Ska, Reggae, Rocksteady

[Pete S]

Just a quick note to say if you like this stuff you might find my advert in the sales section to be of interest, to justify this posts inclusion in this section, here's one I made earlier

[Pete S]

That track by the way is The Wailers - Ska Jerk - same tune as "Shotgun"

[jazzyjas]

Pete,

i've got this on a black Coxsone label by the Wailers and it's called 'Ska Jam'. Maybe a slightly different take.

Any info?

KTF

Jas

[Pete S]

No but it's definitely Ska Jerk - have you played it, there's at least 3 tracks I know called Ska Jam, Tommy McCook, Jackie Mittoo and Baba Brooks, must be a typo on the label. Nice 45 though on Coxsone.

[Richard]

Pete, I've tried looking in the sales section and I can't find your listing. Point me in the right direction mate

Edited August 4, 2005 by richard

[Pete S]

Pete, I've tried looking in the sales section and I can't find your listing. Point me in the right direction mate 

link

Yeah they took the advert down, not quite sure why as I wasn't copying anyone's official project, it's my own collection of records. I'll pm you the details ok

[Pete S]

In a moment of supreme irony, the people who own Trojan just rang me up and asked if I could supply them with a copy of my archive with a view to using it as a source for stuff they haven't got

[Guest Stuart T]

In a moment of supreme irony, the people who own Trojan just rang me up and asked if I could supply them with a copy of my archive with a view to using it as a source for stuff they haven't got 

link

Maybe they'll do a boxed set themed around the Pete Smith archives? The themes for them are getting a bit tenuous now. Was the Suedehead boxed set any good?

[Pete S]

Maybe they'll do a boxed set themed around the Pete Smith archives?  The themes for them are getting a bit tenuous now.  Was the Suedehead boxed set any good?

link

No it was awful. CD 1 was ok, cd 2 a bit commercial, cd 3 all chart stuff!

I think they want the stuff for all the b sides and that - I recorded all the Island and Doctor Bird b sides, unfortunately I didn't do track listings so I have a bit of work to do there.

They actually said they don't mind me using anything that might be theirs because it encourages people to go out and buy the cd's.

Anyway I dubbed off vinyl mostly, sounds better with scratches on I reckon...

[Guest mattmale]

Interesting thread this But i was just wondering what's the difference between Rocksteady, Bluebeat and Ska? Is it just a tempo thing?

M.

[Guest Stuart T]

Interesting thread this  But i was just wondering what's the difference between Rocksteady, Bluebeat and Ska? Is it just a tempo thing?

M.

link

Difference beats emphasised. Ska has empahsis on 2 and 4 of a four beat bar, rocksteady hits all four beats but with bass and guitar alternating, makes it sound slowed down. Thinks thats about right. Big ska hits are often the faster ones too.

[davidwapples]

blue beat is a british label which released the ska tracks

the others are types of music

[Pete S]

All different eras too:

ska 1962-65

Ska is a form of Jamaican music which began in the late 1950s. Combining elements of traditional mento and calypso with an American jazz and rhythm and blues sound, it was a precursor in Jamaica to rocksteady and later reggae. It is the predominant form of music listened to by the Rudeboy, Mod, and Skinhead movements, amongst others

rocksteady 1966-67

Rocksteady is the name given to a style of music popular in Jamaica between 1966 and 1968. The term comes from a dance style which Alton Ellis named in his recording "Rock Steady". The Rocksteady dance was a more relaxed affair than the earlier, more frantic ska moves.

A successor to ska, and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady saw the flowering of Jamaican vocal harmony groups such as The Gaylads, The Kingstonians, Toots & the Maytals and The Paragons. Key musical differences between ska and rocksteady were a more relaxed tempo, a diminished use of horns, and a change of the role of the bass. With ska the bass had tended to play quarter notes in an even "walking" style, but in rocksteady the bass part became more broken-up and syncopated, using aggressive, repetitive lines which were often doubled by a guitar.

Rocksteady arose at a time when young people from the Jamaican countryside were flooding into the urban ghettos of Kingston, in neighborhoods known as Riverton City, Greenwich Town and, most notoriously, Trenchtown. Though much of the country was optimistic about their future in the immediate post-independence climate, these poverty-stricken youths did not share in this sentiment. They eschewed the frenetic energy of ska, and the cultural mores of the time, many becoming delinquents who despite being anti-social, exuded a certain coolness and style. These unruly youths became known as rude boys. The rude boy phenomenon had existed in the ska period but was expressed more obviously during the rocksteady era in songs such as "Rude Boy Gone A Jail" by the Clarendonians, "No Good Rudie" by Justin Hinds & the Dominoes, "Don't Be Rude" by the Rulers. Though Alton Ellis is generally said to be the father of rocksteady for his hit "Girl I've Got a Date", other candidates for the first rocksteady single include "Take It Easy" by Hopeton Lewis, "Tougher Than Tough" by Derrick Morgan and "Hold Them" by Roy Shirley.

The record producer Duke Reid released Alton Ellis' "Girl I've Got a Date", on his Treasure Isle label, as well as recordings by The Techniques, The Silvertones, The Jamaicans and The Paragons; his work with these groups helped establish the vocal sound of rocksteady. In addition to the harmony trios, solo artists such as Delroy Wilson, Bob Andy and Ken Boothe were also hugely popular. Rocksteady lyrics tended to deal with love, rude boys, or were simple dance tunes, and while singers sometimes covered American hits, many Jamaican artists composed fine original songs. Musicians who were crucial in creating the music included guitarist Lynn Taitt, keyboard player Jackie Mittoo, drummer Winston Grennan, bassist Jackie Jackson and saxophonist Tommy McCook.

Several factors contributed to the growth of rocksteady into reggae in the late 1960s. The emigration to Canada of key musical arrangers Jackie Mittoo and Lynn Taitt along with the modernization of Jamaican studio technology had a marked affect on the sound and style of the recordings. Musically, bass patterns became more complex and increasingly dominated the arrangements, as the piano gave way to the electric organ and the horns faded even farther into the background. A scratchier, percussive rhythm guitar and a more precise and intricate style of drumming came into prominence. Lyrical content changed, as the honeymoon of Jamaican independence had ended by the late 1960s with the average Jamaican seeing little relief from widespread poverty. By the early 1970s as the Rastafarian movement gained in popularity, songs tended to be focused less on romance and more on black consciousness, politics and protest. Although rocksteady was a short-lived phase of Jamaican popular music, it was hugely influential to the reggae and dancehall styles that followed, and many basslines originally created for rocksteady songs continue to be recycled and used in contemporary Jamaican music.

reggae 1968-70

from wikipedia

[Guest mattmale]

Good stuff. Thanks all

[Simsy]

You live in a glass house, so don't trow stones

Rude, Rude, Rudee(Osvaldo Farres, C. Campbell). Aka Don't Throw Stones. ... Prince Buster/Voice Of The People single. UK single (Blue Beat) 1966, with Prince Of Peace on the ...

www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/ Disco/6032/RudeRudeRudee.htm - 3k -

Edited August 6, 2005 by Ian Sims

[Pete S]

You live in a glass house, so don't trow stones

link

Rude Rude Rudie

[Simsy]

You live in a glass house, so don't trow stones

link

I hope this is not the post that got me into trouble mike, coz if so, it's a line out of a song, honest. Pete has added the next line underneath.

[Pete S]

Yes it's the intro to Rude Rude Rudie by Prince Buster

[Guest cC B]

Yes it's the intro to Rude Rude Rudie by Prince Buster

link

And called "Don't throw stones" on UK Blue Beat. One of my

all time fave ska tracks! The backing track was also released

on Blue Beat under a different title. Name escapes me at the

moment. Prince Buster - what an artist!

Cheers,

Christian B

[Simsy]

Got sent a great CD for my birthday the other day. Many fine tracks etc. One that stood out for me was, Delroy Wilson ~ I want justice. Top tune

[jazzyjas]

I know Blue Beat was a label, but I also thought it was another form of reggae music. i was under the impression that it referred to the early stuff that had a swing to it, like "My Boy Lollipop" and "Honour Your Mother and Father" by desmond Dekker.

Pete is that true/

KTF

Jas

ps. do you have "Ice Water" by Jack Sparrow anywhere? That's a rare one.

[Richard]

I know Blue Beat was a label, but I also thought it was another form of reggae music. i was under the impression that it referred to the early stuff that had a swing to it, like "My Boy Lollipop" and "Honour Your Mother and Father" by desmond Dekker.

link

Much the same as Soul was called Tamla Motown by those out of the know, Ska was called Blue Beat. Suppose it was a easyily indentifiable label that people picked up on and the name stuck. Blue Beat ran until 1967 so it wasn't only the early stuff released on there.

While on the subject I've bought a copy of Big Charlie - You May Not Believe/Red Sun on Blue Beat. I'd picked this up not knowing much about it as I can't find it listed in the Record Collector guide (or much information about it on the web) I only paid about a tenner so can't go wrong really. Perhaps Mr Smith can enlighten me?? He'll probably come back as say it's common as muck but I think it's a well decent tune

[Pete S]

Much the same as Soul was called Tamla Motown by those out of the know, Ska was called Blue Beat. Suppose it was a easyily indentifiable label that people picked up on and the name stuck. Blue Beat ran until 1967 so it wasn't only the early stuff released on there.

While on the subject I've bought a copy of Big Charlie - You May Not Believe/Red Sun on Blue Beat. I'd picked this up not knowing much about it as I can't find it listed in the Record Collector guide (or much information about it on the web) I only paid about a tenner so can't go wrong really. Perhaps Mr Smith can enlighten me?? He'll probably come back as say it's common as muck but I think it's a well decent tune 

link

That's actually Charlie Organaire, most of his records came out on King Edwards so I should think it's quite scarce, I've never had it. Generally, Blue Beats up to 1965 aren't worth a lot (a few exceptions), it's the late 65 to when it changed to Fab in 67 that are worth money as they sold a lot fewer copies.

[Pete S]

I know Blue Beat was a label, but I also thought it was another form of reggae music. i was under the impression that it referred to the early stuff that had a swing to it, like "My Boy Lollipop" and "Honour Your Mother and Father" by desmond Dekker.

Pete is that true/

KTF

Jas

ps. do you have "Ice Water" by Jack Sparrow anywhere? That's a rare one.

link

No, Richard is right, Blue Beat was just the name given to the music until reggae took over - I've got a Pama album which advertises the comment as Ska-Reggea (note spelling!)- Blue Beat.

That Jack Sparrow record is very rare, it came out on Doctor Bird and has a tremendous Skatalites track on the other side. Singer is Leonard Dillon of The Ethiopians.