14: Girl Group Extraordinaire “The Gaylettes”

The Gaylettes do Dusty Springfield proud.

This week we started off with two sets of fun Jamaican ska, beginning with a cut, recently unearthed by Lily from The Sensations, called “Juvenile Delinquent,” which was released on Treasure Isle in 1966. We then we ended that two set ska start of the show with “Sun Rises In The East” by Dotty and Bonny, also on Treasure Isle, this time from 1963. We ended the first hour of the show with a set of rocksteady, culminating with the king of the reggae harmonica, Roy Richards, and a tune he cut for Bongo Man in 1966, “Rub A Dub.”

We started the second hour with a spotlight, selected by Lily, on the Gaylettes.

The Gaylettes were originally Judy Mowatt, Merle Clemenson, and Dawn Hanchard. As a trio, the girls first recorded as a group for Linford Pottinger’s Gaydisc label. However, after their earliest tracks did not lead to great popularity, Judy Mowatt returned to dancing, which was actually her original desired career path, and The Gaylettes went on hiatus. While dancing with a group in Kingston and selling products for the Colgate-Palmolive Company to survive, Judy met Beryl Lawson. While rehearsing a dance routine at the Baby Grand Club, Judy and Beryl began to sing together, and upon realizing their ability to harmonize together, Judy called over Merle Clemenson, forming a trio that would become the next incarnation of The Gaylettes. Good reputations for the girls formed as they performed together, and eventually the trio caught the attention of Lynford Anderson, an engineer and record mastering supervisor for WIRL in 1967. Anderson connected The Gaylettes to Lee Scratch Perry, who was at the time a freelance producer/engineer after his departure from Joe Gibbs’ stable. After hearing the girls perform, Lee Perry invited them to sing backup on “How Come.” Perry would continue to work with the Gaylettes while they recorded at WIRL. We played one of their only other WIRL tracks next, this time its a one that was not so dirty. After this last of the WIRL tracks, we then played The Gaylettes recordings for Merritone while they were under contract with Federal Records, where they would record their first big hit, “Silent River Runs Deep,” a track written by Henry Buckley.

With Anderson as a major supporter of the Gaylettes, The group would continue to work with Lynford Anderson throughout 1969, seeing great success with spectacular covers of everyone ranging from Dusty Springfield to O.V. Wright. By 1969, they were the most popular female group in Jamaica, but at toward the end of the year, the Gaylettes broke up when Beryl and Merle immigrated to America. The Gaylettes were still under contract with Federal, so Judy went under another name and sang some solo tracks. Mowatt eventually became an “I-Three” along with Rita Marley, and Marcia Griffiths who would sing backup for Bob Marley throughout the 1970s.

After a really lovely spotlight of one of the few prominent girl groups to come out of Jamaica in the 1960s, we ended the show with a long intense set of early reggae which featured a gem from Roman Stewart called “Fire At Your Heel” which came out on Sun Shot in 1975.

Listen to the this 11/5/14 edition of the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady HERE.

Enjoy! The archive will be available until 11/18/2014.

Bovine Ska and Rocksteady 10/22/14: Saying Goodbye To John Holt

John Holt’s 1970 Release “Working Kind”

When I started the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady back in 1996, a show that has always focused on early Jamaican music, I knew that there would be a time when a lot of the artists that I had loved from that period would begin to pass away but I would never have imagined the occurrences that have happened these last few months. Hopeton Lewis, Jackie Bernard, Tito Simon and now, arguably the most celebrated of that group, Sir John Holt, has passed away at the age of 69 in London. There had been rumors of his passing since Holt had collapsed at the One Love Festival in England not too long ago but now the rumors are confirmed true. This past week, we dedicated the entire show to John Holt, from his earliest recordings with Leslie Kong at Beverley’s, through his time as the lead singer of the hugely successful vocal group, The Paragons, and finally as an even more popular solo artist. You will hear one of the finest voices to have ever recorded in Jamaica.

John Holt was born in Greenwich Farm, Kingston on July 11th, 1947. At the young age of 12, Holt entered the music industry with performances at talent shows. Like so many of his peers, Holt would perform in these shows and would also eventually make multiple appearances on the (like Veer Left) Vere John’s Opportunity Knocks Talent Show. During these early competition years, Holt won a total of 28 awards. As Holt gained fame from the shows, he attracted the attention of Lesley Kong and recorded his first single for the Beverley’s label in 1962. His first recorded single is what we started off with during this John Holt memorial show.

Given the popularity of vocal groups and duos in the early 1960s in Jamaica, a very young Holt teamed up with Alton Ellis to record a duet in 1964, for Vincent Randy Chin called “Rum Bumpers,” a fun ska number about bootlegging. That same year John Holt would join what would soon become one of the most popular vocals groups in Jamaican history, The Paragons. However, he was not initially involved when the group was conceptualized at the back of the Kingston Parish Church, by Keith Anderson, better known as Bob Andy, and Tyrone Evans in the very early 1960s. Andy and Evans were members of the church and started singing as a duo on the church compound. Bob Andy, in an interview from 2013, explained the group’s beginnings.

“There were lots of duos in the market at the time: The Blue Busters, Keith and Enid, Higgs and Wilson, Alton and Eddy, to name a few. Tyrone felt that was kind of a strong field, so we started listening to groups with more than two, like The Drifters, The Four Tops, and The Temptations. While we rehearsed and played the piano, lots of people would join in. We tried many, until we settled with Evans, Howard Barrett and myself. Then someone told us about John, who was on his way to becoming a solo artiste after winning on Vere Johns, and so we got him into the group. He fit perfectly and we continued as four until I left, and they decided they’d remain a trio,” he said.

Andy went further, explaining that at one point the group swelled to five, with the inclusion of Junior Menz, a future lead vocalist of the Techniques and the name Pentagon was contemplated, but when Menz left, they settled with the name, Paragons. The Paragons version with Holt first cut tracks for Coxone’s Supreme label, and we played those songs first. After recording for Coxone, the Paragons traveled over to his rival, Duke Reid and cut more tracks for Treasure Isle and would see their greatest fame as a trio. In 1967, at the peak of rocksteady, The Paragons would record a few tracks for Winston Blake’s Merritone Label.

Though the Paragons officially split up in 1970 with the immigration of Tyrone Evans and Howard Barrett to America, Holt had been recording singles as a solo artist throughout the late 60s at the Paragons main label, Treasure Isle but also for his old producer, Coxsone Dodd, and young producer Bunny Lee. We’ll hear those singles next. Holt’s popularity continued to grow in both Jamaica and in England and the demand for full length releases of his solo work grew rapidly. His first full length would come courtesy of Coxsone and the superb 1970 LP, A Love I Can Feel. He would record his subsequent LP with Coxsone, for UK release, with it’s hit title cut, OK Fred. A follow-up record simply entitled “Holt,” produced by Bunny Lee and released on Jaguar would also prove hugely popular in England with the hit version of “Stick By Me.” Holt would also contribute vocals to a couple of brilliant songs on the seminal Prince Buster produced release featuring a young DJ named Big Youth, entitled “Chi Chi Run” in 1972. He would then work with Harry Mudie on the lavishly produced 1972 classic, “Time Is The Master.” Giving Holt’s vocals that string accompaniment that would become the trademark of many of his recordings, specifically aimed at the UK audiences.

Putting this show together reminded us as to how great his voice was. John Holt will truly be missed. R.I.P. John.

Listen to the show via the WMBR archives here: LISTEN HERE

This link will be active until 11/4/2014

Bovine Ska and Rocksteady: 10/15/14 Generoso’s Birthday Show and 1968!

The Three Tops “Great 68 Train” from 1968

Besides being the year of Generoso’s birth, 1968 was one hell of a year for Jamaican music. That year saw the end of the rocksteady era and the rise of a new rhythm in Jamaica…reggae. As the tradition goes during the last eighteen years of the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady, Generoso’s birthday radio program is punctuated by having good friends stop by the station, the making of a cake with one slightly disturbing word as it’s message for the year, and the playing of tracks from 1968, both rocksteady and reggae of course.

The show begins this year with eight tracks that actually feature the year “1968” in their title, many of which were Jamaican song competition entries for that year like “Intensified ’68” by the late, great Desmond Dekker which begins this year’s show followed by the version from Lynn Taitt and The Jets going out as always to Magnus. The Three Tops punchy rhythm on “Great ’68 Train” produced by Coxsone followed and a smart reggae from producer/vocalist Clancy Eccles “Festival ‘68” ended that opening set. Of the 1968 titled tracks we played, we must say that “Come Down 68” featuring the smooth voice of Trinidadian, Kentrick Patrick, a.k.a. Lord Creator is my favorite. We so wished that Creator had cut more tracks during early reggae as his voice was made for the rhythm and the track does remind me of his masterpiece, “Such Is Life,” which he cut for Randy’s.

This year, we called out to the listeners for their favorite 1968 tracks and our good friend Melody Wining suggested the track that many people regard as the very first reggae release… “Do The Reggay,” a Beverley’s produced cut that does possess that irresistible early reggae rhythm that we love here on the show, and a lead vocal from Toots which is as always as raw and brilliant as you could ever hope for in a cut.

Finally, we want to wish love to you our Brian, Nancy, and Brett who came to the station that night to help us celebrate and to all of our listeners and friends who called or emailed good wishes throughout the day and the show.

Listen to the show via the WMBR archives here: LISTEN HERE

This link will be active until 10/28/2014

Bovine Ska and Rocksteady 9/10/2014: Remembering Hopeton Lewis

We were very saddened to hear about the passing of legendary vocalist, Hopeton Lewis, on September 4th. Hopeton had passed away at his home in Brooklyn last Thursday after a long battle with kidney disease. Hopeton was a guest on the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady back in 2006, a very sweet and reverent man, who had been almost exclusively performing non-secular music for the last thirty years. When we spoke back then he still had great affection for his earliest cuts for Merritone, Treasure Isle and Dynamic. There are his landmark tracks such as his first hit, 1966’s “Take It Easy,” which many people consider the very first rocksteady tune ever recorded, and the track he would record the same year, “Cool Collie,” the very first Jamaican record to openly speak about the positive effect of marijuana.

Hopeton Lewis was born in Kingston and raised in Burnt Savannah, Westmoreland. At the age of 6, he began signing for the Burnt Savannah Holiness Church, which was his starting point for his passion for music. As a young boy, he returned to Kingston to live with his grandparents. At the age of 15, his grandparents passed away, and Hopeton was left on his own to survive in Kingston. As a young man, he quickly entered the music industry in order to fulfill his love for singing and also to try to earn a living. He began his recording career as a member of the vocal group, The Regals, by cutting a side at Coxsone’s Wincox label. Not much came of it, so he took his smooth voice and began a solo career at Merritone where he scored a hit with the aforementioned “Take It Easy.” which stayed at the top of the charts for weeks and sold over 10,000 copies!

Hopeton Lewis’ “Take It Easy” LP on Merritone

After leaving Merritone in 1967, Hopeton had brief stops at “JJ’s” and “Fab” before finding more success with Duke Reid at his Treasure Isle label. Besides singing backup for many of the Duke’s established artists, his turn at lead vocals there would result in a Festival Song Competition winner with “Boom Shaka-Laka.” He would move to Byron Lee’s Dynamic label and the hits kept on coming as “Grooving Out On Life,” the title track from his full length LP released in 1973 became a signature song for Hopeton.

On the September 10th edition of the Bovine Ska, we took you on a musical trip through Hopeton’s career and tried to help you get a better picture of his progression as one of the most talented vocalists in Jamaican music history.

Listen to the full spotlight and the show via the WMBR archives here: LISTEN NOW

This link will be active until 9/23/2014. Enjoy!