15: The 19th Annual Anti-Valentine’s Day Show

A great sad cut by the late Freddie McKay

OK, I assume that after reading the title of this post, you completely understand where we are coming from with this special edition of The Bovine Ska and Rocksteady. People for varying reasons hate this holiday so we should give you ours: it is the greatest relationship destroying holiday of all time! Unlike other relationship crushing holidays like Christmas, Valentine’s Day sets itself apart in the area of emotional (and sometimes materialistic) expectations. What to give and plan if the relationship is just a few weeks old could result in an a cataclysmic outcome. So, what does this have to do with Jamaican music? Well, like any songwriters and performers of ska, rocksteady and reggae are not exempt from the tortures of love gone awry and this show was packed with their miseries.

Our show began with an hour long tribute to the concept of loneliness featuring such tracks as: “I’ve Been Lonely” by Peter Tosh and Hortense Ellis (Studio One-1966) and “Sometimes I’m Lonely” by The Pioneers (Trojan-1972). Followed by a second hour which featured tributes to “Tears” and “Sadness” featuring cuts like Errol English’s “Sad Girl” (Torpedo-1972) and “Tears From My Eyes” by the great Jackie Opel (Top Deck-1965). Each break punctuated by our Anti-Valentine’s Day theme of “He/She Left Me for What?” Real life excuses, read by Lily, written by couple who broke up over the most trivial of reasons.

Listen to the full program: HERE.

Enjoy! The archive will be available until 2/24/2015

Bovine Ska and Rocksteady 2/4/15: Bobby Aitken

Our spotlight artist Bobby Aitken

Coming to you from a frozen, snow-covered Cambridge, it’s the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady! Wow, these last few weeks have been rough with bad weather. We are also back this week, after missing last week’s show due to Generoso’s hospital stay. He’s improving but that combined with the snow has made doing the show difficult but we were glad to be back. Starting the show off this week were two sets of delicious early reggae, beginning with a massive tune from Sound Dimension, “Great Mu Gu Ra Ga” which was released on Bamboo in the UK in 1970. Our spotlight would be on the early vocal tracks of Bobby Aitken.

Brother of the godfather of ska, Laurel Aitken, Bobby Aitken, was born in Havana in 1933 and was orphaned in Jamaica at the age of eight. As a boy, he became a mason when his uncle pulled him away from a street gang and introduced him to the masonry trade in order to survive on his own. However, music became a more reasonable means for Bobby, especially seeing that he had a natural gift for it. A precocious 11 year old Bobby built his first banjo from sardine cans and learned how to play guitar on his own. And, by his mid-20s, Bobby had built up his guitar skills and formed the Carib Beats with Charlie Organaire and a man named Morgan in late 1959/early 1960. Together, the group performed primarily calpyso with a few skas, but the trio broke up after the rest of the group did not show up for a performance at the Blue Ribbon Club in Kingston. As a result, Bobby returned to masonry for a stint, only to make a comeback to music within a year as a solo artist with his single, Cracker’s Rush, which commented on a food shortage in Jamaica and was released in 1961 on the Blues label by Count P, an operator of a soundsystem on Spanishtown Road. We’ll began with this first solo recording of Bobby Aitken to kickoff tonight’s spotlight.

Eventually, after recording for a range of producers including Prince Buster, Coxone Dodd, Linden Pottinger, and King Edwards, Bobby Aitken formed The Carib Beats again with Charlie Organaire and Mike Williams. Other musicians including Bobby Kalphat, Vincent White, Conroy Cooper, Ansel Collins, Carlton Santa Davis, and Val Bennet would also rotate in and out of the group. The Carib Beats recorded for Joe Gibbs, Clancey Eccles, Bunny Lee, and most famously, JJ Johnson. The second incarnation of The Carib Beats would eventually break up as Bobby decided to focus more on his faith and became who he is known as today: the Reverend Robert Simmonds.

Listen to the full program with our Bobby Aitken spotlight: HERE.

Enjoy! The archive will be available until 2/17/2015

Bovine Ska and Rocksteady 1/14/2015: King Sporty

Prior to the preparation for this week’s show, we were informed of the sad news of King Sporty’s passing. Consequently, this past week’s show featured a memorial on the great DJ who would emerge as an amazing songwriter and producer.

To begin the show, we began with two sets of rocksteady, including never-before-played tracks from The Merritone Singers and Victor Morris. We then heard mento from Count Owen, Lord Foodos, and Charlie Binger prior to a set of ska to precede King Sporty’s early ska toasting tracks.

King Sporty’s Self-Produced Single Yearfull of Sundays

King Sporty passed at the age of 71 in Miami on January 5th. Born as Noel G. Williams, King Sporty began his career in Jamaican music as one of Coxone Dodd’s DJs for his soundsystem. In Jamaica, King Sporty would record for Coxone and for Justin Yap prior to his move to Miami in 1968.

Upon his move and work in America, King Sporty would transition his writing and production into soul and disco. However,we will focus this spotlight on King Sporty’s own tracks in ska and reggae before he gained popularity in the world music arena. We will pay honor to the great talents of King Sporty in an one hour tribute of his best DJ recordings, beginning with his first vocal toasting track in ska named El Cid, which was released on Justin Yap’s Top Deck label.

Even though the memorial spotlight focuses on his own recordings, King Sporty was not only a phenomenal DJ and producer but also a talented songwriter. He penned many hits for Studio One and such well known tracks as the Blues Busters, “Thinking of You” and a song that he originally recorded that Bob Marley made globally famous, “Buffalo Soldier.”

In Miami, King Sporty opened up his labels, Tashamba and Konduko, allowing him to write, produce, and release his own recordings and those of artists he liked. During this time in Miami, King Sporty would become very close to the Miami soul scene, distributing records from his label through Henry Stone, the king of the Miami’s T.K. Records. Sporty also married Betty Wright, T.K. Records’ leading soul lady.

One of the tracks that King Sporty sold to Henry Stone was one from Lily’s favorite Glades/T.K. Records artists, Timmy Thomas. In fact, King Sporty had discovered Timmy Thomas’s “Why Can’t We Live Together” and brought the track to Henry Stone’s door. Stone purchased it from Sporty immediately and pressed it on his Glades label in 1972. The Timmy Thomas track gained traction on the American charts, and this would be one of King Sporty’s most successful discoveries within the Miami soul world.

Listen to the full program with King Sporty’s stellar recordings in ska, reggae, and even soul HERE.

Enjoy! The archive will be available until 1/27/2015.

Bovine Ska and Rocksteady 12/31/2014: A Show of Firsts!

Jack Sparrow’s (Leonard Dillon) First Recording

To celebrate the arrival of the first day of 2015, this past week’s Bovine Ska and Rocksteady featured the first recordings from some of Jamaica’s greatest artists.

Following the chronological order of each artist’s debut to the Jamaican recording industry, this New Year’s Eve show also follows the progression of movements in Jamaican music, beginning with Rhythm and Blues, then Ska, then Rocksteady.

In this special show, not only will you hear the first recordings from the legends, such as John Holt, Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, and Desmond Dekker, you will also hear the first tracks from BSR favorites including The Jamaicans, The Pioneers, Roman Stewart, and Nora Dean. In addition, you will also hear anecdotes about the artists and how their first recordings emerged. It was a tough show to research, but we hope that you will enjoy hearing how your favorite artists sounded when they began their music careers!

Enjoy! Happy 2015 from Lily and Generoso! May this year be a wonderful one for all!

Listen to the New Year’s Celebration Show HERE.

The archive will be available until 1/12/2015.

Bovine Ska and Rocksteady 12/24/14: Christmas In Jamaica!

Rupie Edwards from 1974

We have done a Christmas in Jamaica show every one of the eighteen years that the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady has been in existence. And every year, we do our best to remove the intense cheesiness that is on display from every other radio show that tries to do a holiday program. This lack of cheesiness was evidenced in our selection of Jamaican rhythm and blues, ska, rocksteady and even dub records of a Christmas kind but alas the Christmas disco from the SalSoul Orchestra which was used in the background did not live up to the rigid standards set forth by us during the selection of sets. To put it mildly, it was cheese town when we were on the microphone but don’t let that dissuade you from checking out this show while it is still the holiday season. Lily spoke about Jamaican Christmas traditions, we played a Jamaican patois version of “The Christmas Story” and played a lot of stellar records!

You will hear many rare holiday cuts, from artists like The Upsetters, Reuben Anderson from Andy and Joey fame, and the late great Desmond Dekker.

Merry Christmas from Lily and Generoso!

Listen to the two hour holiday program HERE.

The archive will be up until 1/6/15. Enjoy!

Bovine Ska and Rocksteady: 12/17/2014: Charlie Ace

In this past week’s edition of the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady, we began the show with Jamaican Rhythm and Blues, giving us a chance to feature some gems from the Jiving Juniors, Owen Gray, and Cosmo and Dennis. After the opening Rhythm and Blues sets, we presented this week’s mento set dedicated to the delicious fruit that makes us remember warmer days, mango. Then, in order to transition us into the spotlight on the DJ extraordinaire, Charlie Ace, we played two sets of rocksteady, including beautiful tracks from Hopeton Lewis, The Heptones, and Eddie Perkins.

With the arrival of the second hour, we were thrilled to present to spotlight on Charlie Ace, a man who became known for his record store on wheels but a man we know as a DJ great who should be considered in the same ranks as Big Youth and U Roy.

Charlie Ace’s Silver and Gold Produced by Phil Pratt

Born Valdene Dixon, Charlie Ace was a DJ who gained his name and signature style when he worked with Lee Scratch Perry. After some mild success with his recordings, Charlie Ace would become best known for his Swing-A-Ling Record Shop on wheels that he would drive around to sell records pressed on his own Swing-A-Ling label and on other Jamaican labels as well. A great DJ who was overshadowed by U-Roy and Big Youth and Dennis Alcapone, Charlie Ace is an artist that deserves a spotlight on his large collection of recordings. This review on Charlie Ace’s tracks featured some of the strangest and most experimental productions to date on the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady and began with one of his earliest recordings for Joe Gibbs Amalgamated label, the track entitled, “Seeing Is Believing.” The spotlight followed Charlie’s work with producers such as Phil Pratt, Alvin Ranglin, and Sonia Pottinger to lead up to our favorite track, a Lee Sctratch Perry production named “Cow Thief Skank.”

Sadly, Charlie Ace was murdered in the mid-1980s in a drive-by during one of Kingston’s endless ghetto wars. He was an innovative DJ and great talent who is severely missed.

Listen to the Charlie Ace spotlight and the full show HERE.

The archive will be up until 12/29/2014. Enjoy!

Bovine Ska and Rocksteady: 12/10/14: Winston Samuels

Winston Samuel’s Biggest Hit on Lyndon Pottinger’s “SEP” Label

We started off this past week’s very mysterious Bovine Ska and Rocksteady, with the enigmatic, “Prince of Darkness” who tossed down the incredibly danceable sounds of “Burial of Longshot,” for Dandy Livingstone on the Downtown label in 1969. The track is a response to the classic cut “Longshot” by The Pioneers. We then burned through two sets of reggae, a very fast mento set and a set of ska to get you in the mood for the ska sounds of Winston Samuels.

Winston Samuels, after much research and reaching out to scholars and Jamaican legend, remains somewhat of a mystery. What we can gather about this magnificent singer is that with the exception of his hit, “Be Prepared,” there is very little known about Winston’s personal history and his career beginnings. According to Studio One artist and Bovine Ska and Rocksteady friend, Dudley Sibley, we know that Winston Samuels first recorded for Coxone in the early 1960s , and other sources indicate that his first release on Coxsone’s All Star imprint was a single with two sides with conflicting names and themes: “Paradise” and “In Jail.” We started off the spotlight on mighty vocalist Winston Samuels, with “In Jail” and with that you got a preview of the amazing voice that he would hone and perfect throughout his career. One of the real surprises was the magnificent quality of the tracks Winston would do curing the rocksteady period for Prince Buster. His voice may be at it’s best here.

There are some rumors that he was a member of The Four Aces, but we were not able to confirm this, but what could be verified was that Winston Samuels was a prolific song writer who penned two festival song winners for Eric Donaldson: “Sweet Jamaica” and “Land of My Birth,” in 1977 and 1978, respectively. Then, after spending quite some time in the music industry, Winston Samuels moved to America, but his whereabouts since have been pretty mysterious.

Listen to the spotlight and the full show HERE.

Enjoy! The archived file will be available until 12/23/2014.

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 10/8/14: Clarendonians Ska

Ernest Wilson and Peter Austin: The Clarendonians

We started off the Bovine Ska and Rocksteady this week with a thunderous version to version excursion which we always send out to my mentor and dearest departed friend Magnus Johnstone: Errol Dunkley and his killer cut on Count Shelly from 1973, “Where Must I Go,” followed by Daddy URoy’s version, “Merry Go Round” which was cut for High Note in 1976. We had a fun mento set this week that started with a bizarre release on MRS that featured a new-report style tribute to Princess Margaret entitled “Caribbean Curtsy.”

The history behind the Clarendonians is a bit unclear and conflicting. We know for a fact that Fitzroy Ernest Wilson and Peter Austin were the two founding members of the group. Both grew up in Hayes, Clarendon and formed the duo in 1963 when Austin was 18 and Wilson was only 12. After performing in local talent shows, the Clarendonians caught the eyes of the music industry and recorded first for Leslie Kong in 1963 with their single, “A Day Will Come.” As Austin and Wilson continued to perform, they caught the attention of Coxone Dodd and began recording for his Studio One And after this point, things get very confusing, but before we dive into the cloudy history of the Clarendonians line up, we’ll first hear “A Day Will Come,” their first single and then their early cuts for Studio One. We know that Freddie McGregor joined the Clarendonians at the age of seven, and it is believed that Coxone Dodd was the one who suggested that Freddie should be the member to expand the Clarendonians into a trio. While the Clarendonians recorded as a trio, the members of the group also recorded in duets with each other. McGregor recorded with Wilson as the duo Freddie and Fitzie, and Austin also recorded with McGregor as Freddie and Peter. And even though the duet recordings did not include all three members of the Clarendonians, the recordings of the duets were often branded with the Clarendonians name. And to make matters much more confusing, each member of the Clarendonians recorded solo tracks that were occasionally pressed with the Clarendonians name as well.

Despite all of the confusion and mystery surrounding who exactly is on each recording that claims to be that of the Clarendonians, we do know that there are three core members, and as a trio they predominantly recorded for Studio One. Austin became disaffected with Dodd in the late 1960s and went on to record as a solo artist for producer Ken Lack and Phil Pratt, but eventually left the music industry and went on to work as an aviation supervisor at Norman Manley International Airport. Of the Clarendonians, Ernest Wilson was the first member to establish himself as a solo artist. McGregor took more time to establish himself as a solo artist, working at Studio One as a session drummer and backing singer, and eventually found success with “Bobby Bobylon”, and of the trio, had one of the most successful careers. On “The Best of the Clarendonians” record pressed by Studio One, there are only pictures of Austin and Wilson (as seen above). In addition, there is written introduction and description completed by Vin Dunning which does not mention Freddie McGregor in any way.

On October 8th, 2014, we did our spotlight on The Clarendonians from the earliest recordings during the ska era only. We hope you enjoy it!

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

This link will be active until 10/21/2014.

Bovine Ska and Rocksteady 9/24/14: The Passing of Tito Simon

R.I.P. Tito Simon

The last few weeks have been hard for lovers of Jamaican music as Hopeton Lewis and Jackie Bernard have both left this earth. It brings us great sadness to bring the news that another reggae star has died, as Tito Simon passed away on Saturday Sept 20^th, 2014 in Jamaica from a sudden heart attack. Born as Keith Foster in St. Mary Jamaica in 1948, Tito would record ska, soul, and reggae recordings during his career. He recorded and wrote under a ton of aliases including Sugar Simone, Lance Hannibal, and also under his birth name. However, he was most commonly known and referred to as Tito Simon.

In 1961, Tito moved to England and began his recording career in 1964 with Dandy Livingstone as the duo Sugar ‘N’ Dandy. Together, the two would record ska tracks with the Carnival label. There has been a rumor over the years that Sugar ‘N’ Dandy was actually just Dandy Livingstone recording solo and having his voice doubled to appear as a duo, as duos were very popular at that time in Jamaican music. What we can say is at the time of Tito’s passing Dandy took to social media to express his sadness for the loss of his “singing partner, ” Sugar Simone, aka Tito Simon.

To answer the rumor of “Was there vocal doubling on Sugar N’ Dandy tracks?” We received this message from Dandy Livingstone himself a few weeks after the show that finally answers the question:

“Hi Generoso,Tito Simon and I only did one session together. The songs were….. “Only Heaven Knows” and “Let’s Ska.”The late Roy Smith and I did two sessions. Those dates produced three songs…….1.One Man Went to Mow 2.Time and Tide 3.I’m Not Crying Now…….The remainder were doubled by me. Nuff greetings from Jamdown”

After Sugar ‘N’ Dandy, the two parted ways for solo careers, and Tito took a two-year break from recording. In 1967, he returned to the music industry, singing very briefly with the Jetliners, who only have one single to be found. As for his return as a solo artist, in the same year, Tito began recording great soul tracks, which were released on Sue Records. After the solo soul tracks, Tito took another two year break from recording. When he returned to the music industry this time, he began recording in yet another style, reggae, which is what he is best known for.

During the show we played Tito’s reggae recordings for the Dr. Bird and Upfront labels, starting with Tell Me, released on Dr. Bird in 1969. In1972, Tito returned to Jamaica and worked with Clancy Eccles. With Clancy, he would record some of his most popular tracks. We’ll first hear Easy Come Easy Go off of the Just LP released on Horse in England in 1973

On September 24^th, we did a full retrospective of Tito’s career, from those early recordings as Sugar ‘N” Dandy through his soul music period and his subsequent triumphs in reggae. R.I.P. Tito.

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

This link will be active until 10/6/2014.