[Many thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this item to our attention.] In celebration of Jamaica’s Independence Day, Patricia Meschino (Rolling Stone) provides a detailed overview of Jamaica’s musical heritage in 60 tracks, including music by The Abyssinians, Beenie Man, Black Uhuru, Bounty Killa, Buju Banton, Prince Buster, Jimmy Cliff, Kakao Tea, Culture, Desmond Dekker and the Aces , Etana, Gregory Isaacs, Hopeton Lewis, Bob Marley (and some other Marleys), The Maytals, Lincoln “Sugar” Minott, Derrick Morgan, Sean Paul, Popcaan, Shabba Ranks and Crystal, Burning Spear, The Skatalites, Millie Small, Tanya Stephens, Third World, Peter Tosh, U Roy and many others.
For the full list of artists, descriptions, songs and audio files, go to Rolling Stone. Meschino writes:
In the 60 years since Jamaica gained its independence from England on August 6, 1962, the small Caribbean nation has created some of the world’s most influential musical styles, including ska, rock steady, reggae, dub and dancehall. Likewise, over the past 60 years, Jamaican artists have distilled inspirations from various parts of the world into distinctive sounds that, when combined with the island’s astonishing record production, have made the “land of wood and water,” as the inhabitants of her first. The Arawak Indians called it one of the most important musical destinations in the world.
To celebrate Jamaica’s Diamond Jubilee, we’ve compiled a playlist of 60 songs, one song per year, to tell the story of the island’s musical evolution. Some songs were chosen because they heralded a new direction in sound, others ignited a movement, some sparked controversy, marked a turning point in an artist’s career, or had a significant impact at the time of their release.
Because Jamaica is blessed with an abundance of incredible musical talent, the list contains only one entry per artist. However, those recognized for a solo effort may also be listed for recordings they have made as part of a group or in collaboration with another performer. Because there were many records to choose from for any given year, some important releases may not appear on the list. But that’s just a reminder of how amazingly rich this story is. [. . .]
For full article and songs, visit https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/jamaica-greatest-songs-marley-popcaan-reggae-1390124
