It's 1972, I'm in Goulds tv & radio shop in Wolverhampton and I spot this amazing looking album on the racks - "The Trojan Story" - I'm immediately attracted to the eye catching record labels on the cover and when I turn the sleeve over, it's actually a triple LP set and it appears to be the history of Jamaican music! My goodness. I only get 25p a week pocket money though and this set costs £2.99, my Mom has given me a fiver as she had no change and told me under no circumstances am I to spend more than my 25p. Well you can guess the rest. I bought the LP and spent nearly 3 months without pocket money to pay her back. She hasn't changed by the way.
Anyway, The Trojan Story is one of the most important and influential records I've ever bought, it educated me about the different styles of Jamaican music - R & B, Ska, Rocksteady, Reggae so by the age of 13 I more or less knew what I was talking about and I've collected this music on and off for 40 years now. I read those sleeve notes so many times that even now I can almost recite them word for word.
The original Trojan Story was dubbed from vinyl 45's and the track listing was all over the place as far as continuity was concerned, so I have dubbed from cd wherever possible and more importantly, I have rearranged the track listing so it runs in it's correct date order.
Although not the definitive collection of Jamaican music (where was Prince Buster for a start?), the Trojan Story was a brilliant starting point for me, though at the time I couldn't work out where records like "Every Night" fit in (turns out it was the biggest selling Jamaican record in the UK in 1966 despite being a ballad). I've cut 5 or 6 tracks to get the running time down but all the important stuff is here.
Great memories for me, and I'll never forget hearing "Rock Steady" and "Perfidia" for the first time and vowing that one day I would own them on 45's, it took me 30 years to achieve that though.
LAUREL AITKEN - BARTENDER
DERRICK MORGAN - FAT MAN
ERIC MORRIS - HUMPTY DUMPTY
JIMMY CLIFF - MISS JAMAICA
DERRICK & PATSY - HOUSEWIVES CHOICE
KENTRICK PATRICK - DON'T STAY OUT LATE
OWEN GRAY - DARLING PATRICIA
STRANGER COLE - ROUGH AND TOUGH
KENTRICK PATRICK - MAN TO MAN
LORD TANAMO - I'M IN THE MOOD FOR SKA
THE SKATALITES - CONFUCIOUS
THE RIOTS - YEAH YEAH
DON DRUMMOND - MAN IN THE STREET
BABA BROOKS - ONE EYED GIANT
JOE WHITE & CHUCK - EVERY NIGHT
SIR LORD COMIC - THE GREAT WUGA WUGA
THE ETHIOPIANS - TRAIN TO SKAVILLE
SLIM SMITH - THE NEW BOSS
THE CLARENDONIANS - RULES OF LIFE
HONEY BOY MARTIN & THE VOICES - DREADER THAN DREAD
https://www.mixcloud.com/mayfairmenthol/the-original-trojan-story-revisited-remixed/
It's 1972, I'm in Goulds tv & radio shop in Wolverhampton and I spot this amazing looking album on the racks - "The Trojan Story" - I'm immediately attracted to the eye catching record labels on the cover and when I turn the sleeve over, it's actually a triple LP set and it appears to be the history of Jamaican music! My goodness. I only get 25p a week pocket money though and this set costs £2.99, my Mom has given me a fiver as she had no change and told me under no circumstances am I to spend more than my 25p. Well you can guess the rest. I bought the LP and spent nearly 3 months without pocket money to pay her back. She hasn't changed by the way.
Anyway, The Trojan Story is one of the most important and influential records I've ever bought, it educated me about the different styles of Jamaican music - R & B, Ska, Rocksteady, Reggae so by the age of 13 I more or less knew what I was talking about and I've collected this music on and off for 40 years now. I read those sleeve notes so many times that even now I can almost recite them word for word.
The original Trojan Story was dubbed from vinyl 45's and the track listing was all over the place as far as continuity was concerned, so I have dubbed from cd wherever possible and more importantly, I have rearranged the track listing so it runs in it's correct date order.
Although not the definitive collection of Jamaican music (where was Prince Buster for a start?), the Trojan Story was a brilliant starting point for me, though at the time I couldn't work out where records like "Every Night" fit in (turns out it was the biggest selling Jamaican record in the UK in 1966 despite being a ballad). I've cut 5 or 6 tracks to get the running time down but all the important stuff is here.
Great memories for me, and I'll never forget hearing "Rock Steady" and "Perfidia" for the first time and vowing that one day I would own them on 45's, it took me 30 years to achieve that though.
LAUREL AITKEN - BARTENDER
DERRICK MORGAN - FAT MAN
ERIC MORRIS - HUMPTY DUMPTY
JIMMY CLIFF - MISS JAMAICA
DERRICK & PATSY - HOUSEWIVES CHOICE
KENTRICK PATRICK - DON'T STAY OUT LATE
OWEN GRAY - DARLING PATRICIA
STRANGER COLE - ROUGH AND TOUGH
KENTRICK PATRICK - MAN TO MAN
LORD TANAMO - I'M IN THE MOOD FOR SKA
THE SKATALITES - CONFUCIOUS
THE RIOTS - YEAH YEAH
DON DRUMMOND - MAN IN THE STREET
BABA BROOKS - ONE EYED GIANT
JOE WHITE & CHUCK - EVERY NIGHT
SIR LORD COMIC - THE GREAT WUGA WUGA
THE ETHIOPIANS - TRAIN TO SKAVILLE
SLIM SMITH - THE NEW BOSS
THE CLARENDONIANS - RULES OF LIFE
HONEY BOY MARTIN & THE VOICES - DREADER THAN DREAD
WINSTON & GEORGE - KEEP THE PRESSURE ON
ROY SHIRLEY - MUSICAL TRAIN
DANDY - RUDY, A MESSAGE TO YOU
THE ETHIOPIANS - THE WHIP
THE THREE TOPS - IT'S RAINING
ALTON ELLIS - ROCK STEADY
PHYLLIS DILLON - PERFIDIA
DESMOND DEKKER - PRETTY AFRICA
DERRICK MORGAN - DO THE BENG BENG
LYNN TAIT - WAY OF LIFE
THE TENNORS - I'VE GOT TO GET YOU OFF MY MIND
TOMMY MCCOOK - SECOND FIDDLE
LEE (KING) PERRY - PEOPLE FUNNY BOY
THE MAYTALS - DO THE REGGAY
THE SLICKERS - NANA
THE REGGAE BOYS - MAMA LOOK DEH
TOOTS & THE MAYTALS - PRESSURE DROP
THE MAYTONES - BLACK AND WHITE