Upsetter Records | |
---|---|
Founded | 1968 |
Founder | Lee "Scratch" Perry |
Defunct | 1978 |
Distributor(s) | Trojan Records |
Genre | Reggae |
Country of origin | Jamaica |
Location | Kingston, Jamaica |
Upsetter Records was a Jamaican record label set up by Lee "Scratch" Perry in 1968. Perry also opened the Upsetter Record Shop where he sold the records he produced.
Lee "Scratch" Perry worked for Coxsone Dodd's Studio One record label and later for Joe Gibbs's Amalgamated Records through the 1950s and 1960s. Amid personal and financial disagreements, he left, and in 1968 he formed his own label as an outlet for music he produced and his own recordings. The label was named Upsetter Records, and the house band was The Upsetters. "The Upsetter" was Perry's nickname after his 1968 single "I Am The Upsetter", a musical dismissal of his former boss Coxsone Dodd. [1]
Upsetter Records signed a distribution deal with the U.K. based Trojan Records, and had its first success with Perry and The Upsetters' 1969 album Return of Django , which became a hit in the U.K. The label proceeded to release productions by many major Jamaican performers, including The Wailers and early sessions of Bob Marley and the Wailers. [1] [2]
In 1973, The Wailers left and signed up with Island Records. Aston "Family Man" Barrett and his brother Carlton (Carlie) Barrett left The Upsetters and formed the Wailers Band, the backing band of The Wailers, and later part of Bob Marley and the Wailers. [3] Despite the setback, Perry turned his fortunes around when, in the same year, he built Black Ark Studios — which recorded for Upsetter Records and other labels, becoming a center of creativity in reggae music. [1]
Upsetter Records continued to release records throughout the 1970s, and in 1981, Perry had a breakdown and burned down Black Ark Studios. [3]
In 1989, after King Tubby's death, the studio was looted. [4]
In 2014, Lee Perry reopened the label exclusively for the release of his new album "Back On the Controls" with London producer Daniel Boyle.
Lee "Scratch" Perry was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development of dub music with his early adoption of remixing and studio effects to create new instrumental or vocal versions of existing reggae tracks. He worked with and produced for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Marley and the Wailers, Junior Murvin, The Congos, Max Romeo, Adrian Sherwood, Beastie Boys, Ari Up, The Clash, The Orb, and many others.
Clement Seymour "Coxsone" Dodd was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond.
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.
Studio One is one of Jamaica's most renowned record labels and recording studios; it has been described as the Motown of Jamaica. The record label was involved with most of the major music movements in Jamaica during the 1960s and 1970s, including ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub and dancehall.
Bob Marley and the Wailers were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer.
The Upsetters was the name given to the house band for Jamaican reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. The name of the band comes from Perry's nickname of Upsetter, after his song "I Am the Upsetter", a musical dismissal of his former boss Coxsone Dodd.
The Ethiopians were one of Jamaica's best-loved harmony groups during the late ska, rocksteady and early reggae periods. Responsible for a significant number of hits between the mid-1960s and early 1970s, the group was also one of the first Jamaican acts to perform widely in Britain.
Soul Rebels is the second studio album by the Wailers, their first album to be released outside Jamaica. The Wailers approached producer Lee "Scratch" Perry in August 1970 to record an entire album, and the sessions took place at Randy's recording studio above Randy's Record Mart at 17 North Parade in Kingston, Jamaica, until November. First issued in the UK by Trojan Records in December 1970, the album has since been re-released several times on several different labels. Perry's production is sparse and haunting, only featuring guitar, bass, drums, electronic organs, and vocals with no horns or other embellishments.
Soul Revolution Part II is the third album by Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry. While the name on the album cover for all the original releases was Soul Revolution Part II, some releases had the name Soul Revolution printed on the album label, leading to uncertainty over what name was intended. A "dub" version with the vocals removed was released as Soul Revolution Part II Dub; both versions were released as one set in 1988. The album was repackaged with additional material as African Herbsman in 1973.
Heartbeat Records is an independent record label based in Burlington, Massachusetts. The label specializes in Jamaican music.
The Wailing Wailers is the 1965 eponymous debut studio album by the Wailers, later known as Bob Marley and the Wailers. Released on the Studio One label, the album is a compilation of various recordings made between 1964 and 1965 by Neville “Bunny” Livingston, Robert Nesta Marley and Peter McIntosh. It compiles what Clement Coxsone Dodd considered the best Wailers recordings from this period. They were accompanied by the Studio One backing band, The Soul Brothers.
Michael George Henry OD, better known as Ras Michael, is a Jamaican reggae singer and Nyabinghi specialist. He also performs under the name of Dadawah.
Me and You are a Jamaican reggae trio.
The Silvertones are a Jamaican reggae harmony group formed in 1964, best known for their recordings for Lee "Scratch" Perry in the early 1970s.
Glen Adams was a Jamaican musician, composer, arranger, engineer, producer, based since the mid-1970s in Brooklyn, New York City.
Aura Msimang (Aura Lewis) (4 March 1947– 28 December 2015), born Aurelia Msimang, was a South African singer who worked with Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff and recorded an album with Lee "Scratch" Perry in the late 1970s.
"Small Axe" is a song now credited to Bob Marley though the first releases credited Lee Perry and Bob Marley, and Perry says it was a collaboration. It was initially released in 1971 as a single by Lee "Scratch" Perry on his Upsetter Records label. It was rerecorded in 1973 for the album Burnin'. It has since been covered by several artists, among others Buju Banton, Deerhoof, Andrew Tosh, Greensky Bluegrass, The Aggrovators, U Roy, UB40, Trey Anastasio, and Peps Persson who made a Swedish version called "Liden såg".
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.
"Run for Cover" is a 1967 rocksteady and reggae single by Lee "Scratch" Perry, credited as Lee "King" Perry. The recording featured Perry, his band, Lynn Taitt on guitar and The Sensations as backing singers. It was recorded at Clifford Rae's WIRL studio and appeared on the WIRL record label in Jamaica, then in the UK on Graeme Woodall's Doctor Bird (label), both pressings with "Something You've Got" on the B-side.
"Return of Django" is a 1969 instrumental by the Upsetters, a studio band, led by Lee "Scratch" Perry, who wrote and produced the song. Backed with "Dollar in the Teeth", it made #5 on the UK Singles Chart.