THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET

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Music has always played an important role in all our lives, especially Reggae, the music genre first developed in Jamaica, strongly influenced by traditional African, American jazz and old-time rhythm and blues.  Reggae owes its direct origins to the progressive development of Ska and Rocksteady in 1960s Jamaica. Each month, THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET will salute the legendary artists and recording studios from out of Jamaica that have placed reggae on the musical global map.
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THE QUEENS OF STUDIO ONE
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Women have taken integral roles throughout the Studio One empire, starting with Doris Darlington, mother of Clement Dodd. 
Sir Coxson's Downbeat Sound System which ruled the dance halls of Kingston Jamaica throughout the 1950s and 60s, started off as the musical entertainment for customers of Mrs Darlington's Nannys Bar; and Coxsone sometimes referred to his mother as 'Jamaica's first female DJ', as she would play records at the bar whenever he was on trips to the US, hunting down R 'n' B records. As the Downbeat Sound System grew larger, Mrs Darlington would often work a food stall on the night.  When Brentford Road studios opened in the early 60s, Mrs Darlington continued to run a food stall for workers, artists and musicians in the yard and she also ran a canteen at the back of the studio. 

Studio One in Kingston Jamaica was like Tamla Motown in Detroit USA.  Its chief record producer Clement “Sir Coxsone” Dodd, (who died of a heart attack in 2004 aged 72), nurtured the careers of nearly every internationally renowned reggae artist, songwriter and players of instruments, for example: Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths, Jennifer Lara, Dawn Penn; not forgetting Bob Marley and the original Wailers (Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh), John Holt, Dennis Brown and Bob Andy to name a few. 

Clement Dodd was one of the first to record local talent, and an integral force in the development of Ska.  He was also, (by way of his sound system Coxson Downbeat), the first to introduce the DJ or 'Toaster' to the dance hall. The first being Count Machuki, followed by King Stitt. THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET will do a special about the 'Toasters' in the forth-coming  months. 

The haunting rhythm tracks created from the Brentford Road Studios A.K.A Studio One, or as some say: 'Studio First', still sound good today as they did back then...

So in the words of the legendary Coxson Downbeat 'Toaster' King Stitt who always chanted these words through the microphone... 

"No matter what the people say, these sounds lead the way.

It's the order of the day, from your boss DeeJay!" 

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW AND TUNE INTO THE LEGENDARY SOUNDS OF



THE QUEENS OF STUDIO ONE
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Everyting Bless
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Music has always played an important role in all our lives, especially Reggae, the music genre first developed in Jamaica, strongly influenced by traditional African, American jazz and old-time rhythm and blues.  Reggae owes its direct origins to the progressive development of Ska and Rocksteady in 1960s Jamaica. Each month, THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET will salute the legendary artists and recording studios from out of Jamaica that have placed reggae on the musical global map.
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Rock SteadyandThe Original Cool Sounds of Duke Reid's
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Treasure Isle Records

My mom launched her successful hair salon business in March 1962 during the musical era of Blue Beat and Ska. In her glory days of the 60s and 70s, mom’s salon was packed 6 days a week with women of all colours and creeds flocking to her to have their hair cut, styled, permed, and straightened. Many brides and bridesmaids were coiffed in her boutique. Not only was mom a class act at styling hair, she was a bespoken master tailor and seamstress. She designed and made an abundance of brides’ wedding dresses and the bridesmaid’s outfits too, as well as the bridegroom’s suits. This meant that nearly every other Saturday we were invited to many wedding receptions and house parties. So when mom finished work on a Saturday evening, my brother Bruce and I would help her sweep up and tidy the salon, then we’d put on our party clothes and forward to the wedding receptions and/or parties, where the sound systems would play the Rock Steady beat. Around that time, Ska had already begun to slow from its early-60’s rush by 1965 and Treasure Isle Records, named after the legendary Duke Reid’s liquor store in Kingston Jamaica, distilled this slower, easier music to perfection. 
Stanley ‘Duke’ Reid built his sound system (naming it Duke Reid), when he resigned his post with the police force after ten years of service, and then started playing on the street corner where he lived in down town Kingston Jamaica.  He soon began to attract large crowds and he would often travel to New York to pick up the latest best sounds and so always kept ahead. At this time the top sound systems were: Tom the Great Sebastian, Count Nicks, Cosmic, V-Rocket, Blue Mirror, Edwards and of course, the legendary Sir Coxsone Downbeat. In exciting competitions, sounds would challenge one another to play the best and/or the latest records; and to play the heaviest or simply entertain the public with their blend of taste and technique, selection and style. This ability to swing the crowd to dance and to feel the way they wanted musically would eventually prove to be the link between the sound system and the emerging Jamaican music industry. 
Duke Reid was a tough guy. He conducted his negotiations with a gun in his lap and heavy cops at his side just to let everyone know that he meant business. The music of Treasure Isle’s golden era reflects his determination to have nothing but the best from his studio in Bond Street Kingston, which was above his liquor store that bore the same name. He employed Tommy McCook as his musical director, and a cast of musicians known as The Supersonics to carry out McCook’s wishes. Duke Reid’s Rocksteady ruled the roost. The Alton Ellis single Rock Steady gave the music its name. With additional groups groomed in the Treasure Isle camp such as The Paragons, The Melodians, The Sensations, The Techniques with Phyllis Dillon recruited to give the record label some feminine grace, Treasure Isle could hardly fail.  The studio almost always had a record in the Jamaican top five from 1966 to 1968. 
Unfortunately the label failed to capitalise on its success and by 1969 was starting to struggle in the face of a blitz by the rougher sounds of a new beat called Reggae. Duke Reid fought back, in 1970 he re-launched his old groove by placing a new kid on the block U Roy on top of his Rock Steady rhythms. U Roy held five top ten hits in the Jamaican charts during that year. His freestyle rhyming laid the ground work for the music that would come to dominate the world in the 1980’s – rap.  There were further hits to come from Treasure Isle, but it was really its last hurrah. By 1972, the label had again slipped back in the face of dub and it never to regained its status again. 
So this is the music I used to skank to with mom at the weddings and house parties in my youth; a long time before my sound system days. Duke Reid’s music is now played as “revives” in the shebeens and house parties wherever there is a West Indian population and has remained so ever since. Duke Reid’s Rock Steady still makes you feel its effects as soon as you and your partner turn down the lights down low and dance rub-a-dub style.
So as 'the Teacher' Daddy U Roy still says: 
"Dis station rule the nation with version, so wake the town and tell the people 'bout the musical discs coming your way!"
Kick back, click on the links below and enjoy the original cool sounds of Duke Reid's Treasure Isle Records.
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Everyting Bless
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THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET (3)
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Music has always played an important role in all our lives, especially Reggae, the music genre first developed in Jamaica, strongly influenced by traditional African, American jazz and old-time rhythm and blues. Reggae owes its direct origins to the progressive development of Ska and Rocksteady in 1960s Jamaica. Each month, THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET will salute the legendary artists and recording studios from out of Jamaica that have placed reggae on the musical global map.
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NINEY (THE OBSERVER)
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Winston "NINEY" Holness's Observer label during the 1970s and up into the early 80s released many top hits by artists like the late greats Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs and Delroy Wilson; as well as current recording artists Michael Rose and Ken Boothe.  In fact, Dennis Brown's hits for the Observer label are many of his most memorable. NINEY was one of Reggae's greatest "Rebel" producers and took Reggae by storm throughout the 70s. It was NINEY who really launched Dennis Brown's career and their collaboration resulted in some of the most enduring songs that Dennis ever recorded. NINEY also launched the career of Michael Rose who later went on to fame with the legendary Black Uhuru, as well as producing ever-lasting tracks for Gregory Isaacs, Delroy Wilson, Freddie McGregor, I Roy, Junior Byles and The Heptones, among others.
NINEY was always interested in music while growing up in Montego Bay, on Jamaica's northwest coast. He started his involvement as a teenager when he moved to Hanover to live with his Grandmother.  While living there, he met up with some guys who went to Montana High School as well, they had a band, he worked and sang with them. However, the music business drew all aspiring young talent to Kingston. If you wanted to sing professionally at that time, you had two choices, try and join a hotel band on the north coast or go to Kingston and try your luck with one of the labels.  So after arriving in Kingston, NINEY quickly hooked up with a band of young producers like Lee Perry and Bunny Lee, who were to be the producers who challenged the supremacy of labels like Studio One and Treasure Isle.
Both NINEY and Lee Perry worked for Joe Gibbs, producing tracks for his Amalgamated label with NINEY taking over the top spot when Perry moved on to try a solo career.  After Gibbs retired the Amalgamated label, NINEY introduced Nicky Thomas to Gibbs who scored a huge hit with Thomas in the UK, "Love of the Common People".  Dennis Brown was also introduced to Joe Gibbs by NINEY who felt that the Gibbs-penned "Money in My Pocket" would be a perfect vehicle for Dennis. Groups like The Heptones also benefited by NINEY'S growing producing skill while recording at Gibbs'  Duhaney Park studio.  It was during this period that NINEY started working on "Westbound Train" that Joe Gibbs felt should be released as an instrumental.
When NINEY decided to create his own Observer label, the groundwork was set, he had worked with some of the era's top producers and scored hits for them.  His Observer label also set the stage for the close collaboration he was to enjoy with Dennis Brown over the ensuing years, starting with the hits "Westbound Train" and "Cassandra".  NINEY was a force to be reckoned with.  He was young, savvy and most importantly, he had hits. Now he was producing one of Reggae's young stars, one who exhibited large promise but who had not yet achieved the hits people were waiting for. NINEY, the "Rebel" producer had the perfect "Rebel" voice in Dennis Brown. With the growing success that NINEY was achieving, he turned to other singers and began creating hits for them; for example, Michael Rose's "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", changed his career. The song, a reference to the movie of the same name, substituted a parent's worst nightmare, a ganja smoking Natty Dread for the benign Sidney Poitier, and it became a classic when released. This song helped propel Michael Rose, Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare to international superstardom.
NINEY (The Observer) was a hit maker, creating a vast output of hits by a variety of artists that all enjoyed the tough ghetto production that he used to launch many careers. So kick back, click on the tracks below and enjoy some of the greatest hits of NINEY (The Observer).
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Everyting Bless
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THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET (4)
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Music has always played an important role in all our lives, especially Reggae, the music genre first developed in Jamaica, strongly influenced by traditional African, American jazz and old-time rhythm and blues. Reggae owes its direct origins to the progressive development of Ska and Rocksteady in 1960s Jamaica. Each month, THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET will salute the legendary artists and recording studios from out of Jamaica that have placed reggae on the musical global map.
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LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY
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(THE UPSETTER)


LEE 'SCRATCH' PERRY, in addition to being one of the most innovative musicians was one of the original independent producers in Jamaica who emerged in the late 1950s andearly 1960s. He worked initially at Sir Coxone Dodd's Studio One but left in 1967 to join Joe Gibbs for a short spell.  By the next year he had set up his own Upsetter label.
Although much of his early work was uncredited, he developed a reputation for using unusual and ear catching sound effects.  The latter part of the decade of the 1960s saw his seminal work with the (Wailin') Wailers - Bunny Wailer, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh - resulting from intuitive understanding for the need to allow their vocal harmonies to stand out from the rhythmic arrangements. To achieve this goal his decision to record them with The Upsetters' Carlton and Aston Barrett was inspired. The results were, arguably, two of the best albums recorded throughout the career of Bob Marley in "Soul Rebels" and "African Herbsman" 
As he moved into the 1970s, he used his Black Ark Studio to embrace not only the emerging dub style but also that of on of its greatest exponents in King Tubby. Other artists to record at his studio included Big Youth, U Roy, The Meditations, The Congo's and Junior Murvin.
Lee Perry never compromised his unique approach to recording and has gained a reputation as an unpredictable (to put it mildly) individual. Without doubt his contribution to the development of reggae, in all its forms, for more than forty years can hardly be challenged.
So kick back, click on the tracks below and enjoy some of the best music LEE SCRATCH PERRY has ever produced.

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EVERYTING -  BLESS
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THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET (5)
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Music has always played an important role in all our lives, especially Reggae, the music genre first developed in Jamaica, strongly influenced by traditional African, American jazz and old-time rhythm and blues. Reggae owes its direct origins to the progressive development of Ska and Rocksteady in 1960s Jamaica. Each month, THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET will salute the legendary artists and recording studios from out of Jamaica that have placed reggae on the musical global map.
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YABBY YOU
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THE LATE GREAT

VIVIAN (YABBY YOU) JACKSON
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"JESUS DREAD"

Sunrise: August 14 1946   Sunset: January 12 2010
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Vivian (Yabby You) Jackson, the legendary Jamaican record producer passed away at the age of 63 in Clarendon Jamaica, January 12 2010. He was one of seven children and left home when he was twelve to find work. Although he hadn't made any new recordings in recent years, he contributed a number of significant productions to the Jamaican record industry in the mid 70s, not only from his own group, Yabby You and the Prophets, but also from other artists whom he nurtured in their early recording days; especially Michael Prophet and Wayne Wade.
Yabby You became seriously ill in his teenage years while working at a furnace facility. The effects of malnutrition had left him hospitalised and on his release, he was left with severe arthritis which had partially impaired his legs. As a result, his physical condition was a consequence of him losing his job and he began hustling a living on the streets of Kingston.
An early recording he made at King Tubby's Studio in Waterhouse, Kingston 11 in 1972, would eventually lead him to the recognition he so rightly deserved. A deeply spiritual man, his music had a mystical passion. In the 70s, when you talked about roots, rock, reggae, you were talking about Mr Vivian (Yabby You) Jackson.
He eventually founded his own record label in Kingston Jamaica and went on to release his recordings on the Grove Music Label in London. His ability to create unique rhythms with haunting horn phases and vocal styling, gave him a very distinctive sound.
So kick back and catch the Reggae dance hall vibes of the 70s, when the trailer-load of sound systems used to spin the legendary Yabby You  riddims on their turntables.
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Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. 
PSALMS 149; verse 3
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Everyting Bless
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Music has always played an important role in all our lives, especially Reggae, the music genre first developed in Jamaica, strongly influenced by traditional African, American jazz and old-time rhythm and blues. Reggae owes its direct origins to the progressive development of Ska and Rocksteady in 1960s Jamaica. Each month, THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET will salute the legendary artists and recording studios from out of Jamaica that have placed reggae on the musical global map.
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JOE GIBBS: A REGGAE LEGEND
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THE LATE GREAT  JOE GIBBS 
Born: Joel .A. Gibson
Sunrise: October 14 1942   Sunset: February 21 2008
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THE FAMOUS JOE GIBBS RECORD LABEL

The legendary recording producer Joe Gibbs passed away on 21 February 2008 at Kingston’s University Hospital of the West Indies from a heart attack. Aged 65, Gibbs left behind an impressive back catalogue of music, the bulk of its contents given classic status by Jamaican music enthusiasts. However, these songs have also had a truly global impact, inspiring and influencing everything from punk to the very latest British urban music.
Born in Montego Bay in 1942, Gibbs left Jamaica to train as an engineer in the United States. He returned to the island in the mid-1960s to set up a TV repair shop, before he made his first venture into the music industry when he diversified into record retail from the same store front, stacking boxes of 45s alongside the broken-down electrical equipment. In 1967, shortly after this sideline proved a runaway success, he took the natural step of setting up a DIY recording studio in the office at the rear of the building.
Despite falling into the business more or less by accident, Gibbs had a hand in some of the biggest hits of the rocksteady era, his Amalgamated imprint almost singlehandeldy establishing the genre with Roy Shirley’s Hold Them. Gibbs was also clever in his collaborations, first enlisting the studio talents of a young Lee Perry and subsequently, Winston Holness aka Niney The Observer. Both alliances paid off, and throughout this period his operation churned out a flood of popular music by artists including Errol Dunkley, Sir Lord Comic and The Pioneers.
However, it was the later reggae sound that brought Gibbs his first international success, scoring a UK top 10 entry in 1970 with Nicky Thomas’s Love of The Common People (later covered by Paul Young) and starting a more hands-on working relationship with Errol Thompson and house band the Professionals, an outfit that included among its members bassist Robbie Shakespeare and drummer Sly Dunbar.
Thanks to an unstoppable run of hits, numbering among them more than 100 Jamaican No 1s, Gibbs and Thompson would soon become known as “The Mighty Two”. Through out the mid-1970s, they continued to produce the biggest artists in Jamaica, The Mighty Diamonds, Beres Hammond, Dennis Brown and Gregory Isaacs to name but a few, releasing songs across a bewildering and continually changing array of labels.
However, the end of the decade would bring about their most famous work, from Althea & Donna’s 1977 pop crossover anthem Uptown Top Ranking to Culture’s Two Sevens Clash - an album that would come to be a key reference for bands including the Clash and the Slits, and JC Lodge’s 1980 smash Someone Loves You Honey.
Gibbs never enjoyed quite the same level of success later in his life, but by this point he could afford to slow down, having already established himself as one of reggae's most important figures. Accordingly, he continued to enjoy the respect of both his peers and generations of younger performers. This can be seen on veteran producers Steely & Clevie’s 2002 album Old to the New:  A Steely & Clevie Tribute to Joe Gibbs Classics, yielding Sean Paul and Sasha’s hit single I’m So in Love With You. This project marked four decades in the international charts for Gibbs. With that in mind, it’s no stretch to say that he will be remembered as a man responsible for some of the most important music to ever have emerged from Jamaica’s fertile cultural turf.
So kick back, click on the tracks below and listen to some of the classics Joe Gibbs produced.
Everyting Bless
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THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET (7) - http://wp.me/pDUcK-1zx
THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET (8) - http://wp.me/pDUcK-1OM
THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET (9) - http://wp.me/pDUcK-1Xm
THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET (10) - http://wp.me/pDUcK-2pA
THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET (11) - http://wp.me/pDUcK-2Fy
THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET (12) - http://wp.me/pDUcK-1Ss

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