Reggay Undercover Volume 1

Description

In the 1950s, regulars of Jamaican dancehalls were crazy about the captivating sounds of American Rhythm & Blues. But in the mid-1950s, Rock 'n' Roll began to replace RnB in America, and Jamaican dancehall owners such as Duke Reid and Clement Dodd turned to local musicians to record their own versions of American RnB. The trend of covering foreign hits exploded during the wild Ska era of the early 1960s and continued through the Rocksteady and Reggay eras. Jamaican musicians covered virtually every genre of music, from jazz to rock to film scores, television soundtracks, pop, classical music, and so on. Over the years, they also recorded a large number of "versions" of already existing covers. Cover of cover of cover... Admittedly, some of these covers were trivial, but many were sublime, as brilliantly demonstrated by this new and eclectic collection of Ska, Rocksteady, and Reggay gems, compiled by the highly skilled and very charming D.J. Héléa. REGGAY UNDERCOVER is a thrilling musical kaleidoscope of Jamaica and Reggae from the early 1960s to the mid-1970s. We hope you will enjoy listening to this album as much as we enjoyed putting it together for you. All aboard for REGGAY UNDERCOVER!