Musical Youth

Artist: Musical Youth

LP: 7" single

Song: "Tell Me Why?"
[ listen ]

Whenever I tell someone I've stopped buying records for a while because I have too many, I always feel compelled to instantly race out and buy some more. Today I told my friend Refugio this at lunch, and then my car drove itself to Jive Time Records in Fremont and found astoundingly good parking fight in front of the store. My vehicle must have intuitively known that this 1983 Musical Youth single and a few other 7" gems were waiting for me inside. 

After early success ("Pass the Dutchie," anyone?) the hits soon dried up and Musical Youth were mired in legal and financial troubles by the mid-1980s, calling it quits in 1985. One of the Youth, Patrick Waite, went on to a life of petty crime and died in 1993 at the age of 24. But on the bright side, two members of the group, Dennis Seaton and Michael Grant, have recently reunited to make more Youthful Music for us all to enjoy!

[ Musical Youth ]

Hugo Barrington

Artist: Hugo Barrington

LP: Presenting Hugo

Song: "'Des' We 'Des'"
[ listen ]

Hugo Barrington would like to remind you that legal representation is the right of every Jamaican citizen. In other good news, even after embarking on a legal career under the name Hugh Faulkner, Hugo never gave up on his music. You can read more about Hugo Barrington's work as Executive Director of the Legal Aid Council in Jamaica here, go here to find out how he's staying connected to his music, and read his biography at the United Reggae website here.

[ Hugo Barrington in 2014 ]

Jackie Mittoo

Artist: Jackie Mittoo

LP: Let's Put It All Together

Song: "Feel Like Makin' Love"
[ listen ]

Song: "Frangipani"
[ listen ]

The last and final record store I went to on my road trip through Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana was Domino Sound Record Shack in New Orleans—off the beaten path and away from the touristy parts of town. Like most other record shops I visited in the South, this was one of the very best. I picked up so many records at Domino Sound, they had to put them in a cardboard box for me to carry them away. Though it was hard for me to choose which one record to post, I chose this 1975 Jackie Mittoo LP for two reasons: #1.) I've been working on a large jigsaw puzzle at work with my friend Beatrice, who sits at the adjoining desk. I made some exciting progress on Friday since work was slow, and this morning I awoke from a dream in which I was finding and correctly placing tiny pieces into the big jigsaw picture. So with its puzzle-themed cover, Mittoo's LP seemed a perfect fit. #2.) I really like it. Reggae isn't my favorite genre, but when it features solo electric organ it's definitely my cup of tea.

Born in Brown's Town, Jamaica in 1948, Jackie Mittoo's grandmother began teaching him to play the piano when he was just four years old. He was a member of The Skatalites in the 1960s and then emigrated to Toronto, Canada at the end of that decade. He continued to make music and played in lounges in Toronto and, though perhaps not as well known as the only Jamaican reggae musician anyone outside of Jamaica has ever heard of, Jackie Mittoo worked with some of the best in the business until his death from cancer at age 42. By then Mittoo had become known as a master of his craft. You can read about Jackie Mittoo on Wikipedia here and go here to see his complete discography—with photos!

[ Jackie Mittoo: March 3, 1948 — December 16, 1990 ]

[ Domino Sound Record Shack — New Orleans, Louisiana ]

Gregori Hunte

Artist: Gregori Hunte

LP: 12" single

Song: "Somebody Lied"

[ listen ]

Somebody lied when they told Gregori it was a good idea to stick a 60-second reggae interlude smack dab in the middle of his high-energy dance-club single.

Bette Bright

Artist: Bette Bright

LP: Rhythm Breaks the Ice

Song: "Hello I Am Your Heart"

[ listen ]

In this cute little reggae-influenced ditty from Bette Bright's 1981 LP on Korova Records, the former Deaf School vocalist receives a message from her heart. It's leaving and going on vacation because Bette keeps getting it broken and hurt over and over again. I once received a similar notice from my legs after riding my bike up Denny Avenue to the top of Capitol Hill. You can read about Bette Bright on Wikipedia here, and go here to see a 2009 photo of Bette w/ her famous husband.

 

 

 

Musical Youth

Artist: Musical Youth

LP: 7" single

Song: "She's Trouble"

[ listen ]

After the smash success of their 1982 "The Youth of Today" LP, which spawned the immensely hummable reggae hit "Pass the Dutchie," somebody who probably acted like they knew what they were doing decided that Musical Youth needed a "Different Style!" for their 1983 followup record. Unfortunately, the new style they got was the same one already being used by lots of other American performers at the time, like this guy, and the truly "different style" that had made Musical Youth such a refreshing novelty on the pop-radio airwaves of the early 1980s was gone forever. "She's Trouble" isn't a terrible song though—it climbed to #65 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and the cover features a neat photo of the group balancing precariously on the rails of a roller-coaster. And at least the guys were still allowed to wear great clothes. You can read about Musical Youth on Wikipedia here and find their first two albums compared and contrasted on the Reggae Reviews website here.

Two Two

Artist: Two Two

LP: 7" single

Song: "Kwagayo"
[ listen ]

Here's a neat song released by London's Chiswick Records back in 1982, a year before the label shut down. I hope nobody's offended by all the nudity on the cover.

Byron Lee and the Dragonaires

Artist: Byron Lee and the Dragonaires

LP: Going Places

Song: "Sell the Pussy"
[ listen ]
Song: "Message to a Black Man"
aka: "Message From a Black Man"
[ listen ]

Please don't ask me about Byron Lee. I'll slip into a state of frenzied excitement or, more likely, a dreamy ecstasy—and I won't get anything done at work today. You can read all about the influential Jamaican bandleader here, read about his work with The Dragonaires (and see their discography) here, and find Lee's biography, photos and other things here. There's a nice Byron Lee obituary from the Reggae Times here and you can watch Byron Lee trying to teach a white guy the Pussy Kat Dance on YouTube here. Notes from the back of this 1970 LP included below.

BYRON LEE AND THE DRAGONAIRES
Jamaica's & Caribbean's Number One Band

Ask anyone in the Caribbean about Byron Lee and they'll
either go into a dreamy ecstasy or frenzied excitement as
they talk about the Caribbean's no. 1 band. Ask anyone
also about BWIA and you'll more than likely get the same
type of reaction as they talk about the Caribbean's no. 1
airline, which links these sunny tropical shores with the North
American gateways of Miami, New York and Toronto.

Ask about Byron Lee's last Caribbean and U.S. tour and
people from all walks of life will tell you "it was the greatest."
Ask about their last trip on BWIA's fabulous sunjets and
they'll also tell you "magnificent."

Will Byron Lee fulfill the outstanding demands to
tour Europe? Most definitely!

Will BWIA carry out their expansion programme to serve
the United Kingdom and Europe? Most definitely, and
with new Boeing 707 sunjets, the fastest
between Europe and the Caribbean.

And in BWIA's twenty fifth year of serving Jamaica,
Byron's homeland, the airline is proud to once again
have carried the Byron Lee show throughout
the Caribbean and the United States.

Sit back and relax then as Byron Lee's music, as featured
on BWIA's sunjets, puts you on a real groovy cloud.

[ Byron Lee: June 27, 1935 — November 4, 2008 ]

The Equators

Artist: The Equators

LP: 7" single
Song: "Baby Come Back"
[ listen ]

Here's a 1980 single from the Stiff label with a cool (if partially destroyed) picture sleeve; found for a quarter a while back at the local record shop. and here's a [blog] with interesting and informative details about The Equators—plus this nice picture of the group that I promptly stole:

Tina Yothers

Artist: Tina Yothers

LP: 12" single
Song: "Girlie Girlie"
[ listen ]

With her cutesy, all-American-girl-next-door looks, people often forget that "Family Ties" actress Tina Yothers was actually born and raised in Jamaica.