If any country could be identified solely by its music, Jamaica would probably be a prime example. Over the years, reggae music has become one of the most identifiable art forms in Jamaica, but this was not always the case. Reggae rose to prominence in the late sixties, and much of its roots are in American music. While R&B and doo wop certainly influenced the burgeoning genre, many of the major players in the earliest days were jazz fans.
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the musical landscape of Jamaica looked quite a bit different than it would years later... in those days, there was no Jamaican music. Popular music was generally from Latin America, Cuba, or The United States. Mento, which is often confused with calypso, was probably the closest to true Jamaican music. Things took a turn, however, when Hedley Jones, a musical and electronics jack of all trades came along.
Local markets served as a gathering place for entertainment on any given evening. While there were a few musical performances, most of the music was traditional calypso or mento. Eventually, Jones's knowledge of electronics and his love for music gave rise to something that would change Jamaican music significantly, the sound system.
Jones ran a local radio repair shop where he also sold records. The record store, Bop City, featured predominantly jazz recordings, and in order to draw customers into his store, he developed a powerful sound system, which allowed him to play records to a large audience in an attempt to draw them into his record store, where the music by big bands and jazz greats was featured. Although there were other outlets for broadcasting music to the public, his powerful setup is considered to be the earliest sound system in Jamaica.
During the forties and fifties, Jamaican radio stations patterned themselves after BBC radio, which often featured a limited selection of music. Although the public demand for jazz and blues was on the rise, broadcasters did not seem interested in changing their formats. As a result, the emerging popularity of the sound systems allowed more access to the music audiences wanted to hear. The sound system operators were essentially DJs, who tried to attract listeners to their booths by playing the latest music, frequently accompanied by food and alcohol as well... The competition among the sound systems was fierce, and each... wanted to play music no one else was playing. They would sometimes resort to measures such as scratching off the name and title on the records, so no one would be able to identify the music.
Source: Rhythm And Roots: The Influence Of Jazz On Ska And Early Reggae by Kyle Simpler
- Producer: Groove Armada
- Released: Jul 10, 2015
- Genre: Electronic
"Groove Armada soon started their own club named after a '70s discotheque, where the pair would spin progressive house. Issued in 1999, their sophomore set made the Top 20 of the British charts and earned platinum status in the U.K."
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