‘Roots From The Yard’, ‘Nightfall’ among VP’s special Record Store Day titles

For its special Record Store Day titles for 2019, VP Records reaches into its early history and two of its important sublabels. A seven-record box set of seven-inch singles on the collectible Roots From The Yard label highlights the early years of the company, when records were pressed on behalf of independent producers on a variety of sublabels. The set includes tracks from Barrington Levy, Bim Sherman, The Mighty Fantells, Junior Delgado, Freddie McKay, Earth & Stone, and Linval Thompson.

The next title is Nightfall, a deep collector’s rarity from reggae and dancehall icon Johnny Osbourne. Released in 1981 on VP’s Jah Guidance imprint, the album features heavy mixes and extended dubs produced by Linval Thompson, featuring the Roots Radics band, and engineered by Hopeton ‘Scientist’ Brown. A companion release produced by Thompson, the 12-inch single by Freddie McKay, Another Weekend , and Earl Sixteen’s Live Together, will be featured as a Record Store Day title in Europe on VP’s subsidiary Greensleeves label

The final Record Store Day title is the Roots Radics 12 Inches Of Dub, a dub companion to General Echo’s 1980 Greensleeves album 12 Inches Of Pleasure, produced by Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes, and again featuring the Roots Radics in their prime with mixes by Scientist.

“Vinyl is such an important part of Jamaican music and culture, and we are thankful that Record Store Day has kept it alive in such a powerful way, year after year,” said Randy Chin, COO of VP Records. “Every year, VP does its part by hosting sound system showcases and being that we are celebrating 40 years, along with our stores now being official Record Store Day locations, everything is aligned, and fans can expect a greater experience than ever before.”

Record Store Day is April 14.

This year, VP Records is celebrating 40 years in the United States. VP’s history as a record store and music distributor is key to the growth of reggae music in New York and around the globe. The company was launched by Vincent and Patricia Chin as Randy’s Record Mart in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1958, and grew to become the world’s largest independent reggae label. The 40th anniversary festivities commenced with VP’s return to Jamaica in January for Strictly The Best – LIVE Montego Bay on January 30. The commemoration continues with a variety of music and cultural events, products, historical exhibits and experiences in Jamaica, across the US, Toronto, Canada and London, England, slated throughout the year.