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The sudden death aged just 42 of Jamaican singer Dennis Brown on July 1, 1999 sent a shockwave through the world of reggae and robbed the music of its most popular ever grassroots performer. Feted as a child star in the 1960s and billed as the Boy Wonder, Dennis Brown went on to fulfil his earlier promise with a recording career that spanned 30 years and dominated the reggae dancehalls for the next three decades. During this time, the singer released more records and scored a greater number of hits than any other artist working in the reggae field. Deep Down With Dennis Brown - Cool Runnings And The Crown Prince Of Reggae traces the busy years of his early rise to prominence in the 1970s, when the singer developed his distinct style and also made the majority of his best and most famous recordings. Told as a short story in the author's highly personal style and set against the backdrop of the London underground reggae scene during these turbulent times, this profile of its star act provides a fascinating insider's insight into an otherwise hidden world. In this respect, here is a unique piece of written work, not only in the medium of reggae music, but as a wholly original approach to the debate of popular music and its wider cultural concerns. In addition to the text, full colour illustrations of photographs, album sleeves, record labels, concert posters and other ephemera from the era are reproduced throughout the book, adding a striking visual accompaniment to the story as it unfolds and the half that has never been told is revealed. A Drake Bros Publication
Culture-Jamaica:
Inter Press Service 03-JUL-99 KINGSTON, (Jul. 2) IPS - It started out as a festival that marked reggae's coming of age, but Reggae Sunsplash never lived up to the potential it promised in its early years. Sadly, it stands to be remembered as the festival that could have - but did not. After months of speculation, it was recently reported here that this year's event has been cancelled. According to a spokesperson from the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), one of the show's sponsors, misuse of funds by a key member of the Sunsplash promotional team has forced the JTB to pull the plug on the festival. This year would have marked Sunsplash's 20th anniversary. The festival was not held in 1980 when Jamaica was gripped in a bloody election campaign, and again in 1997 when the JTB refused to support Sunsplash and the rival Reggae Sumfest if both were held in the same month. Reggae Sunsplash had no rivals when it was first staged back in 1978, at a time when reggae was riding on the international acceptance of Bob Marley. It was the brainchild of three Jamaicans who were involved in some form or another in the music business: Tony Johnson, Ronnie Burke and John Wakeling who comprised the Synergy Company. Johnson was working at the time with the Jamaican government and had just returned from living in Los Angeles where he had been immersed in the live show scene. "He thought we were wasting a major resource, he thought our music could bring a lot of tourists here," says Burke, who at the time was a record producer. The duo hooked up with Wakeling, a disc jockey, and drafted the lines for what would be eight days of frolic during June at Jarrett Park, a barren soccer park in Montego Bay. "A lot of the tourism officials didn't like the idea, we were going up against the bogeymen, namely ganja (marijuana) and Rasta (Rastafarian)," says Burke. "The hotels didn't support us and the press was unkind." Despite the skepticism, the trio took their proposal to the JTB. Berl Francis was a member of that organization's public relations department. "It was very hard to sell the concept to the JTB especially since we started late, maybe February or March," Francis recalls. "We tried to get as much information as possible out to the agencies abroad; that took a lot of writing on the artists and background info on reggae." As far as a name for the show was concerned, Francis coined the term Sunsplash. "It came from this image that was evolving in my mind," she says. Pooling their personal assets, Johnson, Wakeling and Burke provided the bulk of the funding. While the festival was considered a risk, it still attracted some major names including Jimmy Cliff, Third World and Jacob Miller, and was attended by Andrew Young -- then the United States ambassador to the United Nations. "The hotels were jammed," recalls Burke with a laugh. "It was then that the potential began to reveal itself." Though the show was a success, it was far from a financial windfall for Synergy. "Most of the fans came over the walls, we lost as much as J$100,000," he says. With teething pains eased, there was a greater buzz around Reggae Sunsplash in 1979 when Bob Marley was the headline act. In years to come, Johnson and Burke would part ways over the festival's direction. Burke continued to promote Sunsplash in Jamaica while Johnson promoted the U.S franchise. Johnson died in 1997 from a heart-related illness. Wakeling succumbed to cancer in 1998. Burke, who sold the franchise to Rae Barrett in 1995, gave up on show promotion after filing for bankruptcy in 1994. Though the financial problems of the festival have placed a black spot on Sunsplash in recent times, Burke chooses to remember the early days when the show helped put reggae, and Jamaica, on the world map. "We brought back live music to Jamaica and established Montego Bay as a place for music," he says. "Sunsplash set the stage for other festivals around the world."
KINGSTON, (Sep. 13) IPS - More than 20 years ago, reggae singer Peter Tosh was admonished for writing "Legalize It," a song that called for the decriminalization of marijuana. In Jamaica today, some of the people who would have condemned Tosh's demand are now singing the same tune. Marijuana, or "ganja" as it is popularly referred to in this country, has had a tumultuous history in Jamaica where it has been banned under the Dangerous Drugs Act since 1924. But in recent times, some of the country's prominent public leaders have called on the government to relax restrictions on the weed. Response to the calls have been muted, but many believe it is time the "smokescreen" around the embattled weed be lifted. Since Rastafarian dub poet Jesse Jendau's bold presentation of a small package of ganja to Prime Minister Percival Patterson at Jamaica House (the Prime Minister's official residence) in early August, there has been a flood of lobbying by political and public leaders for legislation that would make marijuana use legal. Independent senator Trevor Munroe and former commissioner of police, Trevor MacMillan, got the ball rolling by pointing to the social benefits of marijuana should it be legalized. Paul Burke, a firebrand politician, raised a few eyebrows when, addressing a session of the ruling People's National Party, he too insisted that Jamaicans follow the path of some European countries by easing restrictions on the plant. "Comrades, I am not advocating the smoking of ganja, the plant can be used in other forms," Burke told the gathering. "It's time we woke up." One week after Burke's speech, Peter Phillips, the country's Transport Minister and a former Rastafarian, admitted that he smoked ganja during the 1970s when he was a member of the sect. The wave of support for a plant that has consistently stirred heated debate is good news to Dennis Forsythe, a lawyer and former sociology professor at the University of the West Indies (UWI). Forsythe, 54, is a Rastafarian and author of the book, "For The Healing of the Nation" which outlines the attributes of marijuana. Over the years, Forsythe has been harassed and arrested by the police for his views. Indeed, he charges that his liberal views caused him to lose his job at the UWI where he had taught since 1969. "We have to listen to what these people are saying, because it's absurd to turn citizens into criminals because of outdated laws," said Forsythe. Forsythe, who admits that he sometimes smokes marijuana, was arrested in 1996 when police raided his St. Andrew home and found a quantity of ganja. The following year, he appealed to Jamaica's Constitutional Court for the especially by Rastas," Forsythe said. "Rastas don't get high off ganja, young people are the ones who do that for excitement." As advocates of ganja worldwide point to the various benefits that the plant offers, the crackdown on the weed has loosened considerably. In Europe, it is legal in some countries. In the United States, marijuana-growing states such as California have developed a major industry around hemp, the cloth made from marijuana plants that has become the new find of the fashion world. That has never been the case in Jamaica, where the plant has long been associated with mental illness and crime. Because Rastas are associated with the drug -- the smoking of the weed is part of their ritual -- many here have traditionally regarded it as an evil plant. In 1954, when police raided Pinnacle, a Rastafarian homestead on the outskirts of Kingston, they found several hectares of ganja and thousands of dollars believed to be the gains from sale of the weed. In 1963, when a group of Rastafarians killed four people and set ablaze a gas station in the tourism resort of Montego Bay, the police report contended that their actions were due to the influence of marijuana. In the aftermath of the Montego Bay incident, those found with even a small amount of the weed were jailed. Reggae singers Toots Hibbert, Bunny Wailer and Tosh were all jailed for smoking pot. Few persons believe government will be taking steps to legalize the plant anytime soon. Security Minister Keith Knight blamed the widespread use of ganja in the inner-cities for the recent upsurge in crime throughout Kingston, and plans to introduce strong measures to prohibit its use. Observers say this is an indication that advocates like Dennis Forsythe may have to wait a while longer for marijuana to have its day in Jamaica.
BY HOWARD CAMPBELL Entertainment editor IF Burning Spear sounds like he's having fun on his new Calling Rastafari album, don't be surprised, he's celebrating his 30th year in the music business. And, he's having fun. Calling Rastafari is Spear's strongest album in some time -- 11 powerful songs that hear one of reggae's most enduring performers showing that he's still got the goods. Released in August by Heartbeat Records, Calling Rastafari features Spear being backed by a new band as well as seasoned musicians, including Chalice's guitarist Wayne Armond and bassist Chris Meredith of the Ziggy Marley band. Their presence is responsible for reggae's elder statesman delivering in a big way, as Calling Rastafari boasts the depth that previous albums such as Appointment With His Majesty and Rasta Business lacked. Spear never lets up, incorporating lyrics from some of his classic numbers like Old Marcus Garvey, Foggy Road and Swell Headed into As It Is (the lead track); House Of Reggae and the traditional Let's Move. Arguably, the strongest song is the uptempo Hallelujah, which is bolstered by trademark horns, but driven by guitar riffs and a percussive beat. This one definitely has anthem written over it. The 54-year-old Spear even takes a few chances on You Want Me, a smooth, jazz-flavoured number that hears the venerable rootsman wooing his lady and trying his hand at scatting. The horn-hooked title track, Own Security and Holy Man are also songs worth listening. "The initial reaction has been amazing, most fans are saying it's his best album since Hail HIM," says Heartbeat's Joshua Blood. "Aside from great radio airplay, sales have been overwhelmingly excellent." In celebration of his third decade in the music business, the durable Spear embarked on a four-month world tour that started in France in June. The tour ends in the New England state of Rhode Island later this month. Born in St Ann, Burning Spear got his start at the legendary Studio One where he recorded the influential Rocking Time album in 1968. In the 1970s, his association with Ocho Rios-based producer, Jack Ruby, produced Man In The Hills and Marcus Garvey, albums that remain among reggae's most seminal work. Both albums were distributed by Chris Blackwell's Island Records. Spear found a new home at the Massachussetts independent label, Heartbeat Records, earlier this decade and has earned an amazing six Grammy nominations. Calling Rastafari may well be the seventh. -- Heartbeat Records www.rounder.com/heartbeat
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Reggae Sunsplash Strikes Its Final Chord
