Studio One Soul

Mint 2014 (2xLP + Download Code)

• 1. Leroy Sibbles – Express Yourself
  
  
• 2. Norma Fraser – Respect
  
  
• 3. Leroy Sibbles – Groove Me
  
  
• 4. Sound Dimension – Time Is Tight
  
  
• 5. The Heptones – Message From A Black Man
  
  
• 6. Otis Gayle – I'll Be Around
  
  
• 7. Jerry Jones – Still Water
  
  
• 8. Sound Dimension – Soulful Strut
  
  
• 9. Richard Ace – Can't Get Enough
  
  
• 10. The Chosen Few – Don't Break Your Promise
  
  
• 11. The Eternals – Queen Of The Minstrels
  
  
• 12. Norma Fraser – The First Cut Is The Deepest
  
  
• 13. Ken Parker – How Strong
  
  
• 14. Ken Boothe – Set Me Free
  
  
• 15. Senior Soul – Is It Because I'm Black
  
  
• 16. Jackie Mittoo – Deeper And Deeper
  
  
• 17. Alton Ellis – I Don't Want To Be Right
  
  
• 18. Willie Williams – No One Can Stop Us

The beginning of the Jamaican recording industry at the end of the 1950s started with Clement "Coxsone" Dodd (owner of Studio One) and a group of select in-house musicians (originally The Skatalites) recording their own version of American R'n'B. Playing on the off-beat this music became Ska. As American R'n'B progressed through Funk, Soul and Disco, Jamaican music was going through its own musical changes, from Rocksteady throught to Reggae and Roots music. The house-band at Studio One recorded on a daily basis behind all Studio One vocalists as well as recording instrumentally in its own right.

Soul singers such as Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions (Queen Of The Minstrels) had a profound influence on Jamaican artists and many other US artists were constantly re-interpreted and re-worked. Artists such as Aretha Franklin (Respect), Charles Wright (Express Yourself), King Floyd (Groove Me), Otis Redding (How Strong) were all very popular in Jamaica in the 1960s. At the end of the 1960s Black Consciousness became an important part of American Soul music. At the same time many Jamaican artists were starting to look to their roots. Many artists would shortly become involved in Rastafarianism. The "conscious" lyrics of American Funk and Soul again struck a chord with Jamaican artists. "Message From A Blackman" (originally by The Temptations) and "Is It Because I'm Black" (Syl Johnson) are examples of this. Through the 1970s Soul/Disco artists such as Barry White ("Can't Get Enough" and "Deeper and Deeper") and The Detroit Spinners ("I'll Be Around") became the flavour of the day. This CD finishes with Willie William's interpretation of Ashford and Simpson's classic "Ain't No Stopping Us Now".