The Jamaica Observer’s Entertainment Desk continues with the 21st of its biweekly feature looking at seminal moments that have helped shape Jamaica over the past 60 years.

The song Israelites by Desmond Dekker and The Aces is often regarded as an ode to struggling groups in society. At the same time, musicologist and producer of King Omar Promotions, Kingsley Goodison says the track gave Jamaican music a huge push internationally.

“Desmond Dekker had his own musical niche. Lyrically, he had some good records. Poor Mi Israelites sold a million copies in England and that propelled him to the top. It was a really big one,” Goodison told the Jamaica Observer.

Israelites was written by Dekker and producer Leslie Kong who helped develop the singer’s talent at his Beverley’s Records label. It became a hit for the singer and The Aces (Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard) entering charts in numerous countries in 1969.

It was the first UK reggae number one, and among the first to reach the US Top 10, peaking at number nine.

Israelites brought a Jamaican beat to the British Top 40 for the first time since Dekker’s number 14 hit 007 (Shanty Town) in 1967. The following year, he and The Aces won the Festival Song Contest with Intensified.

Dekker had two more UK Top 10 hits after Israelites — It Mek and a cover of Jimmy Cliff’s You Can Get It If You Really Want.

The song has endured.

On November 3 2019, Israelites was prominently featured in the third episode of HBO’s Watchmen. Potentially because of this usage, the song charted again, entering the Billboard Digital Reggae Song Sales Chart at number two.

Dekker died from a heart attack in 2006 at the age of 64 in London.