Category: Karl ‘Sir JJ’ Johnson

"Slot Machine"

Making Each Cymbal Crash Count

Listen carefully and you can count each of the three cymbal crashes in this unjustly obscure – and humorous – rocksteady 45 “The Slot Machine” from Jamaican vocal group The Three Tops: about a “gambling lady” with a yen for the one-armed bandit: “Slot Machine” The Three Tops (1968) I

May 6, 2016 No Comments

"Put Down Your Fire"

Kingstonians’ $800 Rocksteady

Heavy 1968 rocksteady from the studio of Karl ‘Sir JJ‘ Johnson, with Lyn Taitt, possibly, on guitar. But the real mystery lies with the vocalists themselves, The Kingstonians, specifically the basso profundo: Q: Are the tapes being slowed down, or does the bass vocalist really sing that deep? “Put Down

May 4, 2016 No Comments