I&I Space

March 7, 2008 7:10 PM

Each of the following MySpace Music pages features bios and/or photos and/or videos and/or miscellaneous related materials and/or up to six songs by each of the following old school Jamaican Reggae and/or dub artists: Alton Ellis, Toots and the Maytals, Jimmy Cliff, The Wailing Wailers, Big Youth, Dennis Brown, Mikey Dread, The Meditations, Leroy Brown, Mad Professor, Augustus Pablo, Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus, King Tubby, The Abyssinians, Everton Blender, Bunny Wailer, Prince Alla, Israel Vibration, Peter Tosh, Gregory Isaacs, Shinehead, Jah Ruby, Carlton Livingston, King Jammy, Duckie Simpson, I Threes, Judy Mowatt, Sly and Robbie, Barrington Levi, Yellowman, Delroy Williams, Wailing Souls, Earl "Chinna" Smith, Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, Burning Spear, Max Romeo, Black Uhuru, Leroy Sibbles, Ijahman Levi and Earl Cunningham.

Extra bonus: videoclips of classic songs from Jamaica's #1 soul man, Toots Hibberts and the Maytals:
Sweet and Dandy (from the movie "The Harder They Come")
Pressure Drop (fan-made clip, random images, but the song is there)
Reggae Got Soul (really smokin' clip...)

And from way back in 1962, this amazing clip from a live show in Jamaica: a very young Toots sings Treat Me Bad & I Will Never Let You Down.

posted by flapjax at midnite (25 comments total)

Whoa! well done mate. Right, I'll be back in a while!
posted by Frasermoo at 7:30 PM on March 7, 2008

working my way through. awesome.
posted by Frasermoo at 8:07 PM on March 7, 2008

This is awesome, thanks. Although I do find it funny that even legendary artists have MySpace pages now, since I still associate MySpace with bad garage bands. Especially since some of the people in this list are dead and others probably don't even use computers.
posted by DecemberBoy at 8:13 PM on March 7, 2008

God, I haven't heard "Nobody Move, Nobody Gets Hurt" by Yellowman in years. Sweet.

I saw Toots and the Maytalls at SXSW a few years ago -- I believe the Maytalls were all ringers, but Toots was a little musclebound powerhouse.

Good stuff!
posted by Bookhouse at 8:15 PM on March 7, 2008

Oh, man, an excuse to tell this story....

The Kennedy Center (DC) has free concerts 364 days a year. Sure, it's usually some highschool chorus group from Wisconsin, but there are some good shows, too--Hugh Masekela, Randy Newman, KC and the Sunshine Band (!), Malagasy jazz, really neat stuff, all free, every night (except Christmas day, I think).

So when I heard, last June, that there was a special Caribbean Carnival concert featuring Shaggy and Wyclef Jean, among other, lesser-known, bands, I thought, cool, I'll go to that.

The show was amazing. Sure, the Ska-tellites were great, and Plunky was fun. Shaggy did all his greatest hits (including one that got Condi to dance). Wyclef Jean did a rap with the President of Haiti, got a little 4-year-old kid to do Shakira’s part in "Hips Don’t Lie," and did an awesome version of "Redemption Song." All that was worth the price of admission (FREE) for sure.

But the best performance was the unbilled appearance of Jimmy Fuckin’ Cliff. "Many Rivers to Cross"? "I Can See Clearly Now"? Awwww, yeah.

On my cab ride home, I got in a conversation with the Ethiopian driver. I talked a bit about the show, but, you know, I mean, of course he wouldn't have the context, right? I mean, I could rattle off the names of the performers, but he'd have no idea of what I was talking about, you know? When I mentioned Jimmy Cliff, the driver started singing "Many Rivers to Cross." He knew of Cliff from, get this, his days in the early-80s Soviet Union. When I mentioned that Condoleeza Rice was at the show, he told me that he’d seen her perform at the Kennedy Center, too.

Damn, I love living in DC.
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:21 PM on March 7, 2008

Horsemouth!
posted by horsemuth at 8:50 PM on March 7, 2008

On the down side, Kiddus I's page seems to be as sparse as his career...

Nice work flapjax, yet again.
posted by horsemuth at 8:53 PM on March 7, 2008

Goddamn moonpie, that's cool story.
posted by now i'm piste at 9:26 PM on March 7, 2008

I don't get all the praise for this. Or all the favorites. I mean, I like Desmond Dekker as much as the next guy (what's that, you say? he wasn't part of this post? well, he damn well should have been) but this is just a bunch of myspace pages. Yeah, I've heard that there might be pages for some musicians on that site.
posted by dersins at 10:27 PM on March 7, 2008

Thanks so much for the Desmond Dekker links, dersins. You're very kind to offer those.

And you're so right, he damn well should've been part of this post, but hey, since he wasn't, it afforded you the lucky opportunity to really put the OP in his place! And I know that must feel good! Here's a MySpace Music page for Dekker. It's very bare bones: not even a picture, but there are 3 tunes to listen to there.

In closing, let me just note that your overall displeasure with this post has been duly noted!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:42 PM on March 7, 2008

Shaggy did all his greatest hits (including one that got Condi to dance )

Well that was disappointing. I was hoping to see Condi's bony ass doing the Dutty Wine. Who said black folks all got riddim?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 12:31 AM on March 8, 2008

I was hoping to see Condi's bony ass doing the Dutty Wine. Who said black folks all got riddim?

Well, it's well established by now that Condi's a discredit to her race.

The human race.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:02 AM on March 8, 2008

"Oh. Well.. I just want to say, ever since I heard your music, I love black people!!"
(Massive Attack vs. Mad Professor)
posted by hypersloth at 5:10 AM on March 8, 2008

Don't get all the praise either. Nothing but myspace links. So its just a list of your favourite reggae artists then.
posted by criticalbill at 5:34 AM on March 8, 2008

In 1968, I was just 12.

Strange though it may seem today, there was no MTV. There was no Radio 1. There was no local radio. BBC radio channels had names like the Home Service, and the Light Programme. If you wanted pop music, you had to turn to the pirate stations like C-A-R-O-L-I-N-E, Caroline, Caroline -- CA-RO-LINE, but as the government was fighting a running battle with them, sometimes you could catch them, sometimes you couldn't.

So for teenagers, The TV show, Top of the Pops, and the radio show, Pick of the Pops, on a Thursday night and a Sunday night, respectively, were essential high points of the week. Ska had been hot. Prince Buster, The Skatalites, Desmond Dekker etc. had all had Top 10 hits. And then a record broke, that went straight to Number 1, and stayed there for weeks on end.

Unfortunately, the BBC refused to play this record. Instead of playing the Number 1 record at the end of each show, they'd play the Number 2. And not only did they refuse to play it, they refused to even tell you what it was called, so you couldn't go down to your local record emporium and say, "Oi, shopkeep! Give me a copy of Max Romeo's.. um.. uh.. OK, just give me his new single. Is this it? Is this the one that I want? But how do I know? How do I know you aren't lying to me and trying to palm off his earlier rubbish singles?"

Well folks, due to the glory of the internet, I can provide you with that music I was so cruelly denied access to all those years ago. Caution: this record is not suitable for work. Unless you work in a shabeen or a juke joint, that is.

Max Romeo: Wet Dream
posted by PeterMcDermott at 5:35 AM on March 8, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

criticalbill (indeed!): writes: Nothing but myspace links.

I'm of the opinion that links should be judged on the merits of their contents, and the potential interest in those contents that MeFiers might have. MySpace Music pages happen to be a good resource for information on music and musicians and, most importantly, they have lots of music folks can listen to. MySpace Music has twenty gazillion pages, though, so from time to time I make FPPs that are compendiums of musical genres (see previous: Delta blues, Cambodian pop, saxophonists, 1960s one-hit wonders, oldtime/Americana...) for the benefit and edification of those who might not have the time or inclination to weed through the overwhelming amount of MySpace pages to find these often obscure and semi-forgotten musicians. It's simply a version of filtering, which, as I understand it, this website is all about. I'm also aware that by making posts such as these I am often introducing people to musicians they've never heard of, or have only dimly heard of. I find it a little odd that you would take issue with any of this, but, well... sorry, man, if it really bugs you. Happily, there are many other FPPs you can check out!

So its just a list of your favourite reggae artists then.

That would be an incorrect assumption on your part. Some of these artists I like a lot, others not so much, and one or two I really don't care for at all. My criterion for inclusion in this post was strictly this: does this artists fall into the category of "old school" or "classic" dub or reggae? If so, they went into this post whether I like them or not.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:31 AM on March 8, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Is this something you'd need to only smoke cigarettes and strictly shag to understand?
posted by chunking express at 7:03 AM on March 8, 2008

Lots of music posts at MEfi .. a slow news week. I think Jimmy Cliff is incredible, a giant a mong men. thanks flapjax. btw there are cool 60s mod/soul/reggae parties you get get to here in Bmore. How bout you. Oh, and by the way one more awesome musician here.
posted by celerystick at 8:32 AM on March 8, 2008

Ah, celerystick for the dick roll!

In the spirit of the post:

Jackie Mittoo (myspace; Alton Ellis singing in tribute on YT)
Yabby U (myspace group; African Queen album)
Hortense Ellis (myspace;YT clips: in the studio, "People Make the World Go Round," and, a personal fave, "Breakfast in Bed" with Jackie Mittoo on the keys)
The Scientist (myspace; "Blood On His Lips," "Night of the Living Dead," and "Beam Down" YT)
U Roy (myspace; in the studio YT)
The Melodians (myspace; "Rivers of Babylon" YT clip and, because it weirded me out, the worst version of the song I have ever heard... apologies to Daniel O'Donnell fans)

Not in the spirit of the post (necessarily):
King Jammy in the studio (YT)
Mountain Goats "Song for Dennis Brown" (blogpost--scroll down)
YT clip of Bunny Lee, Prince (King) Jammy, and Scientist with intro on King Tubby in the studio.
Perfect Sound Forever article on King Tubby's influence.

Some great online resources about reggae (or at least my fave subgenres dub and rocksteady):
Dread Library
Roots Archives
Reggae Train

OK, I've got other stuff to do...
posted by sleepy pete at 8:43 AM on March 8, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I'm looking forward to explore your offer: I have been meaning to learn more about the genre since I heard a street group playing. This post gives me a place to start.
posted by francesca too at 10:19 AM on March 8, 2008

Thank you flapjax at midnite and others. As for the haters......
posted by adamvasco at 10:40 AM on March 8, 2008

I find this post awesome post and most happy-making, flapjax - thanks very much.
posted by madamjujujive at 7:54 PM on March 8, 2008

Here's the same list via Last.fm, for those who would like to avoid MySpace at all costs. I'm not sure when, but somewhere down the line Last.fm became Pandora with networking. It's friggin sweet.

The strikeouts only have 30-second previews, and maybe 3 of the artists below only have a couple tracks, but the vast majority of the artists below have a dozen or more full tracks :

Alton Ellis, Toots and the Maytals, Jimmy Cliff, The Wailing Wailers, Big Youth, Dennis Brown, Mikey Dread, The Meditations, Leroy Brown, Mad Professor, Augustus Pablo, Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus, King Tubby, The Abyssinians, Everton Blender, Bunny Wailer, Prince Alla, Israel Vibration, Peter Tosh, Gregory Isaacs, Shinehead, Jah Ruby, Carlton Livingston, King Jammy, Duckie Simpson, I Threes, Judy Mowatt, Sly and Robbie, Barrington Levi, Yellowman, Delroy Williams, Wailing Souls, Earl "Chinna" Smith, Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, Burning Spear, Max Romeo, Black Uhuru, Leroy Sibbles, Ijahman Levi and Earl Cunningham.
posted by Satapher at 9:20 PM on March 8, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Wow, thanks, satapher! Nice work! (but boo to 30-second previews!)
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:30 PM on March 8, 2008

It smells AWESOME in here, like my friend's older brother's room back in 1986. Pass it to the left hand side.
posted by not_on_display at 11:05 AM on March 9, 2008