Greetings,

Winter in our rear view. Time to plant your garden! First pleasant Saturday in March I will lead off a Smile Jamaica with Monty Montgomery and his song Seeds. 13 sec.

For I ‘n’ I, Winter has been a harvest. I have spent my weekends in my Ark-ive sorting out several thousand 7″ 45’s . Pulling titles out for my theme sets: herb, Halloween, Roots Dawtas, Wailers Family Tree, Reggae covers, etc.

I collected baseball cards as a kid. Flipping 45’s took my back to my youth. I am up to letter O for Johnny Osbourne

I give you a serving of 7″‘s in this Ark-Ive edition: Reggae covers of Soul & Rock; 27 sec.

I also feature the second addition to the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives of tens of thousands of pieces: vinyl – LPs, 7″, 10″, 12″; cassettes and CDs.

1. Peter Tosh – Wanted Dread & Alive (Christmas ’81) – thanks Mom!
2. Musical Youth – Youths of Today (Spring ’83).

As a youth growing up in North Central Montana. I had to drive from my hometown, Fort Benton (1500 people) to Great Falls. 40 miles away.

I would shop at the local record hut (Eli’s or Budget Tapes & Records). Usually I would buy a piece or two of vinyl: Led Zeppelin, Ramones, Police, Rolling Stones. But I usually also bought a cassette for the hour drive home.

That was how I acquired the smash novelty hit of 1983. A group of ex-pat Jamaican kids living in the UK who turned the Mighty Diamonds herb tune, Pass the Kutchie into a song about going hungry: Pass the Dutchie.

<Musical Youth, #2 in the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives. Before I knew about Smile Jamaica; 84 sec.>

Among all the synth rock and New Wave of the early 80’s, a cute Reggae toasting jam ruled the airwaves.

Alas, in Great Falls now if you want to buy a CD or record your only hope is Wal-Mart or Target.

Ahh, the forlorn memories of a cratedigger who’s world of record shopping is fading away.

Forward ever, backwards never

bless, Bobbylon

Smile Jamaica Annotated Playlist: March 24, 2018; 82 sec.

Set 1:

• Monty Montgomery – Seeds; Seeds (Fusion) Atlanta vinyl
• Dub Specialist – Luanda Dub; African Rub a Dub (Studio One) ’80 JA vinyl dub album of the hour
• Freedom Singers – Train Is Coming; Denzil Dennis – Me Nah Worry (Trojan)
• Junior Byles – Fever; Curly Locks (Heartbeat)  ’72 cover of Little Willie John/Peggy Lee
• Lorna Asher – Leave Them; Straight to Your Heart (Twinkle) ’99
• Black Uhuru – Satan Army Band; Love Crisis (Greensleeves) ’77
• Barrington Levy – Under Me Sensi (Ganjaman Mix); 10″ (MCA) ’93 green vinyl 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement

Set 2:

• Yellowman – Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt; Nobody Move Nobody Gets Hurt (Shanachie) ’83 Request
• Tchiya Amet – Natural; Rise Again Truth (Milky Way) ’99 Chicago female African-American/Native American
• Bunny Wailer – Want More; Hall of Fame (RAS) ’95 Bob covers for 50th birthday
• I Roy – Rootsman; 10″ (Observer Gold) ’75 JA

Set 3: Best of Smile Jamaica 28 1/2 years

• Musical Youth – Pass the Dutchie; Youths of Today (MCA) ’82 

<No Kutchie pipe for 10 year olds: Dutchie = Dutch pot; 31 sec.>

• Marcia Griffiths – Peaceful Woman; Steppin’ (Shanachie) ’79
• Wailing Souls – Stop Red Eye; Very Best of (Greensleeves) ’83
• Gayladds – Peculiar Man; Understanding (Tamoki Wambesi) ’79
• Sly  & Robbie – Plastic Dub; Overdrive in Overdub (Sonic) Dub comp of the hour

Set 4:

• Bob Marley & the Wailers – Punky Reggae Party; CD Single (Tuff Gong) ’77 Lee “Scratch” Perry prod’n

<Bob hails the punkers who played Reggae before they took the stage; 93 sec.>

• Groundation – Young Tree; Crucial Reggae From Outside Jamaica vol. 3 (Skank)  ’99 comp.
• J.C. Lodge – Hurricane; Lunatic Soundtrack (Mango) ’91
• Omar Perry & Carlton Livingston – Daily Bread + No Answer; 10″ EP (Deep Root) 2008 UK militant steppers

Set 5: Vinyl Is Vital

• Peter Tosh – Pick Myself Up; Dealing With the Shytstem (bootleg) Roxy, Los Angeles – 11/5/82: Vinyl is Vital Set
• Urban Jazz Ritual – Ear Crazy; Zulu Compilation (Zulu) ’84 UK – dub poetry
• Dub Syndicate w/ Lee “Scratch” Perry & Akabu – Dubaddisababa; Echomania (ON U Sound) ’93 UK; Akabu is female harmonies
• Ethiopians – Obeah Book; Slave Call (Rohit) ’77 Franklin Lakes, NJ – Obeah is Jamaican folk magic

Set 6: 7″ Jamaican Jukebox 45s – Reggae does Rock & Soul

• Paul Davidson – Midnight Rider; 7″ (Hometown) ’75 Can. (Gregg Allman)
• Big Youth – Dock of the Bay; 7″ (Move & Groove)  ’73 JA (Otis Redding) 
• Bruce Ruffin – Ooh Child; 7″ (Beverley’s) ’71 JA (Five Stairsteps)
• Donovan Carless – Be Thankful For What You’ve Got; 7″ (Giant) US (William De Vaughn)
• Mikey Dread – Dread at the Controls (Dread at the Controls) ’79 Dub Album of the Hour

Set 7:

• The Wailers – Pass It On; Burnin’ (Tuff Gong) ’73 livication to a listener who passed away
• Dry & Heavy feat. Likkle Mai – New Creation; New Creation (Green Tea) 2002 Jah-pon mutant dub w/ female vox
• Equators – Feelin’ High; Hot (Stiff) ’81 UK ska, herb tune
• Dubble – South Side Dub (Dub Tunnel) 2012 UK mutant dub

Set 8: Mutant Dub

• Hollie Cook – Angel Fire; Vessel of Love (Merge) 2008 UK dubstress
• Thievery Corporation – One; Lebanese Blonde CD Single (4ad) ’98 Fr. EP
• Beat Pharmacy – Cape Town; Earthly Delights (Deep Space) 2005 South African
• G.T. Moore – King David’s Dub; 10″ (Jah Works)  ’95 UK