song Book is a 1970 album of songs by Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter Bob Andy, recorded between 1966 and 1968. Andy had first found fame as the lead vocalist of The Paragons, but his peak as a solo artist came in the late '60s when he recorded a string of singles for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's Studio One label. In 1970, these singles were compiled on the Song Book album. Many of the songs on the album have since been covered by a range of artists, including Taj Mahal, who covered "Desperate Lover" on his 1974 Mo' Roots album. Vocal harmony on three tracks on the album are performed by Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh of The Wailers, and backing comes from Studio One band the Soul Vendors, whose members included Jackie Mittoo and Roland Alphonso. The album was re-issued on CD in 1997, with extended versions of "Desperate Lover" and "Feeling Soul". In the Rough Guides book Reggae: 100 Essential CDs, the album is described as "a masterpiece that belongs in anyone's CD collection - and not just of reggae music", and it has also been described as "one of the era's classic albums".
What Kind of World is the debut album from Jamaican vocal trio The Cables. It was released in 1970 by Studio One, and collects tracks from singles the group recorded for the label. Backing was provided by Studio One house band the Soul Vendors, which included musicians such as Jackie Mittoo, Eric Frater, and Leroy Sibbles. The album has been described as "a masterpiece of early reggae", and "the most perfect of Studio One vocal albums".
Lovers rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid-1970s. Despite the name, lovers rock is neither a rock subgenre nor related to it.
Mr Soul of Jamaica is an album by Jamaican rocksteady singer Alton Ellis. It contains twelve tracks recorded between 1967 and 1970 at Duke Reid's Treasure Isle Recording Studios in Kingston, Jamaica and was produced by Reid and released on his Treasure Isle label in 1974. Although this was his only album for the label, Ellis had already been a star musician in Jamaica from the early 1960s onwards, having recorded for Coxone Dodd's Studio One label before moving to Treasure Isle, and the album is a compilation of some of his Treasure Isle singles, although some of his biggest hits including "Rock Steady", "Girl I've Got a Date" and "Cry Tough" were left off it.
Winston Jarrett is a Jamaican reggae singer who was part of Alton Ellis's group The Flames in the 1960s before recording with The Righteous Flames and as a solo artist.
Earl “Paul” Douglas is a Jamaician Grammy Award-winning drummer and percussionist, best known for his work as the drummer, percussionist and bandleader of Toots and the Maytals. His career spans more than five decades as one of reggae's most recorded drummers. Music journalist and reggae historian David Katz wrote, “dependable drummer Paul Douglas played on countless reggae hits."
