Tag: Steady Records

"Finger Mash"

“Play De Music” vs. “Finger Mash”: Festival Sound Clash

In the liner notes to Baba Boom! — Trojan’s compilation of Jamaica Independence Festival songs from 1966-1975 — one piece of text really jumped out at me: 1974’s ‘Play De Music‘ by Tinga Stewart – a monster hit and the very last one of the archetypal Festival Songs, celebrating the

April 12, 2014 No Comments

"Second Fiddle"

1973: The Year Pop Reggae Broke

You can count on one hand the number of times that reggae singles by Jamaican artists have cracked the Top 40 here in the States: “Israelites” by Desmond Dekker in 1969 (#9) and “Double Barrel” by Dave Barker and Ansel Collins in 1971 (#22). Two times [*actually, three – see

January 31, 2013 3 Comments