GEOG 433– Days 13: Reggae source: Google Images

Agenda for this week Max will be presenting today on post-rock. The rest of the time we will discuss reggae, which originated in Jamaica (“Xaymaca” in the original Arawak language). (source: Wikipedia) ‏ I will get your exams back as soon as possible, but I am swamped at the moment.

Origins of Reggae Jamaica was originally a Spanish colony, then became British in The predominant popular forms of music in the 40s and 50s were the original Jamaican folk music, mento – played on guitar, banjo, hand drums, and rhumba box – and big band jazz, which came from the United States. An example of mento was Harry Belafonte's 1956 cover of “Day O (The Banana Boat Song).” Source: Google Images

Origins of Reggae Sound systems were also big in Jamaica, since most people were too poor to own their own stereo equipment. The sound system impresarios would hire DJs and bring in the latest records from Miami to play at excruciating volumes in the dancehalls. They were not above using intimidation to scare away potential rivals. Sometimes, they would even scratch out the titles and artists from the records so as to keep their 'best' material a secret. In the latter part of the '50s, big band died out and the music of jump blues artists like Louis Jordan became more popular (we saw some video clips of him).

Origins of Reggae In 1959, one of the kings of the sound system scene, Sir Coxson, brought together accomplished jazz musicians, like Ernest Ranglin. and charged them with producing a new, indigenous form of Jamaican music independent of the music of the U.S. The resulting genre was ska (often with brass, such as trombones), and Coxson began to record this music in his famous Studio One, with its own record-producing plant so the resulting vinyl could be in the clubs practically the same day. Soon he had record-producing rivals cranking out their own records (such as Lee “Scratch” Perry), but the thing that characterized all of them was that they tended to exploit their artists and didn't pay song-writing royalties.

Origins of Reggae At the time ska was big, one of the most important subcultures was that of the “rude boys” – a sort of Jamaican equivalent of American juvenile delinquents, with their penchant for violence and wild behaviour. Bob Marley’s first big hit was called “Simmer Down,” and was a ska song calling on these youth to chill out: The other major subculture was that of the Rastafarians. Known for their famous dreadlocks and clean living (avoidance of alcohol and preference for simple, “ital” vegetarian food), they were further distinguished by their belief in marijuana as a sacred herb, and in Emperor Haile Selassie as the living manifestation of God. Coronated in 1930 as the king of Ethiopia (at a time when all other African nations were under colonial rule), Selassie's pre-coronation name was Ras Tafari Makkonen (he traced his origin to the relationship of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba), and the “Jah” used by Rastas is a contraction of Jehovah.

Origins of Reggae Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican-born Black nationalist, who spent much of his life in the U.S., had prophecied – in 1927, when he was deported to Jamaica – “Look to Africa when a black king shall be crowned, for the day of deliverance is near.” After he was murdered by the Soviet-supported Marxist derg in 1975 which had taken power the year before, Rastifarians refused to believe he was dead, and Bob Marley even wrote a song to that effect. His famous song, “War,” was also based on the text of a speech that Selassie had given at the United Nations. In 1966, Selassie visited Jamaica to an ecstatic reception. Bob Marley was living with his aunt in Baltimore, and working to raise money for his musical career, but his wife, Rita, witnessed it. Source: rasta/visittojamaica.shtml Haile Selassie

Origins of Reggae In 1962, Jamaica achieved its independence from the U.K., and the music continued to change. The up-tempo ska evolved into rocksteady ( ‏. Rastafarians played an important role in this music, as in the reggae to come. Source: Wikipedia

Origins of Reggae At the same as ska was being born, Marley and his mum, Cedella, moved to Trenchtown, the poor inner city neighbourhood in Kingston. The place was tough to begin with, but Marley's life was made worse by the fact that he had to fight for acceptance by his black peers (Marley's father was white). In Trenchtown, he hooked up with childhood friend, Bunny Livingston, and Peter Tosh. Known initially as The Wailers, Bob was only one of a trio of three talented artists who eventually were backed by bass and drums.

Origins of Reggae Reggae evolved out of the slower rocksteady in the late 60s. As Wikipedia describes, “Reggae usually accents the second and fourth beat in each bar, with the rhythm guitar also either emphasizing the third beat or holding the chord on the second beat until the fourth is played. It is mainly this 'third beat', its speed and the use of complex bass lines that differentiated reggae from rocksteady...”bar The movie and soundtrack, “The Harder They Come” (1972), really broke reggae internationally, with the focal point being Jimmy Cliff. Bob Marley and the Wailers released four albums in Jamaica (1965, 1970 x 2, and 1971), but their first big releases were in 1973 when they were taken under the wing of Chris Blackwell of the UK-based Island Records.

Origins of Reggae These two albums were “Catch A Fire” and “Burnin'”, with Marley soon becoming the focal point of the band. Blackwell brought in British rock musicians to lend more of a rock feel to the lead guitar and keyboard work in hopes of giving the band a broader appeal, which it did. They became very big in Britain and, to a lesser extent, in the U.S., aided by Eric Clapton’s cover of “I Shot the Sheriff.” They never really caught on amongst Afro-Americans, nor did reggae as a whole. These albums were followed in short order by “Natty Dread,” Rastaman Vibration,” and “Exodus” – an album that TIME magazine said was “the best album of the twentieth century” (!). Certainly, Marley became a greater superstar internationally than the Beatles, Bob Dylan, or Frank Sinatra – his lyrics really speaking to the oppressed of developing nations.

Origins of Reggae As evidence of its political commitments, Marley played at Zimbabwe's independence celebrations, and was a major supporter of the struggle against apartheid. He also tried to bring the feuding factions of politicians, Edward Seaga and Michael Manley, together at a famous concert in 1978 where he forced them to join hands. This was at a time when gun thugs representing the rival political parties were shooting one another down in the streets. Source: Wikipedia

Marley’s Attempt at Peace-Making

Origins of Reggae Two years earlier, gunmen had broken into his compound and shot Marley and several in his entourage. Despite having sustained a gunshot wound to his arm, he played a free public concert two days later. Despite being an apostle of peace and love, Marley – like most Rastas – was something of a chauvinist. Rasta men tend to make the decisions, and he himself slept around a lot on his wife, Rita, fathering children with between seven and nine other women. Marley was an avid soccer fan, and, in the late 70s, it was discovered that a toe that was not healing properly from a soccer injury was infested with cancer. While the cancer went into recession, it later came back with a vengeance when it was discovered that Marley was suffering from brain cancer. In May 1981, Marley died after a rapid progression of the disease. He was buried in Nine Mile, Jamaica, where he was born.

Origins of Reggae As mentioned, while reggae has gone global – being prominent in Africa, Europe, Latin America, and Japan – it has never really taken hold amongst black Americans (unlike in Britain, where there have been groups like Steel Pulse, and “two-tone” bands like The Specials, The English Beat, Selecter, and Madness). While American influences – like the soul of Curtis Mayfield – were very important for Jamaican artists, the influences were sparse the other way. American singer, Doris Troy – daughter of a Barbadian minister – scored a major hit in 1963 with “Just One Look,” which features a ska beat. In 1968, Johnny Nash, a black American pop singer hit with “Hold Me Tight,” a reggae-influenced song, and for a while he had publishing and recording rights for The Wailers. The roots reggae represented by The Wailers has since been supplemented by numerous sub-genres: dancehall, dub, lovers' rock, rockers, reggaeton, raggamuffin, reggae fusion, hip hop, and more. We will now watch a bit of “Rock Steady,” but I will edit as we go along.