Stories by Roy Black

Electric Boogie is one of several recordings that inspired a dance move. Earlier, there was ‘ The Stroll’ by The Diamonds in ’57, Three years later, Chubby Checker rocked the world with The Twist, which also inspired a dance move of the same name...

Alerth Bedasse, one of the main exponents of mento music, and his sidekick Everard Williams, a mento songwriting genius, have a lot to say about the resistance meted out by the government of the day and other stakeholders to the lyrics of their...

The practice in Jamaica of political parties using popular recordings as campaign songs to bolster their campaigns has become widespread over the years. Perhaps the earliest instance was in 1960 when Clancy Eccles (one of the earliest Studio One...

He was Jamaica’s first child star and boy wonder in popular music, who started recording from as early as age 13, while still attending Boys’ Town Primary. And he was barely out of short pants when he came under the guidance of record producer and...

Although many view Bob Marley as the ultimate revolutionary and a defender of the underprivileged, he had a romantic and a psychic side. And like many entertainers, their innermost feelings are often expressed through their recordings. Bob Marley...

Perhaps one of the reasons for declaring February Reggae Month is that two of reggae’s most illustrious icons, Bob Marley and Dennis Brown, were born in that month. But was it a good choice? Each year, the month is packed with an abundance of...