Hello, my final Jamaican sunshine, where it all began, the sixties slums..shantytowns, the fight against poverty and violence, these artists managed to transcend, each in their own way. Sadly only one of the artist/prooducers i present here is still alive, Prince Buster . Joe Higgs reached 59 but the others died young, late thirties. Prince Buster was a hardhitter, ska his thing, yet i present his kinky side here, Joe Higgs was named the father of reggae , Jackie Mittoo and Don Drummond formed the Skatelittes but are here with 'solo' work . Chinese import Leslie Kong recorded and produced many a hit as this compilation shows, he died of a heart attack under strange circumstances. What to say about Bob, he wasnt a catholic, but a rastafari. B.t.w. there's 3 original (rare) jamaican vinyls here.
Prince Buster - Big Five ( 72 ^ 99mb)
Cecil Bustamente Campbell as a youth became interested in boxing and spent many hours sparring in local gyms. He had much promise as a boxer and won a good number of his fights. He also became interested in music which lead to him playing in a band. In 1961 he became a security man for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd who owned the Downbeat sound system, working with him on the open-air concerts. The "Trojan" Duke Reid and Sir Coxsone were battling it out in the sound system competitions. Buster did some DJ work with Coxone and took part in many fights that competition between sound systems and their devoted fans "rude boys" would bring. This fighting on numerous occasions earned him the title' Prince'.
By 1962 after recording himself on the Starlite label, Prince Buster released a production of the Folkes Brothers "Oh Carolina" , shortly followed a hit by Eric Morris with "Humpty Dumpty". These records were released on Emil Shalit's Melodisc record company which he formed in the 1940's. Due to the growth of Jamaican music and the new R & B sound, Shalit saw the need for a new label to concentrate on the new sound, the Blue Beat record label was born in 1960. For the first few years it enjoyed a monopoly in the U.K until the launch of Island records in 1962. The new sound that developed into Ska was sometimes referred to as Blue Beat because it mostly appeared on that label. Prince Buster either produced or recorded hundreds of records over the coming years.
Buster was an instant success and his records sold well, he eventually even had his own record shop " Buster's Record Shack. (His family still run the shop today). His early material was distinct from other music of that period, having an up tempo style with highly charged horny ska riffs dominated by cymbals. The Mods in Britain became very much interested in Buster's tracks and as they were on general release on the Blue Beat label, songs such as One Step Beyond, Madness, and Al Capone became big hits. Al Capone was the first Jamaican recorded song to enter the U.K top 20.
To change with the times Blue Beat was phased out and the more modern sounding FAB & Rainbow/Dice labels came out. Around 1970 the Prince Buster label was formed to try to revive the Melodisc group. Unfortunately, Prince Buster began to ease off with his recordings to concentrate on his juke-box business, and in 1977 Shalit wound up the Melodisc group. Prince Buster toured Europe & Britain regularly between 1962 and 1967 and appeared on the popular TV show Ready Steady Go in 1964, having just broken all records with a sell-out concert at Brixton Town Hall. He also toured the USA in 1967 with great success.
By the 1970s Buster had slowed down his career as a musician to focus on his business ventures. The ska sound was not as popular as it once was, but its influence was clearly felt in its descendants: rocksteady, which was slower than ska and more influenced by gospel and soul, and by rocksteady's better-known successor, reggae. By the late 1970s, Buster was in serious financial trouble. His business ventures were all posting losses or low profits, and the loans he had taken out to start them were catching up. Fortunately for him, ska was experiencing a revival in the United Kingdom. In 1979, the band Madness released its first record, a tribute to Buster called "The Prince", which urged ska fans to remember "the man who set the beat", stating "So I'll leave it up to you out there / To get him back on his feet." Interest in Buster soared during this time; he received royalties when his songs were covered by bands like The Specials, The (English) Beat, and Madness, and his old records were reissued and sold well. Between these boons, The Prince was indeed able to "get back on his feet."In the late seventies and early eighties he became an inspiration to the Two Tone bands.
Prince Buster is today living in Miami, Florida, USA, concentrating on his business interests.He still occasionaly performs, in fact he was at a festival in Belgium earlier this month.
Big Five album must rank among the sauciest albums ever released by an established artist, the title track on the music of rainy night in georgia finds better ways to spend the time "Right now I'm feeling sexy , Want a big, fat pussy this December night, Today I smoke an ounce of weed, Tonight I'm gonna plant a seed, In her wump, alright " (refrain), my favourite here, the one i spon many a time "the virgin ". Unsurprisingly, hypocrites are us haven't issued this one on CD, reason enough for me to accomodate here.
01 - Big 5 (3:36)
02 - Kinky Griner (2:05)
03 - Leave Your Man (2:32)
04 - Give Her (2:25)
05 - Bald Head Pum Pum (2:47)
06 - At The Cross (2:35)
07 - Fishey Fishey (3:21)
08 - The Virgin (3:23)
09 - Black Pum Bum (3:18)
10 - Every Man Pum Pum (2:25)
11 - Tonight (2:29)
12 - Wash The Pum Pum (2:25)
Xs - Pick of the bunch EP
13 - Ride A Donkey (2:05)
14 - African Rock (3:20)
15 - Cleopatra (3:21)
16 - Take It Easy (3:33)
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Joe Higgs - Life of Contradiction (75 now in Flac 224mb)
Jamaican singer Joe Higgs, known as "The Father of Reggae Music," died of cancer December 1999, at the age of 59. Higgs was hugely influential in the birth of the ska, rock steady and reggae forms of Jamaican music, and was widely respected as a composer, arranger and performer, but perhaps most of all as a teacher. Among those he trained were Bob Marley, Derrick Harriott, Peter Tosh, the Wailing Souls and Bunny Wailer.
Higgs' debut single, made with partner Roy Wilson, as the duo Higgs and Wilson, was "Oh Manny Oh," and sold over 50,000 copies in Jamaica in 1960. This first single led to his signing by Edward Seaga, who later became Jamaica's Prime Minister during the 1980s. In 1964, after releasing a good dozen of singles with Higgs, Roy Wilson departed for the United States. That same year Higgs recorded "There's A Reward For Me," for producer Coxson Dodd's Studio One, a song that became an instant classic of suffering and hope. It was in Higgs' Trench Town yard that the young Bob Marley received years of private tutoring in vocal technique and stage craft from Higgs, years before he began recording with his group, the Wailers. Marley later admitted that "Joe Higgs was a genius," crediting him for his international musical success. He joined Marley and Tosh on their first american tour , replacing bunny wailer. After 2 dozen of singles as a solo artist , "Life of Contradiction" was his first album released in 1975.
In the 1977 reggae documentary film "Roots Rock Reggae," Higgs told director Jeremy Marre that "Reggae is a confrontational sound. Freedom - that's what it's asking for. Acceptance - that's what it needs." "Unity Is Power" followed in 1979. His 1983 single, "So It Go," which called attention to the plight of the poor who have no mentors in high places, caused Higgs political problems with the ruling party in Jamaica, and he left for Los Angeles, where he lived in a self-imposed exile until his death. During his last 15 years, he had resumed his unofficial career as tutor and mentor to a new generation of American-based reggae musicians, and continued to tour the world, headlining festivals throughout North America and Europe. Later albums included 1990's "Blackman Know Yourself," backed by the Wailers Band.
A majority of Higgs' songs were connected to his impoverished life in Trenchtown where he grew up. Higgs considered that it was out of the poverty and violence of Kingston's shantytowns such as Trenchtown and Johnstown that the reggae music had grown. Before reggae hit big on the western music scene with Bob Marley, it was understood as a "ghetto music". Higgs was the very first artist out the ghetto music scene to have lyrics which primarily dealt with every day troubles. In his own words, "the music originated from the confrontation of the struggle...
01 - Come On Home
02 - Got To Make A Way
03 - Wake Up And Live
04 - Life Of Contradiction
05 - Who Brought Down The Curtains
06 - There's A Reward
07 - Hard Times Don't Bother Me
08 - My Baby Still Loves Me
09 - She Was The One
10 - Song My Enemy Sings
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Jackie Mittoo - Anthology ( ^ 63mb)
Jackie Mittoo was among the true legends of reggae - a founding member of The Skatalites and an extraordinarily prolific songwriter, he was perhaps most influential as a mentor to countless younger performers, primarily through his work as the musical director at the famed Studio One.The keyboardist began learning to play the piano at the age of four under the tutelage of his grandmother. In the 1960s he was a member of The Skatalites, The Rivals, The Sheiks, The Soul Brothers and The Soul Vendors.
He emigrated to Toronto, Canada at the end of the 1960s. There he recorded three albums, Wishbone, Reggae Magic and Let's Put It All Together , set up the Stine-Jac label, as well as running a record store. He had a hit with Wishbone in 1971.
Mittoo continued to record for Jamaican producers in the 1970s, mostly for Bunny Lee. During the next decade, he worked regularly with Sugar Minott as well. In 1989, Mittoo joined the reunited Skatalites, but health problems soon forced him to bow out.Mittoo entered hospital on 12 December and died of cancer on 16 December 1990, he was forty two years old.
01 - Hairy Mary
02 - Stero Freeze
03 - Hot Tamale
04 - Elenor Rigby
05 - Get Up And Get It
06 - Sunshine Of Your Love
07 - Change The Mood
08 - Black Out
09 - Soul Ride
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Don Drummond - Greatest Hits ( pre 65 flac 70mb) reassembled from cd
Don Drummond, aka Don Cosmic, was born in 1932, Kingston, Jamaica. Like all legends, nothing seems to known about his early days, men like Don D are just here for a short while, then gone… In 1940's Jamaica, big band swing and jazz ruled, and the starting place for musicians was the Eric Dean Orchestra. Drummond joined them in 1955 after having been voted best trombonist in 1954, and later formed The Don Drummond Four.
He was also cutting specials for sound systems before being spotted by Clement 'Coxone' Dodd, performing at the Majestic Theatre. Coxone was impressed enough to take Drummond on him as a solo artist and session player. In the meantime, the specials Drummond had previously cut were starting to be released commercially in Jamaica and England to critical acclaim. Drummond started his recording career sometime around 1956, with his first record being "On the Beach" with Owen Grey on vocals.
In 1962, Chris Blackwell started releasing recordings in England, and many of Drummond’s compositions first saw the light of day on the Island and Black Swan labels. Drummond recorded over 200 songs.
In 1964, Studio One's musical director Jackie Mittoo began to assemble the best musicians in Jamaica to create a sound that would dominate the music scene for years to come. The seeds for the Skatalites were sown Drummond was the man Mittoo turned to, and he quickly became the most prolific composer and musician in the band. Late in 1964, "Man in the Street" entered the UK top 10, and later, in 1967 Drummond’s adaptation of the theme to the film "The Guns Of Navarone" gives him his second UK Top 10. These events confirm Drummond’s rise to the top and he is named as one of the five top trombonists in the world.Don Drummond was not just a genius. Drummond’s prestige among other musicians carried with it the hopes and dreams of all of Jamaica’s shantytown musicians. This was an incredible stress on a man whose life hovered between eccentricity and manic depression. New years morning 1965 his career came to a full stop, after he apparently without much cause stabbed to death his lover, exotic dancer Anita Mahfood. He was convicted and sent to a mental institution where he died 4 years later, officialy suicide but many believed he was murdered.
Recorded at Treasure Isle (Kingston, JA) by Duke Reid and backed by the Skatellites this rare vinyl album is a real treat . As it is rather short 25 min. i set it to minimum compression, 400kps quality and it sounds just great..pick it up !
01 - Corner Stone (2:31)
02 - Musical Communion (3:05)
03 - Mesopotamia (3:02)
04 - Cool Smoke (3:04)
05 - Burning Torch (2:58)
06 - Alipang (3:06)
07 - Don Memorial (2:54)
08 - Stampede (2:57)
09 - Thorough fare (2:59)
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
VA - King Kong Compilation (68-70) ( 81 * 82mb)
Leslie Kong and his brothers (Fats and Cecil) used to run a restaurant, ice-cream parlour and record shop named Beverley's in Orange street, Kingston. In 1961, he met Jimmy Cliff singing outside of his shop; this encounter led him to decide to launch his own label "Beverley's" and to record Cliff's first song "Dearest Beverley", launching his career. In 1962, he recorded Bob Marley's first singles: "One Cup of Coffee" and "Judge Not", and Jimmy Cliff's hit, "Miss Jamaica". Throughout the 60s he kept on recording many Jamaican artists from ska to reggae through rocksteady including Joe Higgs, Desmond Dekker, Toots & The Maytals. A wise businessman, Kong made from 1963 a licence deal with Chris Blackwell's Island Records subdivision "Black Swan" label, and with Trojan Records by the end of the 60s. Kong is also known for being the first Jamaican producer to get international hits with long-time collaborator Desmond Dekker, in 1967 with "007 (Shanty Town)" and above all in 1969 with "Israelites" which topped the UK Charts in April 1969 and went to number nine on the US charts in July 1969, selling over two million copies
Throughout his career, Kong employed the best musicians in town as a session band under the name of "The Beverley's Allstars" . Leslie Kong died of a heart attack, aged 38, in August 1971, after being allegedly 'cursed' by Peter Tosh of The Wailers over a dispute about the release of an album , better said it's title ' The Best of the Wailers; they believed that such a title was premature, saying that their best music was yet to come. Hmm, no CSI back then...
01 - Desmond Dekker & the Aces - Israelites (2:45)
02 - The Maytals - Monkey Girl (2:44)
03 - The Melodians - Sweet Sensation (3:39)
04 - Ken Boothe - Freedom Street (2:48)
05 - Tyrone Evans - Let Them Talk (3:10)
06 - The Pioneers - Sampie Man (3:03)
07 - The Melodians - It's My Delight (3:10)
08 - The Maytals - Peeping Tom (3:13)
09 - The Melodians - Rivers Of Babylon (4:11)
10 - Delroy Wilson - Gave You My Love (2:47)
11 - Bruce Ruffin - Bitterness Of Life (2:51)
12 - Ansel Collins- Night Flight (3:08)
13 - The Pioneers - Long Shot Kick The Bucket (2:47)
14 - Desmond Dekker & the Aces - It Mek ( 2:25)
15 - Ken Boothe - Why Baby Why (2:22)
16 - The Maytals - Monkey Man (3:27)
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Bob Marley - Early Days 1+2 ( flac 457mb)
Marley was born feb 45 , his father, Norval Sinclair Marley was a Jamaican of English descent, a Marine officer and captain, as well as a plantation overseer, when he married Cedella Booker, a black Jamaican then eighteen years old. Norval provided financial support for his wife and child, but seldom saw them, as he was often away on trips. Marley was ten years old when his father died of a heart attack. Thereupon Marley and his mother moved to Kingston's Trenchtown slum . He was forced to learn self-defense, as he became the target of bullying because of his racial makeup and small stature (5'4" or 163 cm tall). Marley became friends with Neville "Bunny" Livingston with whom he started to play music. He left school at the age of 14 and started as an apprentice at a local welder's shop. In his free time, he and Livingston made music with Joe Higgs, a local singer and devout Rastafari who is regarded by many as Marley's mentor. It was at a jam session with Higgs and Livingston that Marley met Peter McIntosh (Peter Tosh).
In 1962, Marley recorded his first two singles, "Judge Not" and "One Cup of Coffee", with local music producer Leslie Kong. These songs attracted little attention. In 1963, Bob Marley, Bunny Livingston, Peter McIntosh, Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith formed a ska and rocksteady group, calling themselves "The Teenagers". They later changed their name to "The Wailing Rudeboys", then to "The Wailing Wailers", and finally to "The Wailers". By 1966, Braithwaite, Kelso, and Smith had left The Wailers, leaving the core trio of Marley, Livingston, and McIntosh. Marley took on the role of leader, singer, and main songwriter. Much of The Wailers' early work, including their first single Simmer Down, was produced by Coxsone Dodd at Studio One. Simmer Down topped Jamaican Charts in 1964 and established The Wailers as one of the hottest groups in the country. They followed up with songs such as "Soul Rebel" and "400 Years". After a conflict with Dodd, Marley and his band teamed up with Lee "Scratch" Perry and his studio band, The Upsetters. Although the alliance lasted less than a year, they recorded what many consider The Wailers' finest work.
The Wailers' first album, Catch A Fire, was released worldwide in 1973, and sold well. It was followed a year later by Burnin', which included the songs "Get Up, Stand Up" and "I Shot The Sheriff". Eric Clapton made a hit cover of "I Shot the Sheriff" in 1974, raising Marley's international profile.The Wailers broke up in 1974 with each of the three main members going on to pursue solo careers.
In 1975, Marley had his international breakthrough with his first hit outside Jamaica, "No Woman, No Cry" from the Natty Dread album. This was followed by his breakthrough album in the US, Rastaman Vibration (1976). In December 1976, two days before "Smile Jamaica", a free concert organized by the Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley, Marley, his wife, and manager Don Taylor were wounded in an assault by unknown gunmen inside Marley's home. Taylor and Marley's wife sustained serious injuries, but later made full recoveries. Bob Marley received only minor injuries in the chest and arm and performed at the concert. Marley left Jamaica at the end of 1976 for England, where he recorded his Exodus and Kaya albums. It was here that he was arrested and received a conviction for possession of a small quantity of cannabis while traveling in London. Survival, a defiant and politically charged album, was released in 1979. Uprising (1980) was Bob Marley's final studio album, and is one of his most religious productions, including "Redemption Song" and "Forever Loving Jah".
July 1977, Marley was found to have malignant melanoma in his big toe. Marley refused amputation, citing worries that the operation would affect his dancing, as well as the Rastafari belief that the body must be "whole": This belief may have cost him his life as the cancer spread until may 81 when he died of it. Bob Marley fathered 13 children (2 adopted) the last one having been born 3 weeks after his death, N.B. spring 72 Bob managed to father 3 sons within a month..go figure well the tabloids werent interested in him in those days..
Bob Marley's music has continuously grown in popularity in the years since his death, providing a stream of revenue for his estate and affording him a mythical status in 20th century music history. He remains enormously popular and well-known all over the world, particularly so in Africa. Marley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Time magazine chose Bob Marley & The Wailers' Exodus as the greatest album of the 20th century.
Over the years many compilation albums of his sixties work have been released, the one i present here gives a nice overview with a good soundquality.
101 Trenchtown Rock 2:56
102 Lively Up Yourself 2:48
103 Sun Is Shining 2:10
104 Kaya 2:37
105 Duppy Conqueror 3:36
106 It's Alright 2:33
107 Fussing And Fighting 2:24
108 More Axe 3:26
109 Don't Rock My Boat 4:27
110 Do It Twice 2:39
111 Memphis 1:29
112 Copasetic 3:02
113 Mr. Brown 3:30
114 Love Light Shinning 2:35
115 Dreamland 2:42
116 Man To Man - Who The Cap Fit 3:29
117 Long Long Winter 2:56
118 400 Years 2:31
201 Mr. Chatterbox 2:17
202 Keep On Skanking 3:24
203 Soul Rebel 3:17
204 Cheer Up 2:00
205 Stop The Train 2:17
206 Mellow Mood 2:34
207 Go Tell It On The Mountain 3:12
208 Jah Is Mighty 2:23
209 Picture On The Wall 2:54
210 Rainbow Country 5:42
211 This Train 2:33
212 Downpresser 3:09
213 Concrete Jungle 3:08
214 Caution 2:40
215 Corner Stone 2:23
216 Dracula 2:51
217 Can't You See 2:41
218 I Like It Like This 2:47
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Prince Buster - Big Five
Joe Higgs - Life of Contradiction
Jackie Mittoo - Anthology
Don Drummond - Greatest Hits
Bob Marley - Early Days
VA - King Kong Compilation
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Prince Buster - Big Five
Joe Higgs - Life of Contradiction
Jackie Mittoo - Anthology
Don Drummond - Greatest Hits
Bob Marley - Early Days
VA - King Kong Compilation
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Prince Buster - Big Five ( 72 ^ 99mb)
Cecil Bustamente Campbell as a youth became interested in boxing and spent many hours sparring in local gyms. He had much promise as a boxer and won a good number of his fights. He also became interested in music which lead to him playing in a band. In 1961 he became a security man for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd who owned the Downbeat sound system, working with him on the open-air concerts. The "Trojan" Duke Reid and Sir Coxsone were battling it out in the sound system competitions. Buster did some DJ work with Coxone and took part in many fights that competition between sound systems and their devoted fans "rude boys" would bring. This fighting on numerous occasions earned him the title' Prince'.
By 1962 after recording himself on the Starlite label, Prince Buster released a production of the Folkes Brothers "Oh Carolina" , shortly followed a hit by Eric Morris with "Humpty Dumpty". These records were released on Emil Shalit's Melodisc record company which he formed in the 1940's. Due to the growth of Jamaican music and the new R & B sound, Shalit saw the need for a new label to concentrate on the new sound, the Blue Beat record label was born in 1960. For the first few years it enjoyed a monopoly in the U.K until the launch of Island records in 1962. The new sound that developed into Ska was sometimes referred to as Blue Beat because it mostly appeared on that label. Prince Buster either produced or recorded hundreds of records over the coming years.
Buster was an instant success and his records sold well, he eventually even had his own record shop " Buster's Record Shack. (His family still run the shop today). His early material was distinct from other music of that period, having an up tempo style with highly charged horny ska riffs dominated by cymbals. The Mods in Britain became very much interested in Buster's tracks and as they were on general release on the Blue Beat label, songs such as One Step Beyond, Madness, and Al Capone became big hits. Al Capone was the first Jamaican recorded song to enter the U.K top 20.
To change with the times Blue Beat was phased out and the more modern sounding FAB & Rainbow/Dice labels came out. Around 1970 the Prince Buster label was formed to try to revive the Melodisc group. Unfortunately, Prince Buster began to ease off with his recordings to concentrate on his juke-box business, and in 1977 Shalit wound up the Melodisc group. Prince Buster toured Europe & Britain regularly between 1962 and 1967 and appeared on the popular TV show Ready Steady Go in 1964, having just broken all records with a sell-out concert at Brixton Town Hall. He also toured the USA in 1967 with great success.
By the 1970s Buster had slowed down his career as a musician to focus on his business ventures. The ska sound was not as popular as it once was, but its influence was clearly felt in its descendants: rocksteady, which was slower than ska and more influenced by gospel and soul, and by rocksteady's better-known successor, reggae. By the late 1970s, Buster was in serious financial trouble. His business ventures were all posting losses or low profits, and the loans he had taken out to start them were catching up. Fortunately for him, ska was experiencing a revival in the United Kingdom. In 1979, the band Madness released its first record, a tribute to Buster called "The Prince", which urged ska fans to remember "the man who set the beat", stating "So I'll leave it up to you out there / To get him back on his feet." Interest in Buster soared during this time; he received royalties when his songs were covered by bands like The Specials, The (English) Beat, and Madness, and his old records were reissued and sold well. Between these boons, The Prince was indeed able to "get back on his feet."In the late seventies and early eighties he became an inspiration to the Two Tone bands.
Prince Buster is today living in Miami, Florida, USA, concentrating on his business interests.He still occasionaly performs, in fact he was at a festival in Belgium earlier this month.
Big Five album must rank among the sauciest albums ever released by an established artist, the title track on the music of rainy night in georgia finds better ways to spend the time "Right now I'm feeling sexy , Want a big, fat pussy this December night, Today I smoke an ounce of weed, Tonight I'm gonna plant a seed, In her wump, alright " (refrain), my favourite here, the one i spon many a time "the virgin ". Unsurprisingly, hypocrites are us haven't issued this one on CD, reason enough for me to accomodate here.
01 - Big 5 (3:36)
02 - Kinky Griner (2:05)
03 - Leave Your Man (2:32)
04 - Give Her (2:25)
05 - Bald Head Pum Pum (2:47)
06 - At The Cross (2:35)
07 - Fishey Fishey (3:21)
08 - The Virgin (3:23)
09 - Black Pum Bum (3:18)
10 - Every Man Pum Pum (2:25)
11 - Tonight (2:29)
12 - Wash The Pum Pum (2:25)
Xs - Pick of the bunch EP
13 - Ride A Donkey (2:05)
14 - African Rock (3:20)
15 - Cleopatra (3:21)
16 - Take It Easy (3:33)
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Joe Higgs - Life of Contradiction (75 now in Flac 224mb)
Jamaican singer Joe Higgs, known as "The Father of Reggae Music," died of cancer December 1999, at the age of 59. Higgs was hugely influential in the birth of the ska, rock steady and reggae forms of Jamaican music, and was widely respected as a composer, arranger and performer, but perhaps most of all as a teacher. Among those he trained were Bob Marley, Derrick Harriott, Peter Tosh, the Wailing Souls and Bunny Wailer.
Higgs' debut single, made with partner Roy Wilson, as the duo Higgs and Wilson, was "Oh Manny Oh," and sold over 50,000 copies in Jamaica in 1960. This first single led to his signing by Edward Seaga, who later became Jamaica's Prime Minister during the 1980s. In 1964, after releasing a good dozen of singles with Higgs, Roy Wilson departed for the United States. That same year Higgs recorded "There's A Reward For Me," for producer Coxson Dodd's Studio One, a song that became an instant classic of suffering and hope. It was in Higgs' Trench Town yard that the young Bob Marley received years of private tutoring in vocal technique and stage craft from Higgs, years before he began recording with his group, the Wailers. Marley later admitted that "Joe Higgs was a genius," crediting him for his international musical success. He joined Marley and Tosh on their first american tour , replacing bunny wailer. After 2 dozen of singles as a solo artist , "Life of Contradiction" was his first album released in 1975.
In the 1977 reggae documentary film "Roots Rock Reggae," Higgs told director Jeremy Marre that "Reggae is a confrontational sound. Freedom - that's what it's asking for. Acceptance - that's what it needs." "Unity Is Power" followed in 1979. His 1983 single, "So It Go," which called attention to the plight of the poor who have no mentors in high places, caused Higgs political problems with the ruling party in Jamaica, and he left for Los Angeles, where he lived in a self-imposed exile until his death. During his last 15 years, he had resumed his unofficial career as tutor and mentor to a new generation of American-based reggae musicians, and continued to tour the world, headlining festivals throughout North America and Europe. Later albums included 1990's "Blackman Know Yourself," backed by the Wailers Band.
A majority of Higgs' songs were connected to his impoverished life in Trenchtown where he grew up. Higgs considered that it was out of the poverty and violence of Kingston's shantytowns such as Trenchtown and Johnstown that the reggae music had grown. Before reggae hit big on the western music scene with Bob Marley, it was understood as a "ghetto music". Higgs was the very first artist out the ghetto music scene to have lyrics which primarily dealt with every day troubles. In his own words, "the music originated from the confrontation of the struggle...
01 - Come On Home
02 - Got To Make A Way
03 - Wake Up And Live
04 - Life Of Contradiction
05 - Who Brought Down The Curtains
06 - There's A Reward
07 - Hard Times Don't Bother Me
08 - My Baby Still Loves Me
09 - She Was The One
10 - Song My Enemy Sings
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Jackie Mittoo - Anthology ( ^ 63mb)
Jackie Mittoo was among the true legends of reggae - a founding member of The Skatalites and an extraordinarily prolific songwriter, he was perhaps most influential as a mentor to countless younger performers, primarily through his work as the musical director at the famed Studio One.The keyboardist began learning to play the piano at the age of four under the tutelage of his grandmother. In the 1960s he was a member of The Skatalites, The Rivals, The Sheiks, The Soul Brothers and The Soul Vendors.
He emigrated to Toronto, Canada at the end of the 1960s. There he recorded three albums, Wishbone, Reggae Magic and Let's Put It All Together , set up the Stine-Jac label, as well as running a record store. He had a hit with Wishbone in 1971.
Mittoo continued to record for Jamaican producers in the 1970s, mostly for Bunny Lee. During the next decade, he worked regularly with Sugar Minott as well. In 1989, Mittoo joined the reunited Skatalites, but health problems soon forced him to bow out.Mittoo entered hospital on 12 December and died of cancer on 16 December 1990, he was forty two years old.
01 - Hairy Mary
02 - Stero Freeze
03 - Hot Tamale
04 - Elenor Rigby
05 - Get Up And Get It
06 - Sunshine Of Your Love
07 - Change The Mood
08 - Black Out
09 - Soul Ride
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Don Drummond - Greatest Hits ( pre 65 flac 70mb) reassembled from cd
Don Drummond, aka Don Cosmic, was born in 1932, Kingston, Jamaica. Like all legends, nothing seems to known about his early days, men like Don D are just here for a short while, then gone… In 1940's Jamaica, big band swing and jazz ruled, and the starting place for musicians was the Eric Dean Orchestra. Drummond joined them in 1955 after having been voted best trombonist in 1954, and later formed The Don Drummond Four.
He was also cutting specials for sound systems before being spotted by Clement 'Coxone' Dodd, performing at the Majestic Theatre. Coxone was impressed enough to take Drummond on him as a solo artist and session player. In the meantime, the specials Drummond had previously cut were starting to be released commercially in Jamaica and England to critical acclaim. Drummond started his recording career sometime around 1956, with his first record being "On the Beach" with Owen Grey on vocals.
In 1962, Chris Blackwell started releasing recordings in England, and many of Drummond’s compositions first saw the light of day on the Island and Black Swan labels. Drummond recorded over 200 songs.
In 1964, Studio One's musical director Jackie Mittoo began to assemble the best musicians in Jamaica to create a sound that would dominate the music scene for years to come. The seeds for the Skatalites were sown Drummond was the man Mittoo turned to, and he quickly became the most prolific composer and musician in the band. Late in 1964, "Man in the Street" entered the UK top 10, and later, in 1967 Drummond’s adaptation of the theme to the film "The Guns Of Navarone" gives him his second UK Top 10. These events confirm Drummond’s rise to the top and he is named as one of the five top trombonists in the world.Don Drummond was not just a genius. Drummond’s prestige among other musicians carried with it the hopes and dreams of all of Jamaica’s shantytown musicians. This was an incredible stress on a man whose life hovered between eccentricity and manic depression. New years morning 1965 his career came to a full stop, after he apparently without much cause stabbed to death his lover, exotic dancer Anita Mahfood. He was convicted and sent to a mental institution where he died 4 years later, officialy suicide but many believed he was murdered.
Recorded at Treasure Isle (Kingston, JA) by Duke Reid and backed by the Skatellites this rare vinyl album is a real treat . As it is rather short 25 min. i set it to minimum compression, 400kps quality and it sounds just great..pick it up !
01 - Corner Stone (2:31)
02 - Musical Communion (3:05)
03 - Mesopotamia (3:02)
04 - Cool Smoke (3:04)
05 - Burning Torch (2:58)
06 - Alipang (3:06)
07 - Don Memorial (2:54)
08 - Stampede (2:57)
09 - Thorough fare (2:59)
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VA - King Kong Compilation (68-70) ( 81 * 82mb)
Leslie Kong and his brothers (Fats and Cecil) used to run a restaurant, ice-cream parlour and record shop named Beverley's in Orange street, Kingston. In 1961, he met Jimmy Cliff singing outside of his shop; this encounter led him to decide to launch his own label "Beverley's" and to record Cliff's first song "Dearest Beverley", launching his career. In 1962, he recorded Bob Marley's first singles: "One Cup of Coffee" and "Judge Not", and Jimmy Cliff's hit, "Miss Jamaica". Throughout the 60s he kept on recording many Jamaican artists from ska to reggae through rocksteady including Joe Higgs, Desmond Dekker, Toots & The Maytals. A wise businessman, Kong made from 1963 a licence deal with Chris Blackwell's Island Records subdivision "Black Swan" label, and with Trojan Records by the end of the 60s. Kong is also known for being the first Jamaican producer to get international hits with long-time collaborator Desmond Dekker, in 1967 with "007 (Shanty Town)" and above all in 1969 with "Israelites" which topped the UK Charts in April 1969 and went to number nine on the US charts in July 1969, selling over two million copies
Throughout his career, Kong employed the best musicians in town as a session band under the name of "The Beverley's Allstars" . Leslie Kong died of a heart attack, aged 38, in August 1971, after being allegedly 'cursed' by Peter Tosh of The Wailers over a dispute about the release of an album , better said it's title ' The Best of the Wailers; they believed that such a title was premature, saying that their best music was yet to come. Hmm, no CSI back then...
01 - Desmond Dekker & the Aces - Israelites (2:45)
02 - The Maytals - Monkey Girl (2:44)
03 - The Melodians - Sweet Sensation (3:39)
04 - Ken Boothe - Freedom Street (2:48)
05 - Tyrone Evans - Let Them Talk (3:10)
06 - The Pioneers - Sampie Man (3:03)
07 - The Melodians - It's My Delight (3:10)
08 - The Maytals - Peeping Tom (3:13)
09 - The Melodians - Rivers Of Babylon (4:11)
10 - Delroy Wilson - Gave You My Love (2:47)
11 - Bruce Ruffin - Bitterness Of Life (2:51)
12 - Ansel Collins- Night Flight (3:08)
13 - The Pioneers - Long Shot Kick The Bucket (2:47)
14 - Desmond Dekker & the Aces - It Mek ( 2:25)
15 - Ken Boothe - Why Baby Why (2:22)
16 - The Maytals - Monkey Man (3:27)
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Bob Marley - Early Days 1+2 ( flac 457mb)
Marley was born feb 45 , his father, Norval Sinclair Marley was a Jamaican of English descent, a Marine officer and captain, as well as a plantation overseer, when he married Cedella Booker, a black Jamaican then eighteen years old. Norval provided financial support for his wife and child, but seldom saw them, as he was often away on trips. Marley was ten years old when his father died of a heart attack. Thereupon Marley and his mother moved to Kingston's Trenchtown slum . He was forced to learn self-defense, as he became the target of bullying because of his racial makeup and small stature (5'4" or 163 cm tall). Marley became friends with Neville "Bunny" Livingston with whom he started to play music. He left school at the age of 14 and started as an apprentice at a local welder's shop. In his free time, he and Livingston made music with Joe Higgs, a local singer and devout Rastafari who is regarded by many as Marley's mentor. It was at a jam session with Higgs and Livingston that Marley met Peter McIntosh (Peter Tosh).
In 1962, Marley recorded his first two singles, "Judge Not" and "One Cup of Coffee", with local music producer Leslie Kong. These songs attracted little attention. In 1963, Bob Marley, Bunny Livingston, Peter McIntosh, Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith formed a ska and rocksteady group, calling themselves "The Teenagers". They later changed their name to "The Wailing Rudeboys", then to "The Wailing Wailers", and finally to "The Wailers". By 1966, Braithwaite, Kelso, and Smith had left The Wailers, leaving the core trio of Marley, Livingston, and McIntosh. Marley took on the role of leader, singer, and main songwriter. Much of The Wailers' early work, including their first single Simmer Down, was produced by Coxsone Dodd at Studio One. Simmer Down topped Jamaican Charts in 1964 and established The Wailers as one of the hottest groups in the country. They followed up with songs such as "Soul Rebel" and "400 Years". After a conflict with Dodd, Marley and his band teamed up with Lee "Scratch" Perry and his studio band, The Upsetters. Although the alliance lasted less than a year, they recorded what many consider The Wailers' finest work.
The Wailers' first album, Catch A Fire, was released worldwide in 1973, and sold well. It was followed a year later by Burnin', which included the songs "Get Up, Stand Up" and "I Shot The Sheriff". Eric Clapton made a hit cover of "I Shot the Sheriff" in 1974, raising Marley's international profile.The Wailers broke up in 1974 with each of the three main members going on to pursue solo careers.
In 1975, Marley had his international breakthrough with his first hit outside Jamaica, "No Woman, No Cry" from the Natty Dread album. This was followed by his breakthrough album in the US, Rastaman Vibration (1976). In December 1976, two days before "Smile Jamaica", a free concert organized by the Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley, Marley, his wife, and manager Don Taylor were wounded in an assault by unknown gunmen inside Marley's home. Taylor and Marley's wife sustained serious injuries, but later made full recoveries. Bob Marley received only minor injuries in the chest and arm and performed at the concert. Marley left Jamaica at the end of 1976 for England, where he recorded his Exodus and Kaya albums. It was here that he was arrested and received a conviction for possession of a small quantity of cannabis while traveling in London. Survival, a defiant and politically charged album, was released in 1979. Uprising (1980) was Bob Marley's final studio album, and is one of his most religious productions, including "Redemption Song" and "Forever Loving Jah".
July 1977, Marley was found to have malignant melanoma in his big toe. Marley refused amputation, citing worries that the operation would affect his dancing, as well as the Rastafari belief that the body must be "whole": This belief may have cost him his life as the cancer spread until may 81 when he died of it. Bob Marley fathered 13 children (2 adopted) the last one having been born 3 weeks after his death, N.B. spring 72 Bob managed to father 3 sons within a month..go figure well the tabloids werent interested in him in those days..
Bob Marley's music has continuously grown in popularity in the years since his death, providing a stream of revenue for his estate and affording him a mythical status in 20th century music history. He remains enormously popular and well-known all over the world, particularly so in Africa. Marley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Time magazine chose Bob Marley & The Wailers' Exodus as the greatest album of the 20th century.
Over the years many compilation albums of his sixties work have been released, the one i present here gives a nice overview with a good soundquality.
101 Trenchtown Rock 2:56
102 Lively Up Yourself 2:48
103 Sun Is Shining 2:10
104 Kaya 2:37
105 Duppy Conqueror 3:36
106 It's Alright 2:33
107 Fussing And Fighting 2:24
108 More Axe 3:26
109 Don't Rock My Boat 4:27
110 Do It Twice 2:39
111 Memphis 1:29
112 Copasetic 3:02
113 Mr. Brown 3:30
114 Love Light Shinning 2:35
115 Dreamland 2:42
116 Man To Man - Who The Cap Fit 3:29
117 Long Long Winter 2:56
118 400 Years 2:31
201 Mr. Chatterbox 2:17
202 Keep On Skanking 3:24
203 Soul Rebel 3:17
204 Cheer Up 2:00
205 Stop The Train 2:17
206 Mellow Mood 2:34
207 Go Tell It On The Mountain 3:12
208 Jah Is Mighty 2:23
209 Picture On The Wall 2:54
210 Rainbow Country 5:42
211 This Train 2:33
212 Downpresser 3:09
213 Concrete Jungle 3:08
214 Caution 2:40
215 Corner Stone 2:23
216 Dracula 2:51
217 Can't You See 2:41
218 I Like It Like This 2:47
All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !
12 comments:
Big 5 is deleted?
I've been looking for fishy fishy since I've heard it at a party in the late 80's and finally found it here with a broken link :S
Atleast I now know what to look for, thought that ska-tune was made by Tokyoshots..
Thanks for your efforts, keep up the good work!
The Dude
Hello Dude, not so quick i have the habit of re-upping files and this beauty needs to be out there.. so try again filleducky should point the way..
Best Of Luck,
Rho
Bada booonga pa dam pam pam!
Yeeehaaw!
Eureka!
Thanks 4 your magic touch rho, blessed by the Gods of fortune :)
The Dude
Thanks for all the records.
Bob Marley was actually a Catholic.
Marley and his wife and children were baptized and Chrismated into the One Holy Catholic and Orthodox Christian Church just before he died.
His wife, Rita, is now an Orthodox Christian deaconess.
They have all rejected idolatrous Rastafarianism, as the devout Orthodox Christian Haille Salassie always urged Rastafarians to do.
Helleo Albanese i presume you mean Prince Buster ?..Well it has been re-upped now.
best of luck,
Rho
Hello Albanese, maybe you should be more specific about what you ask.Well ive reupped BMW 1 aswell now
best of luck
Rho
Please re-up the Jackie Mittoo as flac, thanks.
Hello,
can we have a few of these re-upped please ?
Hello well besides the Bob Marley the rest were all vinyl rips, i couldn't re rip them either as sadly 6 years ago i was desperate for some cash and i had to sell my reggae vinyl-never a good idea because you never get what's it really worth- but at the time.. try selling sec hand books, worth zilch cdees not worth much either.
This is truly a tragedy. i would be so happy to listen to any and all of these. i came here looking for the king kong comp but the big 5 etc etc all look super tasty. you don't archive your digital files somewhere safe huh? 'tis a shame. anyways thanks for your efforts none the less.
Hello Tek as it happens there's 2 back up disks that don't function one is aa 2 terabyte one you can imagine i want that back up but fuck sake it was a toshiba and those Japanese made it so i need specialist stuff to get anything out of it simply switching to another enclosure not possible. I learned my lesson Toshiba Harddisks, don't want that for free.
Ok so as i posted above dont have the vinyl anymore, i will try to get my first external back up it contains 300mb of posted oggfiles but im very busy currently so it could be some time..
Hello Rho!
Huge files allow download for registered members only (?)
Would you please re-up:
Bob Marley - Early Days 1+2 flac
Thanks in adcance / Thomas
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