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Music Genre Research: Origins and Artists of Reggae
- 2. Background InformationThe first recording studio to open in Jamaica was open in 1951, it recorded ‘mento’ music, this was a mix of African and European music. In 1954 Ken Khouri started Jamaica’s first record label called ‘Federal Records’. This then inspired Reid and Dodd, who began to record local artists for the record label. Towards the end of the 1950s, amateurs began to form bands that played Caribbean music and New Orleans' rhythm'n'blues. This led to the "bluebeat" groups, which basically were Jamaica's version of the New Orleans sound. They usually included saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, drums and bass. Soon the bass became the dominant instrument, and the sound evolved into the "ska". The "ska" beat had actually been invented by Roscoe Gordon, a Memphis pianist, with No More Doggin' (1951). Ska songs boasted an upbeat tempo, a horn section, Afro-American vocal harmonies, jazzy riffs and staccato guitar notes. The word ‘reggae’ was created around 1960 in Jamaica to identify a ‘ragged’ style of dance music, that still had its roots in New Orleans rhythm'n'blues. However, reggae soon acquired the lament-like style of chanting and emphasized the syncopated beat. It also made explicit the relationship with the underworld of the ‘Rastafarians’, both in the lyrics and in the appropriation of the African nyah-bingi drumming style (a style that mimicks the heartbeat with its pattern of ‘thump-thump, pause, thump-thump’). Reggae music basically inverted the role of bass and guitar: the former was the lead, the latter beat the typical hiccupping pattern. An independent label, Island, distributed Jamaican records in the UK throughout the 1960s, but reggae became popular in the UK only when Prince Buster's Al Capone (1967) started a brief ‘dance craze’. Jamaican music was very much a ghetto phenomenon, associated with gang-style violence, but Jimmy Cliff's Wonderful World Beautiful People (1969) wed reggae with the ‘peace and love’ philosophy of the hippies, an association that would not die away. In the USA, Neil Diamond's Red Red Wine (1967) was the first reggae hit by a pop musician. Afterwards, Johnny Nash's Hold Me Tight (1968) propelled reggae onto the charts. Do The Reggay (1968) by Toots (Hibbert) And The Maytals was the record that gave the music its name. Fredrick Toots Hibbert's vocal style was actually closer to gospel, as proved by their other hits (54-46, 1967;Monkey Man, 1969; Pressure Drop, 1970).
- 3. Instruments used Played with the drums, the bass guitar provides the ‘riddim’ (rhythm) of a reggae song. The bass in reggae is usually played as a simple riff, but it's often thick and pronounced. Prominent reggae bass guitarists include Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett, who played for Bob Marley and the Wailers, and Robbie Shakespeare, one half of the prolific Jamaican production team Sly and Robbie. Most reggae songs use a standard drum kit, but the pieces are played in a specific way. The snare drum is often tuned to a much higher pitch, which gives it a sound that resembles timbales. Most drummers utilise the cross-stick technique in which the rim and head are hit simultaneously. An electric or acoustic guitar in reggae tends to stress chords over individual notes in a pattern. The guitar is connected to a special amplifier that is often dampened so the sound is short and scratchy. The chord is often played as a double chop. Like the other instruments, there's a relaxed feel to the sound of a guitar in reggae. Horn sections play the introductions, instrumental breaks, solos or counter melodies. Uptempo songs will feature a bright and boisterous horn section. The typical reggae horn section will have a saxophone, trombone and trumpet.
- 4. Reggae Sub Genres Early Reggae Nyabhingi Dub Reggae Dancehall Roots Reggae Rocker Reggae
- 5. Reggae Artists Bob Marley Nesta Robert "Bob" Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer- songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rock steady and reggae bands The Wailers (1963- 1974) and Bob Marly and the Wailers (1974– 1981). Marley remains the most widely known and the best selling performer of reggae music, having sold more than 75 million albums worldwide. He is also credited with helping spread both Jamaican music and the Rastafari movement to a worldwide audience. Jimmy Cliff Jimmy Cliff (born James Chambers, 1 April 1948)is a Jamaican musician, singer and actor. He is the only currently living musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievement in the arts and sciences. Cliff is best known among mainstream audiences for songs such as ‘Wonderful World, Beautiful People’, ‘The Harder They Come’, ‘Sitting in Limbo’, ‘You Can Get It If You Really Want’ and ‘Many Rivers to Cross’, which helped popularize reggae across the world; and his covers of Cat Stevens' "Wild World" and Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" from the film Cool Runnings. Outside of the reggae world, he made a film appearance in The Harder They Come. Cliff was one of five performers inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
- 6. Reggae Artists Bob Marley Nesta Robert "Bob" Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer- songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rock steady and reggae bands The Wailers (1963- 1974) and Bob Marly and the Wailers (1974– 1981). Marley remains the most widely known and the best selling performer of reggae music, having sold more than 75 million albums worldwide. He is also credited with helping spread both Jamaican music and the Rastafari movement to a worldwide audience. Jimmy Cliff Jimmy Cliff (born James Chambers, 1 April 1948)is a Jamaican musician, singer and actor. He is the only currently living musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievement in the arts and sciences. Cliff is best known among mainstream audiences for songs such as ‘Wonderful World, Beautiful People’, ‘The Harder They Come’, ‘Sitting in Limbo’, ‘You Can Get It If You Really Want’ and ‘Many Rivers to Cross’, which helped popularize reggae across the world; and his covers of Cat Stevens' "Wild World" and Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" from the film Cool Runnings. Outside of the reggae world, he made a film appearance in The Harder They Come. Cliff was one of five performers inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.