Reggae

Reggae is Bob Marley. Bob Marley is Reggae. That's all you need to know.....

But here's a bit more information anyway:


Wikipedia:

Reggae (/ˈrɛɡeɪ/) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora.  A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the word "reggae", effectively naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience. While sometimes used in a broad sense to refer to most types of popular Jamaican dance music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that was strongly influenced by traditional mento as well as American jazz and rhythm and blues, especially the New Orleans R&B practiced by Fats Domino and Allen Toussaint, and evolved out of the earlier genres ska and rocksteady. Reggae usually relates news, social gossip, and political comment. Reggae spread into a commercialized jazz field, being known first as "rudie blues", then "ska", later "blue beat", and "rock steady". It is instantly recognizable from the counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat, and the offbeat rhythm section. The immediate origins of reggae were in ska and rocksteady; from the latter, reggae took over the use of the bass as a percussion instrument. Reggae is deeply linked to the Rastafari, an Afrocentric religion which developed in Jamaica in the 1930's, aiming at promoting Pan Africanism. Soon after the Rastafarian movement appeared, the international popularity of reggae music became associated with and increased the visibility of Rastafarianism spreading the Rastafari gospel throughout the world. Reggae music is an important means of transporting vital messages of Rastafarianism. The musician becomes the messenger, and as Rastafarians see it,"the soldier and the musician are tools for change."
Stylistically, reggae incorporates some of the musical elements of rhythm and blues, jazz, mento (a celebratory, rural folk form that served its largely rural audience as dance music and an alternative to the hymns and adapted chanteys of local church singing), calypso, and also draws influence from traditional African folk rhythms. One of the most easily recognizable elements is offbeat rhythms; staccato chords played by a guitar or piano (or both) on the offbeats of the measure. The tempo of reggae is usually slower paced than ska but faster than rocksteady. The concept of call and response can be found throughout reggae music.The genre of reggae music is led by the drum and bass. Some key players in this sound are Jackie Jackson from Toots and the Maytals, Carlton Barrett from Bob Marley and the Wailers, Lloyd Brevett from The Skatalites, Paul Douglas from Toots and the Maytals, Lloyd Knibb from The Skatalites, Winston Grennan, Sly Dunbar, and Anthony "Benbow" Creary from The Upsetters. The bass guitar often plays the dominant role in reggae. The bass sound in reggae is thick and heavy, and equalized so the upper frequencies are removed and the lower frequencies emphasized. The guitar in reggae usually plays on the off beat of the rhythm. It is common for reggae to be sung in Jamaican Patois, Jamaican English, and Iyaric dialects. Reggae is noted for its tradition of social criticism and religion in its lyrics, although many reggae songs discuss lighter, more personal subjects, such as love and socializing.
Reggae has spread to many countries across the world, often incorporating local instruments and fusing with other genres. Reggae en Españolspread from the Spanish speaking Central American country of Panama to the mainland South American countries of Venezuela and Guyana then to the rest of South America. Caribbean music in the United Kingdom, including reggae, has been popular since the late 1960s, and has evolved into several subgenres and fusions. Many reggae artists began their careers in the UK, and there have been a number of European artists and bands drawing their inspiration directly from Jamaica and the Caribbean community in Europe. Reggae in Africa was boosted by the visit of Bob Marley to Zimbabwe in 1980. In Jamaica, authentic reggae is one of the biggest sources of income.

AllMusic:

Reggae is a music unique to Jamaica, but it ironically has its roots in New Orleans R&B. Reggae's direct forefather is ska, an uptempo, rhythmic variation based on the New Orleans R&B Jamaican musicians heard broadcast from the US on their transistor radios. Relying on skittering guitar and syncopated rhythms, ska was their interpretation of R&B and it was quite popular in the early '60s. However, during one very hot summer, it was too hot to either play or dance to ska, so the beat was slowed down and reggae was born. Since then, reggae has proven to be as versatile as the blues, as it lends itself to a number of interpretations, from the melodic rock steady of Alton Ellis and the rock and folk-influenced songwriting of Bob Marley to the trippy, near-psychedelic soundscapes of dub artists like Lee "Scratch" Perry. It has crossed into the mainstream through the bright, bouncy "reggae sunsplash" festivals and pop-oriented bands like UB40, but more adventurous reggae artists, such as Marley and Perry, have influenced countless reggae, folk, rock and dance artists. Their contributions resonate throughout popular music.

Comment

While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of  Jamaican music from ska onwards, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated after the development of ska and rocksteady. Reggae is based on a rhythmic style characterized by accents on the off-beat, known as the skank. Reggae is normally slower than ska. Reggae usually accents the second and fourth beat in each bar.

Reggae song lyrics deal with many subjects, including religion, love, sexuality, peace, relationships, poverty, injustice and other social and political issues.

The shift from rocksteady to reggae was illustrated by the organ shuffle pioneered by Bunny Lee, and used in the transitional singles "Say What You're Saying" (1967) by Clancy Eccles, and "People Funny Boy" (1968) by Lee "Scratch" Perry.  The Pioneers' 1967 track "Long Shot Bus' Me Bet" was at one time claimed by blogger Eternal Thunder as the earliest recorded example of the new rhythm sound that became known as reggae, though no longer makes that claim. Early 1968 was when the first genuine reggae records came into being: "Nanny Goat" by Larry Marshall and "No More Heartaches" by The Beltones. American artist Johnny Nash's 1968 hit "Hold Me Tight" has been credited with first putting reggae in the American listener charts (by whom?). Reggae was starting to surface in rock music; an example of a rock song featuring reggae rhythm is 1968's "Ob-La-Di , Ob-La-Da" by The Beatles. 

The Wailers, a band that was started by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer in 1963, are generally agreed to be the most easily recognised group worldwide that made the transition through all three stages — from ska hits like "Simmer Down", through slower rocksteady, to reggae.

Jamaican producers were influential in the development of ska into rocksteady and reggae in the 1960s. An early producer was Chris Blackwell, who founded Island Records in Jamaica in 1960, then relocated to England in 1962, where he continued to promote Jamaican music. He formed a partnership with Trojan Records, founded by Lee Gopthal in 1968. Trojan released recordings by reggae artists in the UK until 1974, when Saga bought the label.

The 1972 film The Harder They Come, starring Jimmy Cliff, generated considerable interest and popularity for reggae in the United States, and Eric Clapton's 1974 cover of the Bob Marley song "I Shot the Sheriff" helped bring reggae into the mainstream. By the mid 1970s, reggae was getting radio play in the UK on John Peel's radio show, and Peel continued to play reggae on his show throughout his career. What is called the "Golden Age of Reggae" corresponds roughly to the heyday of roots reggae. In the second half of the 1970s, the UK punk rock scene was starting to form, and some punk DJs played reggae songs during their sets. Some punk bands incorporated reggae influences into their music. At the same time, reggae began to enjoy a revival in the UK that continued into the 1980s

Timeline

1962 

Robert (Bob) Marley - "Judge Not"  Bob Marley's first single, a ska song. 

1963

Prince Buster - I Feel The Spirit  Debut album of the hugely influential Jamaican record producer and singer-songwriter. This was the first ska album to be released outside of Jamaica. Score: 6 


The Skatalites - The Best Of   Legendary early ska band who either as a group or individually played on many early Jamaican records. This is a 2017 compilation of tracks they recorded for the Treasure Isle label between 1963 and their break up in 1965. They reformed in the 80s when there was a revival of interest in the band due to the two-tone ska revival in the UK.  Quite jazzy breaks over a steady ska shuffle. 

1964 

Millie Small - "My Boy Lollipop"  The first big ska hit outside Jamaica 

1965 

The Wailers (Bob Marley) - "One Love" Marley's ska version of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready" which he would re-release in 1977 as "One Love/People Get Ready". 

1967 

Desmond Dekker - "007 (Shanty Town)"  A rocksteady song appealing to rudies/rude boys. 

1968 

The Beatles - "Ob-La-Di , Ob-La-Da" 

Toots And The Maytals - "Do The Reggay"   First use of the term reggae. 

1969 

Desmond Dekker - "Isrealites" 

Jimmy Cliff - "Many Rivers to Cross" 

1970 

Dave and Ansell Collins - "Double Barrel"  

The Melodians - "Rivers Of Babylon" 

Desmond Dekker - "You Can Get It If You Really Want" 

Bob and Marcia - "Young, Gifted and Black"  

Niney the Observer -  "Blood & Fire"  

1971 

Eric Donaldson - "Cherry Oh Baby" 

1972  

Jimmy Cliff - "The Harder They Come" 

Paul Simon - "Mother And Child Reunion" 

Johnny Nash - "I Can See Clearly Now" 

Yabby You  - "Conquering Lion"  

Judge Dread - "Big Six"  First release of British white artist who had a lot of success in the UK and Jamaica with rude pastiches of ska numbers. One track is enough. 

Bob Marley & the Wailers – Catch a Fire  The band’s fifth studio album, it was also their first major label release, poising them for success in the United States and United Kingdom. In 2010, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and is considered to be one of the greatest albums ever recorded. 

Various - The Harder They Come  Album soundtrack of low budget Jamaican crime thriller  The Harder They Come.  The film was a slow burning cult favourite in America, and the soundtrack broke reggae in that country. The soundtrack is on many critics’ top 10 lists for top reggae albums, as well as Rolling Stone’s top 500 albums of all time. The album ended up becoming a cross-section of historically significant reggae music, with tracks by genre pioneers Desmond Dekker and Toots and the Maytals, early works from Jimmy Cliff, and songs from other Jamaican artists who were influential between 1967 and 1972. 

1973 

Led Zeppelin - "D'yer Mak'er"

1974

Bob Marley & the Wailers  – Natty Dread  album

Eric Clapton - "I Shot the Sheriff"  This was the track that made the world focus on Bob Marley and on reggae.  

1975 

Bob Marley - "No Woman No Cry"  This is the single that make Marley a world star. He toured the Natty Dread album in the UK, buoyed by intense interest in him and in reggae in general after Clapton had covered "I Shot The Sheriff", and gave a warm, intense, magical performance at the Lyceum in London which was recorded for the Live! album. This was selected as the single, and was perfectly timed to enhance and deepen his reputation. 

Burning Spear – Marcus Garvey   This is considered relevant in reggae history for the development of roots reggae, which is a focus on various Rastafari themes, particularly political. However, Niney the Observer and Yabby You  are more significant for the early development with songs such as "Blood & Fire" (1970) and "Conquering Lion" (1972), and Bob Marley more important for the popularising of the genre. 

Toots & the Maytals   Funky Kingston  Released in America in 1975, this version of Funky Kingston, which had been released with substantially different track listing in the UK and Jamaica in 1973, caught the attention of American critics at the time, and has since been regarded as one of the top 500 albums ever made.  

Bob Marley -  Live!   The live album from which "No Woman No Cry" came. One of the greatest live albums ever. 

1976 

Augustus Pablo and King Tubby - King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown  Augustus Pablo’s first successful album, displaying Pablo’s melodica and keyboard work. Often noted as being one of the best early examples of dub music in which a track is stripped of vocals and remixed to allow for toasting over it. 

Peter Tosh – Legalize It   In his first album post-Wailers, Peter Tosh pushed for the legalization of cannabis by the Jamaican government for medicinal purposes. The album and its title track were controversial for this subject matter, but in the end, the controversy worked in Tosh’s favor, launching him to stardom.

The Upsetters - Super Ape  The most acclaimed album by the key reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry (using the name of his studio band The Upsetters), which lives up to its promise to "Dub it up, blacker than dread".  

1977 

Bob Marley & the Wailers  – Exodus  album 

The Congos -  Heart of The Congos  Roots reggae album produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry.  


Culture - Two Sevens Clash  

1978 

Steel Pulse - Handsworth Revolution   The first significant UK reggae act. A Birmingham band, they presumably influenced early UB40, but never had their success.

1979 

Misty In Roots -  Live at the Counter Eurovision 79   Subtle and beautiful roots reggae from an acclaimed but commercially unrecognised UK act. This is their powerful debut.  

Various - The Best of 2 Tone   2 Tone was a record label and cultural movement in the late Seventies that combined ska and pop music and clothes fashions with a multi-cultural ethos. This 1993 compilation contains the best singles of that movement. 

1981

Black Uhuru – Red    Backed by Sly & Robbie, this vocal trio's 1981 album comes at the point where roots reggae was moving into the digital age. 

1984

Smiley Culture  -  "Police Officer" & "Cockney Translation"  London reggae artist who used a fastchat style of toasting similar to rap. 

Best of lists

* Mojo: 50 Greatest Reggae Albums 
* RYM: Top 250 Reggae Albums by Reggae Heads 
* Digital Dream: 100 Greatest Reggae Albums 
* GQ: 10 Reggae Records To Own 
* Soundblab: Essential Reggae Albums For Beginners 
* Discogs: Reggae Records You Should Own 
* PPCorn: Top Ten Reggae Albums Of All time 

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