Classics mark golden milestone
WITH May marking the 50th anniversary of Double Barrel going number one in the United Kingdom, Trojan/BMG Records has planned a wide-scale campaign to celebrate the milestone.
Double Barrel was performed by Dave Barker and Ansell Collins. It entered the UK chart in March and spent two weeks at number one in May.
Several other groundbreaking songs are celebrating their golden anniversary this year. Here’s a look at some of them.
Satta Masa Gana (The Abyssinians)
Recorded at Studio One in 1969, the song, recognised as reggae’s anthem, was not released until 1971 on the trio’s Clinch label.
Bernard Collins and brothers Donald and Lynford Manning formed the group in Trench Town in 1968. They co-wrote a song steeped in Amharic, a language the members studied during rehearsals.
Satta Masa Gana, with Leroy Sibbles on bass and Fil Callender on drums, was a revelation when it hit the streets 50 years ago. Many artistes were eager to record on the rhythm including Big Youth with I Pray Thee.
Just about every top act has done a song on the ‘Satta’ rhythm. In recent years, Sizzla ( One Away) and Capleton (Ra ggy Road) have had major hits on it.
Cherry Oh Baby (Eric Donadson)
Produced by Tommy Cowan, it won the Jamaica Festival Song Competition and made Donaldson, a little-known singer from Bog Walk, a star.
Cherry Oh Baby has been covered by The Rolling Stones and UB40, and remains one of festival’s enduring songs.
Donaldson went on to win the Jamaica Festival Song Competition five more times.
Soul Revolution (The Wailers)
The legendary group’s masterpiece album, produced by Lee “Scratch” Perry, contains classic songs like the title track, Sun is Shining, Kaya and Duppy Conqueror which hear the trio of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer at their most potent.
This set was a sign of things to come. In 1973, The Wailers signed with Island Records and cut two landmark albums — Catch A Fire and Burnin’.
At times overlooked for Marley’s Island catalogue, Soul Revolution is considered by purists the gold standard for reggae.
