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Inner Circle, Freddie, Mykal Rose ‘Beat Down Babylon’ on Chinna Smith-produced tribute album

New life for Junior Byles classic

Published:Monday | June 13, 2022 | 12:09 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
Mykal Rose
Mykal Rose
Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith
Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith
Inner Circle Band
Inner Circle Band
Freddie McGregor
Freddie McGregor
Junior Byles
Junior Byles
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Any conversation surrounding the great OG (original) bad boys of reggae music must include names like Junior Byles, whose Beat Down Babylon provoked the ire of Babylon; Inner Circle, whose Bad Boys mega hit needs no introduction; Freddie McGregor, the Big Ship Captain; Mykal Rose, known for his brand of militant, hardcore music; and guitarist extraordinaire Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith, who has recorded and toured with Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Dennis Brown, and Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers. And, when all these OGs come together on one single track, it is greatness overload.

The track is a Junior Byles classic titled Beat Down Babylon, which has been covered by Inner Circle, Rose and McGregor on a tribute album being produced by Smith. It is a passion project for Smith, who has known Byles for half a century and who has excess amount of love for the singer whose career has been dislocated owing to decades of struggles with mental health issues.

It was in 1974 that the then 19-year-old Smith wrote and produced a song titled Fade Away for Byles, a track which is counted among reggae’s classics, making it one of a cluster of anthems by the singer. Other Junior Byles classics include Curly Locks and A Place Called Africa.

Smith is hopeful that the cover versions of these classics will help to re-introduce Byles to his fans and introduce him to a whole new generation of music consumers. “Junior Byles is alive an’ needs help an’ that’s something we can’t ignore. He jus’ needs some help,” Smith is quoted as saying.

The intro to the cover for Beat Down Babylon, which is shining like the diamonds enshrined in the Jamaica 60 jubilee celebration, goes something like this: “[Heavy drumming] Greetings, this is yours, Freddie McGregor ... and this is Mykal Rose and we’re in the Circle. We seh nuff love to Junior Byles, him ah we bredda.” The new arrangement is done by Bernard ‘Touter’ Harvey, Ian Lewis and Roger Lewis, all of Inner Circle, and it is a master class in production from the Bad Boys.

Roger Lewis told The Gleaner that he was only too happy to make himself available to be a part of this project by Smith to pay tribute to Byles. “Chinna reached out to us and said he was doing a whole album of Junior Byles songs and we were lucky enough to get the song Beat Down Babylon. Around the same time that Chinna spoke to me, Freddie and Mykal Rose were at the studio [Circle House in Florida] and I put the idea to them. And, yuh know Freddie already, he is always wanting to give back.. And Mykal Rose really wanted to do it too. We are are all happy to support Junior Byles. He is family. We love him and we are sorry to hear that he is sick,” Lewis said.

Despite information online that Beat Down Babylon was released in 1972 – which would make it 50 years old this year – Lewis insisted that it was actually in 1971, because he recalled that year was the People’s National Party bandwagon and that song was a part of it.

“I remember Clancy Eccles and Junior Byles were on the bandwagon and, once when we were setting up for a concert, some police come by and seh anyhow Junior Byles come with nuh Beat Down Babylon, the show a go dun,” Lewis recalled. Babylon is a term loosely used to refer to oppressive system and policemen.

Junior Byles took to the stage and did a number of songs, until it was time for Beat Down Babylon. “S eh mi no like dem kind of Babylon/Seh mi no dig dem kind of wicked men/For I am a righteous Rasta man/And I am a dread dread one I man/I an’ I goin’ beat down Babylon/I an’ I goin’ beat down Babylon.” As promised by the lawmen, that was the end of the show.

“Everything plug out and Clancy and everybody scatter,” Lewis recalled with a chuckle. “Then Michael Manley came and he told the policemen that Junior Byles was singing about the Babylon conditions of the imperialists and not about the good policemen in the force,” Lewis said in his best Michael Manley vocal impersonation.

Beat Down Babylon is the first official release from Smith’s expertly produced album project, and it eloquently drops during the midst of a brouhaha regarding the cancellation of this year’s Festival Song Competition, owing to the poor quality of the entries. Lewis, who is based in Florida, waded into the debate, which has already seen veteran musician Grub Cooper sounding off about “political interference” with the competition and suggesting that it should be privatised. The minister of culture, at a press conference last Saturday, called on Cooper to walk back his statements, and the judges, including Donovan Germain of Penthouse Records, have stoutly defended the competition’s integrity. Junior Byles, incidentally, is a 1972 Festival Song finalist with the track Da Da Festival.

“Jamaica has had a lot of great festival songs,” Lewis said emphatically. “We work on songs like Cherry Oh Baby and Boom Shacka Lacka. And, in all of this, one thing I must do, is tip my hat to Minister Grange. Without equivocation, she is one of our best ministers of culture. She is very hands-on, and my salute to her.”

He shared that there are plans to do a music video for Beat Down Babylon, which was originally produced by the legendary Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry.

Junior Byles, who hails from the Waltham Park area of Kingston, worked as a fireman while recording for producers such as Joe Gibbs and Perry. Among his albums are Beat Down Babylon, Jordan and Rasta No Pickpocket.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com