The Wailers

The Wailers are most commonly known for being Bob Marley's backing band. Formed in 1963 as a ska/rocksteady group from Kingston, they originally consisted of Bob Marley, Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, Bunny Livingston (aka Bunny Wailer), Peter McIntosh (aka Peter Tosh), and Cherry Smith. After undergoing several name changes, including The Teenagers, The Wailing Rudeboys, and The Wailing Wailers, the band finally settled on The Wailers. In 1966 several members left the group, leaving the trio of Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, and Peter Tosh. They would release two albums -- Catch A Fire (1972) and Burnin' (1973) -- before breaking up in 1974.



Marley continued recording as "Bob Marley and The Wailers". His new backing band included the brothers Carlton and Aston Barrett, Junior Marvin, Al Anderson, Tyrone Downie, Earl Lindo, and Alvin Patterson. Female backing vocals were provided by the "I Threes", consisting of Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths, and Marley's wife, Rita. Bob Marely and The Wailers released 8 more albums (one posthumously) before Marley's death in 1981.

The Abyssinians

Formed in 1968, The Abyssinians are a roots reggae group that recorded and released their first single, Satta Massagana, in a session at Sir Coxsone Dodd's Studio One in early 1969. The group consists of Bernard Collins, together with the brothers Linford and Donald Manning. The Abyssininans are famous for their spiritual lyrics sung in gospel-like harmonies, often in Amharic, the language of Ethiopia. The use of Amharic is a result of Donald Manning’s Rastafarian influence on the group. Amharic was widely studied across Jamaica in the 60's, namely because of the Rastafarian and Afro-centric awareness sweeping the island after Haile Selassie’s visit in 1966.



The Abyssinians released other spiritual hits in the early 70's, including Declaration Of Rights, Y Mas Gan, and African Race. It would not be until 1976 before they actually released their first full album, Forward Unto Zion. Unfortunately, tensions grew in the band during the recording of the ultimately disappointing Arise (1978), and Linford Manning left the band in 1980. Today, group co-founder Donald Manning performs internationally under the name Abyssinians, with his brother Carlton Manning and singer David Morrison.

Discography

* Satta Massagana (1976)
* Arise (1978)
* Forward (1982)
* Declaration of Dub (1998)
* Reunion (1998)
* Satta Dub (1998)
* Forward to Zion (2001)
* Tree of Satta (2003)

Reggae News

The Reggae News a website based in the UK. They have a wide variety of reggae news, events, music reviews, top 10 lists, etc. In particular, they feature in-depth articles from their "journalist in Jamaica", who covers a wide range of events from historical interviews to current events.

King Tubby

King Tubby -- born Osbourne Ruddock (1941) -- is considered to be the founding father of dub music. As a talented radio repairman, it was not long before he began designing and experimenting with sound amplifiers. Although he began his career by repairing faulty equipment for sound systems, he eventually started his own system called Tubby's Hometown Hi-Fi. The sound system quickly became a crowd favorite due to high quality sound, and novel reverb and echo effects designed by Tubby himself.

At the time, he was also working as disc-cutter for Duke Reid, where he began making experimental versions of popular rocksteady songs. Since Tubby was working with the master recording tapes, he was able to cut out the vocal tracks, fading them in and out at various times. He would often reduce the mix down to only the bass, while dropping other instruments in or out. All these methods essentially added up to the birth of dub music. Sound system DJs would use the spaces between vocals to talk, or "toast", over the mixes, giving rise to a popular styling still used by dance and hip-hop DJs to this day.



"He would curl, swirl, whirl, twirl, explode, corrode, erode, ignite, excite - upset and agrovate - slipping vibrant echo to shatter the instruments, and jamming reverberation to re-duplicate the melodies."

-- Snoopy, Story Of Dub, Black Echoes, 16th July 1977

By the early 1970's, Tubby began engineering and remixing songs with Jamaica's top producers such as Lee Perry, Bunny Lee, Augustus Pablo and Vivian Jackson, featuring artists such as Johnny Clarke, Horace Andy, Big Joe, Jah Stitch and many others. Tubby eventually reached celebrity status, whereby artists from the world over would seek his production skills. Sadly, a year after opening his own studio, Tubby was shot and killed outside his home in 1988.

King Tubby's discography is extensive, and can be found here at the Roots Archive.

Culture

The Jamaican roots reggae band Culture formed in 1976. The band -- originally known as the African Disciples -- consisted of vocalists Joseph Hill (lead), Albert Walker (backing) and Kenneth Dayes (backing). Working with producer Joe Gibbs, they recorded several singles before releasing their hugely successful first album Two Sevens Clash. Hill's lyrics demonstrated a keen awareness between the history and social climate of Jamaica.



Sporting pure harmonies, soulful rhythms, and intelligent lyrics, Culture will live on as one of Jamaica's most significant roots reggae band. Although the band split in 1982, Hill nevertheless released his next album Lion Rock under the name Culture. The band rejoined in 1986, releasing several more albums before Dayes left in 1993. Although Joseph Hill passed away in 2006, his son Kenyatta Hill has picked up where his father left off -- both on stage and in the studio.

Discography

* Two Sevens Clash (1977)
* Baldhead Bridge (1978)
* Africa Stand Alone (1978)
* Harder Than the Rest produced by Sonia Pottinger (1978)
* Culture in Dub: 15 Dub Shots (1978)
* Cumbolo produced by Sonia Pottinger (1979)
* International Herb produced by Sonia Pottinger (1979)
* More Culture aka "Innocent Blood" (1981)
* Lion Rock (1982)
* Culture at Work (1986)
* Culture in Culture (1986)
* Nuff Crisis (1988)
* Good Things (1989)
* Three Sides to My Story (1991)
* Wings of a Dove (1992)
* Trod On produced by Sonia Pottinger (1993)
* One Stone (1996)
* Stoned (Ras, 1997)
* Trust Me (1997)
* Cultural Livity: Culture Live '98 (Live) (1998)
* Payday (2000)
* Humble African (2000)
* Scientist Dubs Culture into a Parallel Universe (2000)
* Live in Africa (2002)
* Live in Negril (2003)
* World Peace Rounder (2003)

Roots Archive

The Roots Archive is a website that provides a fairly comprehensive database of roots reggae albums from 1970 to 1985. The website provides artist profiles, searching tools, and album info such as studio, label, track listing, recording date, etc.

There are links to other reggae and dub websites, as well as an active reggae forum. It is possible to browse the site by artist, label, studio, or even by backing band! The Roots Archive is a project that is continually growing, so contact them if you think you can help.

Jamaican Tour Guide

Ok, I just have to share this video, because it brings a smile on my face everytime I watch it.



And now we light! (click here if video doesn't load properly above)

dub.com

The website dub.com is a wonderful resource of all things dub. The website catalogs international dub, dub websites, releases, news, record labels, etc.

They also have tons of audio "dubcasts", plus links to many other resources for streaming dub music.

Check it out!

Origin of the Name "Reggae"

The origin of the name reggae is unclear. Some say that it comes from the word Regga, the name of a Bantu speaking tribe located on Lake Tanganyika in central Africa. It is unclear why Regga would be associated with reggae music, other than word resemblance. Similarly, it is thought that the name reggae is a variation of the Jamaican patois slang word streggae, which can mean either a prostitute, or someone who is poor and barefoot. The Oxford English Dictionary says the origin of the word is unknown, but may be derived from the Jamaican-English word rege-rege, meaning quarrel.



Despite the ambiguous origin of the name, by the late 1960's the word reggay (or reggae) was being used to describe a dance fashion in Jamaica. The word was then used by the ska band Toots and the Maytals, appearing in the title of their 1968 hit Do the Reggay, cementing its association with Jamaican music and dance.

Dub Echoes

If you haven't heard, the film Dub Echoes is a documentary about dub music, namely its influence on the history of electronic and hip-hop music. Apparently after finally getting an interview by Lee "Scratch" Perry, they have finished filming and released the first trailer. The trailer can also be found at the website Dub Echoes. There is plenty of other information there as well, in particular news, information, myspace page, etc.

From the website:

The documentary "Dub Echoes" aims to show how Jamaican music invention called dub ended up influencing much of what we hear nowadays, notably in the dance music scene, transforming the studio in a musical instrument and giving way to all of sonic experiments.

"Dub Echoes" was shot, by a brazilian crew, in Kingston (Jamaica), London (UK), NY, Washington, LA (US) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). In the interviews, key names from both reggae and electronic music world, talk about the birth of this genre, how it helped to change the way we perceive music and how it's presence can still be felt today.

Spliff

The word "spliff" originates from the Jamaican slang for a joint, often with a non-specific amount of tobacco mixed in with the ganja, or marijuana. Outside of Jamaica the word is often used to describe a joint that is rolled into a conical shape.

Bob Marley, like many other reggae artists, was known to smoke spliffs both in studio sessions and on stage. One of his most famous lines is from the song Easy Skanking:

"Excuse me while I light my spliff,
Good God, I gotta take a lift!"

Israel Vibration

The members of Israel Vibration were born in Jamaica. Lascelle "Wiss" Bulgin, Albert "Apple Gabriel" Craig, and Cecil "Skeleton" Spence all contracted polio at an early age, and met in a rehabilitation center. After going their own ways and joining the Rastafari movement, they later met in Kingston and began recording in 1976. The name Israel Vibration stems from the fact that funding for their first album came from The Twelve Tribes of Israel sect of Rastafari. Their first album Same Song was released in 1978. After releasing two more albums, Unconquered People (1980) and Why You So Craven (1981), the band broke up in 1983.



In 1988 each member of Israel Vibration separately approached Doctor Dread, who recommended that they reunite. Their first release after reuniting was the critically acclaimed Strength of My Life (1989). They would go on to release more music -- including several dub albums -- throughout the nineties. Apple Gabriel left the band in the late nineties to form a solo career. Their following release Pay the Piper (1999) is considered inferior due to Gabriel's departure. The remaining members still tour to this date.

Discography

* The Same Song (1978)
* Unconquered People (1980)
* Why You So Craven (1981)
* Strength of My Life (1989)
* Dub Vibration: Israel Vibration in Dub (1990)
* Praises (1990)
* Forever (1991)
* Vibes Alive (1992)
* IV (1993)
* I.V.D.U.B. (1994)
* Survive (1995)
* On the Rock (1995)
* Dub the Rock (1995)
* Sugar Me (1995)
* Israel Dub (1996)
* Free to Move (1996)
* Live Again! (1997)
* Pay the Piper (1999)
* Practice What Jah Teach (1999)
* Jericho (2000)
* Dub Combo (2001)
* Fighting Soldiers (2003)
* Live & Jammin (2003)

"The Reggae Dub" Takes Off!

Reggae music and culture has been alive for a half-century now. This blog will meander through all things involving reggae culture, music, bands, influences, and history -- from scratchy, lo-fi, roots reggae to floor-thumpin', beat-droppin' dub. Not just ganja, my friends



... but history!