Some Ska, Rocksteady And Reggae 45's For Today

[Pete S]

1) ALTON ELLIS - I'M JUST A GUY - STUDIO ONE

This copy is a bit knackered but it's still a brilliant track, especially the bassline

Edited August 4, 2006 by Pete-S

[Pete S]

2) PRINCE BUSTER - JOHNNY DOLLAR - BLUE BEAT

This is a great ska version of Garnet Mimms' A Quiet Place.

[Pete S]

3) THE REGGAEITES - HARRIS WHEEL - CRAB

This is one of my alltime favourite instrumentals so don't be put off by the crap artist name. The title is a bit wierd also, I don't know if they meant it to be called Ferris Wheel or even Harry's Wheel. Anyone loads of people will already have this as it's the B side of the big-selling Derrick Morgan track, Moon Hop. It's the instrumental of a great track by Austin Faithfull called Uncle Joe. It's pretty basic and the guy playing the organ seems to be playing notes at random towards the end but it's still a powerhouse skinhead reggae tune.

4) THE SKATALITES - TIMOTHY - SKA BEAT

One of their less well know instrumentals which hasn't been compiled too often.

[Pete S]

5) MONTY MORRIS - LAST LAUGH - DOCTOR BIRD

This is a rare Doctor Bird release from 68 and despite their being no credits, this must surely be a lost Studio One recording, the bass just gives it away. Research has it down as being on a Jamaican label called Mercury and as a Barry Howard production. Who??

[Pete S]

6) DERRICK HARRIOTT - THE LOSER - ISLAND

I have posted this before but it's so good, it's impossible to get tired of hearing it. Must warn you that my copy is very scratched but you can still hear the music well enough.

This is a kind of rocksteady soul tune.

[Pete S]

7) THE TENNORS - REGGAE GIRL - BIG SHOT

For years I thought this song was called Golden Woman, then I released that they weren't singing "I want a golden woman", they are actually singing "I want a bow-legged woman"! Why it ended up as being called Reggae Girl is baffling, as they only use the word once! Great (very) early reggae though.

[Guest TONY ROUNCE]

5) MONTY MORRIS - LAST LAUGH - DOCTOR BIRD
This is a rare Doctor Bird release from 68 and despite their being no credits, this must surely be a lost Studio One recording, the bass just gives it away. Research has it down as being on a Jamaican label called Mercury and as a Barry Howard production. Who??

...Indeed it was cut at Studio One. The actual song title is "Problems" - heaven only knows where Doc Bird got "Last Laugh" from, I don't think either word crops up even once in the song!

It may be too late in time for you, Pete, but the great singing group the Tamlins also did a nice version in the late 70s, under its proper title for (if memory serves) Gussie Clarke.

Monty Morris' other great Rocksteady record "Tears In Your Eyes" /"Say What You're Saying" is also well worth owning. "Tears" is the first cut to King Stitt's peerless "King Of Kings" and "Say" was also used as the backing track to both "C.N. Express" and Lee Perry's "You Were Meant For Me", both issued on Pama and both Clancy Eccles productions that were recorded at Treasure Isle Studios....

TONE

[Pete S]

8) THE UNIQUES - OUT OF LOVE - TROJAN

Simply breathtaking soulful reggae tune, what a vocal performance by Slim Smith. I have a jamaican copy of this which is about 20 seconds longer but couldn't find it!

Yeah that's a fantastic tune (Say What You're Saying), coming up!!!

Edited August 4, 2006 by Pete-S

[Guest TONY ROUNCE]

6) DERRICK HARRIOTT - THE LOSER - ISLAND
I have posted this before but it's so good, it's impossible to get tired of hearing it. Must warn you that my copy is very scratched but you can still hear the music well enough.
This is a kind of rocksteady soul tune.

..and indeed brilliantly and liberally lifted from the Artistics "I'm Gonna Miss You" (compare the piano intro here with the piano middle eight from "Gonna Miss"....)

I once played this at a 6Ts gig, and told more than a few hecklers to eff off while it was playing - most of whom have happily never spoken to me since

TONE

[Pete S]

8) (I think) DELROY WILSON - TROUBLED MAN - COXSONE

An excellent lesser known (to me!) Delroy Wilson, what a singer this guy was

[Pete S]

9) LYNN TAIT (& VAL BENNETT) - WAY OF LIFE - BLUE CAT

A truly magnificent instrumental. I've done well to hang on to this for so many years, when the going has got tough I've had to sell practically everything but this one will never be going anywhere! Hard to believe that a true genius of the sax like Val Bennett died in poverty.

[Pete S]

Tony keep these comments coming because I'm learning loads. You know too much! I have both King Of Kings and Tears In Your Eyes, and it never clicked that they were the same backing track as I hadn't played the Monty Morris track for years! Obviously as soon as I played it I recognised it. Going to the top of my charts that is

PETER TOUCH - I AM THE TOUGHEST - ISLAND
A great bragging rude boy tune by Peter Tosh and The Wailers

[Pete S]

MONTY MORRIS - SAY WHAT YOU SAY - PAMA

As mentioned by Tone earlier - what a scorcher this is - I think CN Express is even better than this maybe..I need a copy of that, sold mine (about 3 times!)

[Pete S]

Okay that'll do I think, unless anyone wants more

I ought to go and spend a bit of time with the baby

[Guest Doctor Bird]

5) MONTY MORRIS - LAST LAUGH - DOCTOR BIRD

This is a rare Doctor Bird release from 68 and despite their being no credits, this must surely be a lost Studio One recording, the bass just gives it away. Research has it down as being on a Jamaican label called Mercury and as a Barry Howard production. Who??

hi Pete got another Monty Morris on Doctor Bird called Shamface (credited to the Tennors but Monty for sure) - got any idea who produced this? Matador possible? no credits on the label 

[Pete S]

hi Pete got another Monty Morris on Doctor Bird called Shamface (credited to the Tennors but Monty for sure) - got any idea who produced this? Matador possible? no credits on the label

That's great! Monty Morris was a brilliant singer. That was produced by George Murphy so that explain the Tennors credit, the Jamaican label was called Tennors! This one came out on UK Jackpot as well apparently.
Whats the b side like?

[Guest TONY ROUNCE]

Tony keep these comments coming because I'm learning loads. You know too much! I have both King Of Kings and Tears In Your Eyes, and it never clicked that they were the same backing track as I hadn't played the Monty Morris track for years! Obviously as soon as I played it I recognised it. Going to the top of my charts that is

PETER TOUCH - I AM THE TOUGHEST - ISLAND
A great bragging rude boy tune by Peter Tosh and The Wailers

...with its brilliant intro shamelessly stolen from "I'm Your Puppet", of course!

TONE

[Guest Doctor Bird]

That's great! Monty Morris was a brilliant singer. That was produced by George Murphy so that explain the Tennors credit, the Jamaican label was called Tennors! This one came out on UK Jackpot as well apparently.

Whats the b side like?

b side is a fast reggae tune, not as good as a-side

[Pete S]

...with its brilliant intro shamelessly stolen from "I'm Your Puppet", of course!

TONE

Of course!! I didn't spot that either. F*cking dummy I am.

[Guest Doctor Bird]

got nothing better to do at the moment so I post up some Studio One tunes, hope somebody likes ´em - can´t do label scans at the moment

HAMLINS - SENTIMENTAL REASON
great cover of Sam Cooke, next file is the b-side called Last Waltz by the Soul Vendors

[Guest Doctor Bird]

gon

[Pete S]

Remember the great version of this on Downtown by ??? Gene Rondo??? Was on the Red Red Wine lp. I prefer that to this one, Studio One stuff does my head in after a while, well post 67 does

[Guest Doctor Bird]

here´s another great cover of a Soul tune of Billy Vera
ERNEST SOUL WILSON - STORYBOOK CHILDREN

 

[Guest Doctor Bird]

the last one for now - and my current favourite - a side is well known Love Me Forever but the flip much better, great vocals and backing by the Soul Vendors
 

[Guest Doctor Bird]

Remember the great version of this on Downtown by ??? Gene Rondo??? Was on the Red Red Wine lp. I prefer that to this one, Studio One stuff does my head in after a while, well post 67 does

sold the LP long time ago, tune was quite OK what I can remember - at least better than the dreadful Audrey tune

[Pete S]

sold the LP long time ago, tune was quite OK what I can remember - at least better than the dreadful Audrey tune

Oh no! That track by Audrey - Love me tonight - is utterly brilliant!

[Guest Doctor Bird]

Oh no! That track by Audrey - Love me tonight - is utterly brilliant!

actually meant You´ll Lose A Good Thing, don´t like her voice at all

[Pete S]

actually meant You´ll Lose A Good Thing, don´t like her voice at all

No not a great version. Madness covered that a year or so again on that covers album they did, they thought Audrey was the original, they'd never heard of the Barbara Lynn version!

[Guest Stuart T]

Okay that'll do I think, unless anyone wants more

I ought to go and spend a bit of time with the baby

I can't play any of them but loving this thread. Keep em coming please.

[Pete S]

I can't play any of them but loving this thread. Keep em coming please.

Can you see the pics?

[Guest Dante]

Great tracks Pete!.

Many, many thanks!

I love Audre (Hall), specially You'll Loose A Good Thing and Love me Tonight, both on Downtown. She also had a semi-hit singing with Dandy on the the great string-reggae Morning Side Of The Mountain, with a great flip side: Show Me Baby.

Cheers

Dante

[Guest Stuart T]

Can you see the pics?

The Pama CN Express is one of the best double headers IMHO, along with the JA Treasure Isle of Mary Poppins/If You See Jane but I'm not sure if the latter is the first press? In fact, I'm not sure if I care

If you want some newer stuff try the track called She's Leaving on Peckings by Lukie D, excellent stuff.

[Pete S]

Not allowed to post any more tracks up for the time being I'm afraid

[Denbo]

MONTY MORRIS - SAY WHAT YOU SAY - PAMA

As mentioned by Tone earlier - what a scorcher this is - I think CN Express is even better than this maybe..I need a copy of that, sold mine (about 3 times!)

Best of the bunch, for me, by a mile. Cheers for putting me onto this one Pete!!!

[davidwapples]

9) LYNN TAIT (& VAL BENNETT) - WAY OF LIFE - BLUE CAT

A truly magnificent instrumental. I've done well to hang on to this for so many years, when the going has got tough I've had to sell practically everything but this one will never be going anywhere! Hard to believe that a true genius of the sax like Val Bennett died in poverty.

absolutly brilliant track

what does this go for ?

thanks for posting these up pete

[Pete S]

absolutly brilliant track

what does this go for ?

thanks for posting these up pete

I think one went on ebay for about 120 quid last year.

The other side is also great, I'm So Proud (the Impressions track) vocal version by Joe White.

The vocal version to Way Of Life is one I'm after, I'd pay a ton for it, it's also on Blue Cat

[Guest TONY ROUNCE]

I think one went on ebay for about 120 quid last year.

The other side is also great, I'm So Proud (the Impressions track) vocal version by Joe White.

The vocal version to Way Of Life is one I'm after, I'd pay a ton for it, it's also on Blue Cat

My mate Chris the rocksteady man paid nearly £200.00 for his - I bought mine for 20p from "Reading's For Records" in Battersea in 1974. You probably know that a) it's actually by Lloyd Robinson and Glen Brown, not Joe White, and it's got the sax instrumental to "I'm So Proud" on the other side. Saxman, BTW is Karl Cannonball Bryan, not the great Val Bennett....

TONE

[Guest Doctor Bird]

My mate Chris the rocksteady man paid nearly £200.00 for his - I bought mine for 20p from "Reading's For Records" in Battersea in 1974. You probably know that a) it's actually by Lloyd Robinson and Glen Brown, not Joe White, and it's got the sax instrumental to "I'm So Proud" on the other side. Saxman, BTW is Karl Cannonball Bryan, not the great Val Bennett....

TONE

must be the only jamaican record that came out in the UK where the credits are wrong

[Pete S]

My mate Chris the rocksteady man paid nearly £200.00 for his - I bought mine for 20p from "Reading's For Records" in Battersea in 1974. You probably know that a) it's actually by Lloyd Robinson and Glen Brown, not Joe White, and it's got the sax instrumental to "I'm So Proud" on the other side. Saxman, BTW is Karl Cannonball Bryan, not the great Val Bennett....

TONE

I've got the artist down as being "Glen Brown, Joe White & Trevor Shield" (source - Roots Knotty Roots)

[Guest TONY ROUNCE]

must be the only jamaican record that came out in the UK where the credits are wrong

Junior Lincoln, who used to be the Studio 1 and Coxsone label manager in the UK and then went on to run Bamboo and Banana Records, told me many, many years ago that he would often deliberately change the credits on the UK releases of 45s on those labels.

He said that it was quite often done to capitalise on another artist's popularity - so. for instance, if Ken Boothe was touring England, and Junior didn't have any new KB product to release, he'd simply release the latest, say, Heptones record with Ken's name on it instead of theirs (as he did, again for instance, with "Fattie Fattie"). He'd also do it sometimes , if he had a great record coming through by an unknown artist that he thought he could sell more of if the label carried the name of a rocksteady or reggae superstar. And something else he told me was that Coxsone often asked him to deliberately change the name on the labels, presumably so that certain artists wouldn't be banging on his door every five minutes asking for overseas royalties. I'm sure that Junior was not the only Reggae A & R man to indulge in this practice, although I'm equally sure that quite a lot of the mislabellings on other labels were genuinely that...

Anyway, that's probably why the Heptones' "Only Sixteen" was released as by Alton Ellis, Alton's "Live And Learn" came out as by Ken Boothe, many of the Wailing Souls' 45s were issued under the alias of the Classics, Burning Spear's "Wala Wala" bore the label legend 'Owen Right' (never got that one, really), Carlton and the Shoes became just simply "Roy" for "Love Is A Treasure", several different DJs from Dennis Alacpone to Leroy 'Horsemouth' Wallace saw their early work released under the banner of "Mad Roy" and so on.

TONE

Edited August 5, 2006 by TONY ROUNCE

[Guest Doctor Bird]

Junior Lincoln, who used to be the Studio 1 and Coxsone label manager in the UK and then went on to run Bamboo and Banana Records, told me many, many years ago that he would often deliberately change the credits on the UK releases of 45s on those labels.

He said that it was quite often done to capitalise on another artist's popularity - so. for instance, if Ken Boothe was touring England, and Junior didn't have any new KB product to release, he'd simply release the latest, say, Heptones record with Ken's name on it instead of theirs (as he did, again for instance, with "Fattie Fattie"). He'd also do it sometimes , if he had a great record coming through by an unknown artist that he thought he could sell more of if the label carried the name of a rocksteady or reggae superstar. And something else he told me was that Coxsone often asked him to deliberately change the name on the labels, presumably so that certain artists wouldn't be banging on his door every five minutes asking for overseas royalties. I'm sure that Junior was not the only Reggae A & R man to indulge in this practice, although I'm equally sure that quite a lot of the mislabellings on other labels were genuinely that...

Anyway, that's probably why the Heptones' "Only Sixteen" was released as by Alton Ellis, Alton's "Live And Learn" came out as by Ken Boothe, many of the Wailing Souls' 45s were issued under the alias of the Classics, Burning Spear's "Wala Wala" bore the label legend 'Owen Right' (never got that one, really), Carlton and the Shoes became just simply "Roy" for "Love Is A Treasure", several different DJs from Dennis Alacpone to Leroy 'Horsemouth' Wallace saw their early work released under the banner of "Mad Roy" and so on.

TONE

very interesting information, thanks Tony

[Pete S]

Hoping we are okay to post a few new tracks up now.

Island label special for today.

First one is a great instrumental from the eraly days of ska, there are literally hundreds of insts from this period but this one stands out because of the brilliant harmonica playing.

As you can see, my copy looks like it was found in a skip.

KING EDWARDS GROUP - RUSSIAN ROULETTE

[Pete S]

Just adding this one so you can hear what Bob Marley sounded like in the early days, this is a pretty standard ska number which shows nothing of what he would go on to become but it's interesting all the same

ROBERT MARLEY - ONE CUP OF COFFEE

[Guest TONY ROUNCE]

I've got the artist down as being "Glen Brown, Joe White & Trevor Shield" (source - Roots Knotty Roots)

...and you're quite right, too - sorry about the faux pas, I was mentally mixing it up with the equally sublime rocksteady "Living Like A King", which IS by Lloyd and Glen.

I'm definitely right about it being Cannonball Bryan on the sax cuts, though, rather than Val Bennett....

TONE

[Pete S]

This one is interesting as it's one of the rarest Island ska 45's, it was also issued on Ska Beat as "Woman", presumably because Island withdrew their version. In fact two different records came out with the same catalogue number (see scans). This is a really fast ska tune full of innuendo!

OWEN & LEON - WANT ME COCK

Edited August 5, 2006 by Pete-S

[Pete S]

Next one is a great vocal group The Gaylads with a lovely rocksteady number

[Pete S]

This next one is credited to the Soul Brothers but is actually Freddie McGregor sounding about 6 years old on a song I think you will easily recongise as a classic northern soul oldie from way back when!

FREDDIE McGREGOR (LITTLE FREDDIE) - TOO YOUNG TO LOVE

[Pete S]

Hopeton Lewis with an early tribute to his favourite smoking product

HOPETON LEWIS - COOL COLLIE

[Pete S]

This is the backing track to the Cool Cool Rocksteady track I posted up yesterday. Again, some great harmonica work on this one.

DON LEE - SIR LEES SPECIAL

[Pete S]

Last one, this has possibly one of the most famous backing tracks of all reggae records and there can't be anyone over the age of 40 who doesn't know what this went onto become!

DERRICK MORGAN - HOLD YOU JACK