The Maytones

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The Maytones (sometimes known as The Mighty Maytones) are a Jamaican reggae vocal duo who were active between the late 1960s and until 1980.

Jamaica Country in the Caribbean

Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the fourth-largest island country in the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola.

Reggae music genre from Jamaica

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, especially the New Orleans R&B practiced by Fats Domino and Allen Toussaint, and evolved out of the earlier genres ska and rocksteady. Reggae usually relates news, social gossip, and political comment. Reggae spread into a commercialized jazz field, being known first as ‘Rudie Blues’, then ‘Ska’, later ‘Blue Beat’, and ‘Rock Steady’. 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.

Contents

History

The Maytones formed in the late 1960s, and comprised Vernon Buckley and Gladstone Grant, both of whom lived in May Pen in Clarendon, which inspired the group's name. [1] After recording two rocksteady tracks for Studio One which were not released, they recorded much of their early material for Alvin Ranglin, having local hits with "Loving Reggae" and "Funny Man", and released a version of Greyhound's "Black and White" (written by Earl Robinson and David I. Arkin) in 1970. [2] They had further Jamaican hits with love songs such as "Preaching Love", "If Loving You Was Wrong", and "Brown Girl", before adopting a roots reggae style for tracks such as "Judas", "Babylon a Fall", and "Run Babylon". [2] They had a major success with "Madness", recorded again for Ranglin, which was followed by an album of the same name. The success of The Mighty Diamonds prompted the group and producers Ranglin and Clement Bushay to promote the duo as The Mighty Maytones. [2] The Boat To Zion album followed in 1978, although did not meet with the success they had hoped for, and were overlooked by the British record labels that were signing up much of Jamaica's talent at the time, with their non-Rasta image identified as a factor. [1] [2] They contributed the track "Money Worries" to the Rockers soundtrack in 1979. [3]

May Pen City in Middlesex, Jamaica

May Pen is the capital and largest town in the parish of Clarendon in the Middlesex County, Jamaica. It is located on the Rio Minho river, and is a major market centre for the Parish. The population is estimated at around 60,000, with the surrounding suburbs of Sandy Bay, Mineral Heights, Hazard, Palmers Cross, Denbigh, and Four Paths all accounting for an estimated 82,000. The town has a mayor.

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. For example harmony groups such as The Techniques, The Righteous Flames and The Gaylads; singers such as Delroy Wilson, Phyllis Dillon and Roy Shirley; musicians such as Jackie Mittoo, Tommy McCook and Lynn Taitt. 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, having 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.

The duo came to an end in 1980 when Buckley moved to Canada. [1] They reunited in the 2000s. [4] Vernon issued a solo album, Raw, and has performed and recorded with Bedouin Soundclash.

Canada Country in North America

Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, many near the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.

Bedouin Soundclash band

Bedouin Soundclash is a Canadian band currently based in Toronto. Their sound has been described as reggae and ska. Bedouin Soundclash was formed in 2001, and has released four studio albums since its formation. The band released an album most recently in 2010, though a single was released in 2017, its first new material in almost seven years.

Albums

Compilations

Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name Trojan comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck that was used as Duke Reid's sound system in Jamaica. The truck had "Duke Reid - The Trojan King of Sounds" painted on the sides, and the music played by Reid became known as the Trojan Sound.

Charly Records is a British record label that specialises in reissued material.

Heartbeat Records is an independent record label based in Burlington, Massachusetts. The label specializes in Jamaican music.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Katz, David (2003) "Solid Foundation - an Oral History of Reggae", Bloomsbury, ISBN   0-7475-6847-2
  2. 1 2 3 4 Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, ISBN   0-7535-0242-9
  3. ↑ Rockers soundtrack at Roots Archives
  4. ↑ Peter I (2004) "Madness Upon The Land - The Story of The Maytones", Reggae-vibes.com
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