The year was 1988. Early Spring. My college roommate and I were having a slice at The Pie Pizzeria near our apartment close to the University of Utah campus.
The pizza place had KRCL 90.9FM on the hi fi. Community radio. Programmed by volunteers who pick their own music. We heard they were doing a new volunteer training. My roommate wanted to do 80’s indie. I had recently discovered KRCL’s Smile Jamaica.
Another college friend had turned me on to Reggae via the album at the top of this blog post: Sly & Robbie 80’s hardcore digital mix of Black Uhuru. Militant Reggae in a drum and bass style.
<Black Uhuru – Anthem and what it means to Smile Jamaica; 38 sec.>
Thanks to Pres. Ronald Raygun’s student loan program, I started collecting Reggae and had enough to be trained for an late Sunday night/early Monday morning show called 3 o’clock Roadblock
<How I started at KRCL; 39 sec.>
It was just before 4th of July 1988 when I debuted. I found that I couldn’t sleep if I needed to be loading my car for the 20 minute drive to the station. So I would stay up all night, lay down riddims, go home and crash and then get up to go class mid Monday morning.
I did the show for a little more than a year. It was a great way to learn radio without a lot of pressure. My listeners? Night owls, insomniacs, graveyard shift workers and cab drivers.
A month prior, I tried to recreate the first radio show of 3 o’clock Roadblock with what was a new medium at the time: the compact disk. This week I went through my Ark-Ive and harvest vinyl LPs.
And to mix it up, I organize from A-Z and Z-O for the black wax nostalgia mixdown.
<Early vinyl gems laid out A-Z; 36 sec.>
And 31 years later, except for 1 LP (Eek a Mouse), the black wax is sounding crisp. Or criss as the dreads would say.
Enjoy and thanks for listening!
bless, Bobbylon
“Vinyl is what we listened to before CDs.”
Smile Jamaica Ark-ives July 27, 2019: 31 Years of Vinyl A-Z
Set 1: A-E
Jimmy Riley – Summer Time; 12″ (DEB) ’76 UK Porgy & Bess cover
Soul Syndicate – Only Jah Dub; Visions of Love (Epiphany) ’79 Dub Album of the Hour (Earl Zero bonus dubs)
Horace Andy – Oh Lord, Why Lord; Best of Horace Andy (Coxsone) ’72 JA
Black Uhuru – Anthem; Anthem (Island) ’83 UK Groucho Smykle rmx
Culture – Behold the Land; Africa Stand Alone (April) ’79 US
Carlene Davis; Angel in Your Arms; At the Right Track (Carib Gems) ’80 UK Hot soul cover
Eek a Mouse – Sensee Party; Skidip! (Greensleeves) ’82 US 4:20 Cannabis Service
Just about the only LP that had surface noise from today’s all vinyl show
Set 2: F-J
Phillip Frazer – 2000 Years; Come Ethiopians (Freedom Sounds) ’79 JA
Sophie George – Girlie Girlie; Fresh (Winner) ’86 UK
Heptones – Cool Rasta; Cool Rasta (Trojan) ’76 UK
I Roy – Union Call; Whap’n Bap’n (Virgin) ’80 UK
Wayne Jarrett – Love in a Mi Heart; Chip In (Greensleeves) ’82 UK
Set 3: K-N
Ini Kamoze – Rough; Pirate (Mango) ’86 US
Ijahman Levi – Are We a Warrior; Are We a Warrior (Mango) ’79
Judy Mowatt – Mr. Big Man; Mellow Mood (Ashandan) ’75 JA
Natural Ites – What About the Africans; Marvellous (CSA) ’87 UK
Scientist – Miss Know It All; Trojan Dub Box Set (Trojan) ’98 Dub Album of the Hour
Set 4: O-R
Johnny Osbourne – Rude Boy; In Ah Disco Style (Cha Cha) ’81 UK
Michael Prophet – Give Me the Right; Blood Stain (Ashantites) ’83 DC
Quasar – Stir It Up; Fresh (LASN) US Bob Marley cover
Ras Midas – Too Long in the Wind; Rastaman in Exile (Disc’ AZ International) ’80 Fr.
Set 5: S-W
Sister Nancy – Gwan a School; One Two (Techniques) ’82 JA
Tamlins – Big Girl Now; I’ll Be Waiting (Live & Learn) ’87 DC Stylistics cover
U-Roy – Babylon Burning; Natty Rebel (Virgin) ’76 UK
Smile Jamaica pays tribute to the King of Kings/Negusa Negast, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Elect of God. Everliving God. Earth’s Rightful Ruler. Ras Tafari – the Head Creator. Haile Selassie I – Power of the Trinity. Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930-1974. The Jah in Reggae MusicGospel produced by Rastafari devotees.
<Honorifics of His Imperial Majesty; 25 sec.>
Or is he the world’s first hippie?; 48 sec.
Descended from the lineage of King David by way of his son, Solomon. Abyssinian (the name of Ethiopia in antiquity) princess Queen Makeda married Solomon. Which is why His Imperial Majesty is often called the Lion of Judah.
<Lamb of Judah; 30 sec.>
And as befits the Lion of Judah, you and I might have pet cats or dogs or goldfish. His Imperial Majesty had pet lions! 56 sec,
Why Rastafari from Jamaica?
In the 1800’s slavery was abolished in Jamaica. Freed black slaves didn’t want to harvest sugar cane for rich British colonials. So, the plantation owners looked to another colony for indentured labor: India.
In the rural areas where freed blacks now eked out an existence as small farmers, Hindus in the area cut the cane. As the two cultures mixed, two ideas from Hinduism meshed with local protestant Christian religion imposed on the black Jamaicans:
Reincarnation
Cannabis
Jesus Dread aka Haile Selassie – Return of Jesus
This crossing of cultures would later come to pass in the early 20th century. Jamaican born African Nationalist, Marcus Garvey, said look to the east where a king will be crowned and that will be the signal for repatriation to Africa. Get out of Babylon captivity as the ancient Hebrews left their bondage in Mesopotamia.
Marcus Garvey – the Moses of Rastafari
Haile Selassie was prophecy. Long story short: Ras Tafari – the Head Creator, was foretold to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. (Pronounced Jess-us by the Rastas.)
As a signal of faith, these esoteric Christians began to grow dreadlocks as part of the old Hebrew Nazarite tradition:
Do not partake of wine or liquor.
No razor shall crease thy flesh nor thine hair.
Avoid anything dead. (Consume no flesh.)
If wine is not allowed as a Rasta sacrament, locally grown cannabis fit the criterion. Cutting sugar cane is hard work, the Hindus brought herb with them to take the edge off their labors. The psychoactive plant was part of their devotion to their Goddess Kali.
<Hindusm and Rastafari; 98 sec.>
Rastas adapted to collie (sinsemilla smoked in chalices) for their devotion to Haile Selassie.
Burning Spear smokes the chalice
Here is the foundation book on Rastafari*
*Rastas tend to avoid isms and schisms. They don’t want to be called Rastafarian. That is an “ism”. Rastas as a collective would be: Rastafari. I tend to say Rastafari fellows. Or Rastafari believers.
Reggae music prior to “Rastafari Gospel” was limited to pop radio covers, love songs and novelty records. What was loved world wide was shunned by local Jamaicans horrified by these dreadlock ruffians. To be a Rasta in Jamaica was like being a punk rocker in London: a target for police abuse.
The cops and army in Jamaica had discriminated against Rastas. There was even a notorious massacre chronicled in song called the Green Bay Killing.
<Discrimination against dreads in Jamaica; 44 sec.>
Rastas would often be shaved by Johnny Law in Jamaica: the ultimate insult. Imagine knocking a yarmulke off of a Jewish man’s head. Or ripping the habit or hijab from a Nun/Muslim woman.
<Police Trim Rasta; 30 sec.>
Selassie’s hold on Reggae music is best epitomized by Bob Marley. He took HIM’s speech to the United Nations against War and put the words to song.
On the question of racial discrimination, the Addis Ababa Conference taught, to those who will learn, this further lesson:
that until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned;
that until there are no longer first class and second class citizens of any nation;
that until the color of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes;
that until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race;
that until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained.
And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique and in South Africa in subhuman bondage have been toppled and destroyed;
until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self-interest have been replaced by understanding and tolerance and good-will;
until all Africans stand and speak as free beings, equal in the eyes of all men, as they are in the eyes of Heaven;
until that day, the African continent will not know peace. We Africans will fight, if necessary, and we know that we shall win, as we are confident in the victory of good over evil.
But alas, it wasn’t to be. Ethiopia got caught up in the maelstrom of the Cold War proxy hot wars. Famine in the provinces led to communist revolution. The Soviet Union looked to topple a Western allied autocracy. Selassie’s governors were corrupt and incompetent.
In Sept. 1974, the Dergue communists overthew the Emperor and Selassie died an ignominious death similar to the Czar in Russia.
Rastas, refused to believe it. You can’t kill God! Bob Marley’s Jah Live and Peter Tosh’s Fools Die speak to this heresy.
<Jah Live; 2 min. 57 sec.>
One man who means so much to Reggae music. No Jah. No Roots Reggae. No Smile Jamaica. That is why I ‘n’ I pay tribute today.
bless, Bobbylon
Selassie kept pet cheetahs too
Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jah’ly 20, 2019: Annotated Playlist: Haile Selassie I Birthday Showcase; 69 sec.
Set 1:
Natural Ites & Realistics – Picture on the Wall; Picture on the Wall (CSA) ’85 UK vinyl: 3 Hours for Haile Selassie 7/23/1892
Ja-Man All-Stars – King’s Dub; King’s Dub (Manzie) ’80 UK vinyl dub album of the hour
Love Joys – Wherever Jah Send Me; Reggae Vibes (Wackies) ’81 female roots duo
Benjamin Zephaniah – Rasta; Rasta (Workers Playtime) ’83 UK dub poet
Barrington Levy – Please Jah Jah; Prison Oval Rock (RAS) ’84
Mikey Dread – Walk Rastafari Way; Dread at the Controls (Trojan) ’79
Don Carlos – Jah Jah Hear My Plea; Prophecy (Blue Moon) ’84
Set 2:
Cedric Myton & the Congos – Wherever He Leads Me; Face the Music (VP) ’81
Sister Carol – Jah Disciple; Jah Disciple (RAS) ’89
Lee & Jimmy – Rasta Train; Voodooism (Pressure Sounds) ’75 Lee “Scratch” Perry Black Ark prod’
Bim Sherman – Lamb of Judah; Bim Sherman Meets Horace Andy & U Black in a Rub-a-Dub Style (Original) ’79
Set 3:
Keith Hudson – I Broke the Comb; Rasta Communication (Greensleeves) ’78
Cocoa Tea – Jah Made Them That Way; Rocking Dolly (RAS) ’83 update of Michael Jackson’s Human Nature
Althea & Donna – Jah Rastafari; Uptown Top Ranking (Virgin Front Line) ’78 female dj duo
Ijahman Levi – Jah Is No Secret; Haile I Hymn (Island) ’78
Augustus Pablo – Well Red; Trojan Dub Box Set 2 (Trojan) Dub Album of the Hour
Set 4:
Don Carlos – Just a Passing Glance; Just a Passing Glance (RAS) ’84
Judy Mowatt – Hold Them Jah; Love Is Overdue (Shanachie) ’87
Prince Buster – Police Trim Rasta; Sister Big Stuff (Sunspot) ’71
Silvertones – Rejoice Jah Jah Children; Words of My Mouth (Trojan) Lee “Scratch” Perry Black Ark prod’n
Set 5: Vinyl is Vital
Prince Far I – Every Time I Talk About Jah; Musical History (Trojan) ’83 uK
In Crowd – His Majesty is Coming; His Majesty is Coming (Creole) ’78 Fr.
Zema – Selassie; Zema (Melchizedek) ’86 So Cal roots dawta
Owen Gray – Jah Jah Train; Dreams of Owen Gray (Trojan) ’79 UK Curtis Mayfield People Get Ready
Ricky Grant – I Love Jah Rastafari; I Love Jah Rastafari + dub (Rockers) ’78 JA A. Pablo prod’n
Set 6:
Bob Marley & the Wailers – War; Rastaman Vibration (Tuff Gong) ’76 + Haile Selassie’s speech to the United Nations
Bunny Wailer – War; Tribute (Solomonic) ’81 JA vinyl; cover version
Rita Marley – That’s the Way (Jah Jah Planned It); 12″ (Trident) ’80 UK disco mix
The Revolutionaries – 79 Rock; Outlaw Dub (Trojan) ’79 UK vinyl dub album of the hour
Set 7:
Cymande – Rastafarian Folk Song; Promised Heights (Sequel) ’74 UK rock/reggae/soul/jazz
Aisha – Only Jah Works; True Roots (Ariwa) ’94
Wingless Angels – Rasta Army; Wingless Angels (MIndless) ’96 Keith Richards, Justin Hinds and nyahbinghi drummers
Bad Brains – Rally Round Jah Throne; Rock For Light (Caroline) ’83 DC punk reggae
Set 8:
Bob Marley & the Wailers – Jah Live; 7″ (Tuff Gong) ’75 – you can’t kill Jah
Peter Tosh – Fools Die; Wanted Dread & Alive (Rolling Stone) ’81 – you can’t kill Jah
My Dad has been laid up in Sun City West, AZ. He has something called NPH: Excess spinal fluid builds up on the part of the brain that controls walking, bowel/bladder control and short term dementia.
I, my brother and sister have been tag teaming with my Mom in his treatment. July was my turn.
Long story short, in the week I had been here, his recovery has improved enough for me to do a little cratedigging.
I am mainly on the hunt for collector Reggae vinyl. The temp in Phoenix is 115 degrees.
Here is how you cratedig in triple digits without your vinyl stash melting.
From the retirement community my parents live in, Sun City West, to Tempe is about 45 minutes. Run the AC at 60 degrees. By the time I got out of the car, I was frozen. I literally wished I had worn socks.
But, getting out of the car into that heat felt good. My joints thawed out from the drive. Enter the shop ad cratedig.
Going back to the car was like walking into a furnace blower.
My mom had set up one of those cooling bags and we added a zip loc bag full of ice. Even then I placed a thick blanket. Must avoid sunlight and high temps.
Placed the records in the bag and rinse and repeat.
The uniqueness of cratedigging. At Xmas time, I didn’t find any vinyl in Phoenix. Hellish summer I found good collectors vinyl if three shops. Getting them home is part of the story.
Enjoy this musical mash up podcast for when I was off air.
bless, Bobbylon
Vinyl only shop by the Phoenix Skyharbor Airport
Smile Jamaica Digital Dubplate July 2019 Playlist:
0-30 min.
UB40 – Many Rivers to Cross – Version Girl (Virgin) ’85 Jimmy Cliff cover
When you get to do a radio program on a non-commercial station for 31 years, that entitles one to some indulgences.
For I n’ I that is mashing up Reggae music with UFO’s. WTF?
<How I ‘n’ I got into UFOs; 27 sec.>
The connections of Smile Jamaica to UF0ria (UFO’s + euphoria = UFOria).
The TV show Ancient Aliens on History Channel; 55 sec.
2. Which taught us about the 1947 Roswell UFO crash
<Roswell UFO crash, July 1947; 90 sec.>
DENVER – UNDATED: Major Jesse Marcel from the Roswell Army Air Field with debris found 75 miles north west of Roswell, NM, in June 1947. The debris has been identified as that of a radar target. The Air Force released a report on 24 June debunking reports of a UFO crash near Roswell, NM, in 1947. (Photo by: UNITED STATES AIR FORCE/AFP/Getty Images)
3. Ancient Astronaut Theory – the notion that Sumerian sky gods were in fact ancient astronauts coming from the outer edge of the galaxy. As an Assyrian-American, anything to do with my ancestors in Mesopotamia/Modern Iraq fascinates me.
4. The Skygods from Planet Nibiru* called the Anunnaki. Anu (sky) + na (verb – to go down) + Ki (Earth.) Those who came down from the sky.
*Also called Planet X or the 12th Planet
The Anunnaki created mankind to mine gold for their home planet (under climate change devastation….). When their creation got “noisy” and the minor gods were having sex with Earth women, the decision was to wipe out mankind with a Flood
<Who are the Anunnaki?; 75 sec.>
5. The connections between space travel and descriptions of celestial phenomenon in the Bible.
Chariots of the Gods – space ship
Jacob’s Ladder – space ship
Burning bush – space ship
Prophet Ezekiel and his crystal ship – space ship
Stairway to Heaven – space ship
Noah’s grand dad Enoch “walked with God and then was not”. Taken to heave in a space ship
Magic carpets in the Arabian Nights – space ship
Vimanas from Hindu cosmology – space ship
<Ancient astronauts in the Bible; 27 sec.>
Stairway to Heaven – Page and Plant Ancient Astronaut Theorists?
<New Jerusalem in the Bible is a gigantic cubed space ship; 37 sec.>
New Jerusalem is not a city but a huge space shipReggae and Dub have plenty of songs about outer space and UFOs.
6. And now the US government can’t keep UFO encounters secret or in the realm of “conspiracy theory”. Too many people with phone cameras. A new show on History Channel, Unidentified, covers Air Force, Navy and Deep State reports of UFO encounters with Tic Tac UFO’s.
<Unidentified TV show on History Channel; 75 sec.>
Roswell, The Anunnaki, Ancient Astronauts lead me to comb through the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives looking for UFO/space travel songs. I have about 150 CDs and another 50 LPs/vinyl singles.
So like my other theme shows, like Jah-loween and 420, enjoy these space age tunes from Reggae, Dub, Calypso and even a few rock tunes sifted in.
And as I say: Look to the skies! Do not scoff!
And if they are here with malevolent intent? Let’s go out with a bang!
bless, Bobbylon
Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: July 6, 2019 – UFOria; 1 min. 22 sec.
Set 1:
John Williams Orchestra – Also Sprach Zarathustra (Columbia) ’68 soundtrack to 2001 a Space Odyssey – 3 hours of UFO-ria
Prince Jammy – Conspiracy on Neptune; Prince Jammy Destroys the Invaders (Greensleeves) ’82 UK vinyl
Michael Franti – Earth From Outer Space; All People (Capitol) 2013
Lee “Scratch” Perry – African Hitchhiker; From the Secret Laboratory (Mango) ‘90
Symarip – Skinhead Moonstomp; Skinhead Moonstomp (Trojan) ’70 UK ska
Intergalactic Farmer (Smile Jamaica UFOria rmx) 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement
Set 2:
Thievery Corporation – Stargazer; Culture of Fear (ESL) 2011
<New broom sweeps clean, old broom knows the corners!>
Early spring 1988, my roommate and I were in the Pie Pizzeria near the Univ. of Utah campus. They were listening to the local community radio station, KRCL. I had discovered its Saturday afternoon Reggae program called Smile Jamaica about a year previous. KRCL were looking for new volunteers to train for graveyard shift shows.
My roommate, also a music fanatic, wanted to do a mid 80s college show. I was interested in Reggae. They had enough rock programmers but wanted someone to do a late night program that could mix up Reggae with Ska and World.
I started training late spring and was granted a show that debuted just before the 4th of July 1988: 3 o’clock Roadblock – named for the Bob Marley song because the show aired from 3am-6am late Sunday night/early Monday morning.
includes 3 o’clock Roadblock
I learned how to juggle tunes for a radio audience for probably a couple hundred graveyard shift workers, night owls and insomniacs.
Black Uhuru was the group that got me into Reggae music. I loved them: Michael Rose, Puma Jones (dawta) and Ducky Simpson (dread.) Their album, Anthem (the first Reggae Grammy award) was a booming 80’s synth from Sly & Robbie meshed with heartical roots and dread anthems.
I had met a guy in the U of U dorms, Neil Copperman. Jewish kid from Baltimore who had all these new compact disks on a massive hi fi with Bose speakers. I had been an early adopter of the round aluminum disks, (and I also favored Bose 301’s), when I moved to SLC from Bozeman, Montana; Fall Semester 1986. So we would trade disks and listen to each other’s selections.
The dorms were concrete bunkers and the drum and bass from Sly & Robbie ricocheted around the room. I was hooked on Reggae from that moment forward. I had a few Marley’s, Tosh’s, Toot’s & Cliff’s. None of them made the instant impact Black Uhuru did.
From late June 1988-Aug. 1989 when I quit the late night, I would always start each edition of 3 o’clock Roadblock with a Black Uhuru tune.
<Anthem lit the fuse; 66 sec.>
I was only off air for about 2 months. In Oct. 1989, my mentor Rutabaga Reese offered to have me split Smile Jamaica with him. And that lead to my Saturday adventure of almost 30 years.
In between I have been a part of the digital media transition and this podcast was created before there was even a word for it. I knew that radio was gonna go internationally online.
<Smile Jamaica pre-podcasting “podcast”; 23 sec.>
But that’s a story I will continue Oct. 2019 – when, Jah wiling, I get my 30 year badge.
So enjoy this possible recreation of the very first 3 hours of Reggae Radio from I ‘n’ I. CDs on this podcast. In a month, I will do the same for vinyl.
Thanks for listening from day 1 or 31 years fresh.
bless, Bobbylon
Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: June 29, 2019 Annotated Playlist; 1 min. 56 sec.
Set 1: 1972-1976
Black Uhuru – Party Next Door; Anthem (Mango) ’83 Best of 31 Years of Reggae Radio
Augustus Pablo – Unity Dub; Africa Must Be Free by 1983 Dub (Rockers) ’83 YS US vinyl dub album of the hour
Jimmy Cliff – The Harder They Come; The Harder They Come Soundtrack (Mango) ’72
<The Harder They Come and Reggae in US/UK; 74 sec.>
The Wailers – Stir It Up; Catch a Fire (Tuff Gong) ’73 US w/ guitar and piano overdubs
<Catch a Fire and Reggae in the US/UK; 65 sec.>
Burning Spear – Down By the Riverside; Presenting (Studio One) ’73
Peter Tosh – Legalize It; Legalize It (Columbia) ’76
Set 2: 1976
The Mighty Diamonds – Back Weh Mafia; Ice on Fire (Virgin Front Line) ’76 soul producer, Allen Toussaint prod’n
Judy Mowatt – Put It On; Black Woman (Shanachie) ’76 Wailer cover
Max Romeo – One Step Forward; War ina Babylon (Mango) ’76 Lee “Scratch” Perry/Black Ark riddim shower (1) – vox
Prince Jazzbo – Ital Corner; Ital Corner (Clocktower) ’76 Black Ark riddim shower (2): deejay
<Lee “Scratch” Perry’s Black Ark studio>
Set 3: 1976-1977
Martha Velez – Bend Down Low; Escape From Babylon (Sire) ’76 Bob prod’n/Perry mix/Wailers on the riddims/Wailers cover
<Martha Velez; 38 sec.>
Bunny Wailer – This Train; Blackheart Man (Mango) ’76 Woody Guthrie cover
The Congos – Children Crying; Heart of the Congos (Black Art) ’77 Black Ark prod’n
The Revolutionaries – Dawn Creation; Phase One Dub Wise volume 2 (Phase One) ’80 UK vinyl dub album of the hour
Set 4: 1977
Culture – Two Sevens Clash; Two Sevens Clash (Shanachie) ’77
<When the 2 7’s clashed; 72 sec.>
Jolly Brothers – Conscious Man; Conscious Man (Seven Leaf) ’77 Lee “Scratch” Perry Black Ark prod’n
Yabby You – Judgment Time; One Love, One Heart (Shanachie) ’77
Set 5: 1978-1979
I Roy – Tiddle Le Bop; Heart of a Lion (Virgin Front Line) ’78 nursery rhyme
Ijahman Levi – Jah Heavy Load; Haile I Hymn (Jahmani) ’78 feat. Steve Winwood on organ
Althea & Donna – Uptown Top Ranking; Uptown Top Ranking (Object Enterprise) ’78 female dj duo
Dennis Brown – Love Jah; Words of Wisdom (Shanachie) ’79
Set 6: 1979
The Morwells feat. Bingy Bunny – Bit By Bit; Kingston 12 Toughie (RAS) ’79
Capital Letters – Run Run Run; Headline News (Greensleeves) ’79 UK youth group w/ female harmonies
Marcia Griffiths – Steppin’ Out of Babylon; Steppin’ (Shanachie)
Sugar Minott & Soul Syndicate – Walking Through the Ghetto; Ghetto-ology + Dub (Easy Star) ’79
Roots Radics – Rockers Almighty Dub; Rockers Almighty Dub (Clocktower) Bronx, NY vinyl dub album of the hour
Set 7: 1979-1980
Keith Hudson – Musicology; Rasta Communication (Greensleeves) ’79
Johnny Osbourne – Jah Promise; Truths and Rights (Studio One) ’79
Earl Zero – I No Lie; Visions of Love (Epiphany) ’79
Pablo Moses – Dubbing is a Must; A Song (Mango) ’80
Wailing Souls – Old Broom; Very Best of (Greensleeves) ’80 comp.
New broom sweeps clean. Old broom knows the corners!
Set 8: 1980-1981
Ken Booth (sic) & the Iranian Students – Peace Time/Khomeni Skank; Jack Ruby Hi-Fi (Auralux/Clappers) ’80
Sister Jam – People of the World; Rockers International (Greensleeves) ’80 Augustus Pablo prod’n
Flo & Eddie – Rock With Me; Rock Steady With Flo & Eddie (Epiphany) ’81 of the Turtles; Melodians cover
Garland Jeffreys feat. Linton Kwesi Johnson – Miami Beach; Escape Artist (Epic) ’81 NY rock artist w/ dub poet
Mikey Dread – World War III; Beyond World War III (Dread at the Controls) ’81
This summer I started watching a new program on History Channel called Unidentified
The show features a guy named Lew Elizondo who quit our intelligence service to alert the world about UFO encounters. Our naval pilots are being harassed and traumatized by their encounters with flying “Tic Tacs”. Craft that can neutralize weapons defense systems on our most sophisticated planes.
This popped up on the corporate news cycle and during an interview with George Stephanapolous, The Cheetolini said he didn’t believe in UFO’s. I would have thought he would have believed in UFO’s bigly.
So here is why I am perturbed: Pres. 45 created the Space Force. General Giorgio of Ancient Aliens is heading the effort.
General Giorgio tapped I ‘n’ I to be in charge of Lunar agriculture. I am leading the effort to plant the space dust. The moon is gonna be lonely for a while. That’s why NASA invented vaping. You can’t spark a doobie in space. No oxygen, am I right?
I ‘n’ I am not growing moon weed and deejaying for the harvesters’ entertainment up there, just so Raytheon and Boeing can add to their Military Industrial Complex profits.
Hey 45: It ain’t swamp gas, ball lightning or mother effing weather balloons. It is Extra Terrestrials wary of our nuclear war insanity.
Between Trump’s betrayal and the Walrus of War (John Bolton’s) game of chicken in the Strait Hormuz, I am fed up!
So I told the Mad Tweeter: I QUIT; 60 sec.
The Aliens do not want to see a World War III in the Middle East that could go nuclear. Alien sightings became common after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They don’t care about us humans, but they need our gold and water. A Bitter Wind destroyed Sumer – and what was that bitter wind? Nuclear weapons inna Mesopotamia
<No war with Iran; 52 sec.>
<Specials – anti-war ska; 27 sec.>
Watching Unidentified and hearing military people talk about a “rain of UFO’s” mankind should heed the warning. If you weaponize space, the Aliens will intercede and it won’t turn out well.
Watch the movie from 1951, the Day the Earth Stood Still and how the Aliens (or my ancestors – The Anunnaki if you are like me, an Ancient Astronaut Theorist), will put mankind under heavy manners, as the Rastas used to say
<Klaatu Barada Nikto; 54 sec.>
Look to the skies! Do not scoff!
Bobbylon
Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives June 22, 2019 – Annotated Playlist; 76 sec.
Set 1:
Black Uhuru – Solidarity; 12″ EP (4th & Broadway) ’83 US picture sleeve
Lee “Scratch” Perry & the Upsetters – Cloak & Dagger; Cloak & Dagger (Black Art) ’72 UK vinyl dub album of the hour
IBA – Zion Trail; Many Lives (Mt. Nebo) 2006 Chattenham
Sister V – V’s Version; Baggariddim (DEP) ’85 female dj over UB40 Version Girl
Tippa Lee & Lone Ranger – Me No Call No Police + Keep on Dubbing in the Dance; Return of the Rub-a-Dub Style (Echodelic) 2011
Barrington Levy – Collie Weed; 12″ (Jah Life) ’79 JA 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement
Set 2:
Mikey Dread – I Love My Mother; World Tour (Dread at the Controls) ’99
Alton & Hortense Ellis – I’m Just a Guy; Cry Tough (Treasure Isle/Heartbeat) ’68
Junior Delgado – Tell Me How You Feel; Tichen (Rhino UK) ’90
Leonard Dillon – Done ‘I Done; One Step Forward (House of Reggae) ’91
Early B – Send in the Patient; 12″ (Vibes and Vibes) ’85 JA
Set 3:
Fred Locks – Moving With the Power; Culturally (Tan-Yah) ’95
Bush Chemists feat. Talawa – Stand Up Dub; Light Up Your Chalice (Conscious Sounds) ’99 mutant dub w/ female vox
Ken Boothe – Tears in My Eyes; 10″ EP (Trojan) ’71 BB Seaton cover
Pablo Gad – Bloodsuckers + dub; Bloodsuckers (Melodie) ’78
Set 4:
Thievery Corporation – It Takes a Thief/DJ Kicsk; DJ-Kicks (!K7) ’99
Chris Wayne – Don’t Worry Yourself; Tempo Explosion (Black Victory) ’85
Rasta Rafiki – Congregation; Stream of Consciousness (Blue Duck) ’95 Morgantown, WV
Smile Jamaica pays tribute to all the Fathers. In Reggae, of course, His Imperial Majesty – Haile Selassie I is the universal father
A little story about my father, also named Robert. 2019 was the year everything went sideways. On Jan. 3 he fell while walking the dog and was admitted to the emergency room in Sun City West, AZ.
We found out he has a condition called NPH. It’s a build up of excess spinal fluid on the brain. Its untreated effects include lack of co-ordination in walking, mental impairment and incontinence. It is treated by installing a shunt in the skull that absorbs the excess fluid harmlessly into the stomach lining.
But before he could have that procedure he had: shingles which led to meningitis, two small strokes and a whole litany of deleterious side effects. He has been in hospital or a rehab facility more nights than he has spent at home.
Talking to him was like he was fading out and not there. So this Father’s Day show was livicated to him and the memories of our family and wondering why nothing seems to be working for him.
When I talked to him on Father’s Day, it was the first time in months we carried on an actual conversation. The first sense of optimism and now I don’t dread calling him.
So I always lead off with this song by Charlie Ace called Father and Dreadlocks: (37 sec.)
Father and Dread Locks – Charlie Ace (lyrics transcribed by Bobbylon)
Hail Daddy-man!
Wha’ppen when him come for the Holidays
Yes-I! Whap’n rate up a draw of herb fi I place y’know!
Son – who dat? No Parson’s son turn Rastaman!
Yes-I! Man sight the fullness y’know?
Parson send him one son fi (to) college for the study of religious knowledge
Some day the boy decides to come home for Holiday
But when he enter him home something strange happen
He wasn’t wearing slicker suit
He wasn’t wearing big heel boots
He was wearing dungarees and sandals
And when he moved his tam from his head
Parson frightened til him was drop down dead
When him natty dreadlocks drop to the ground
So, his Dad looked at him and said:
My son, my son what comes over you? What happened?
You pass your GCE and sit upon University. What happened?
I work morning, noon and night to get you there. What happened?
He said, Daddy you don’t understand like I do
But Jah has called upon I
I have sight of the Promised Land
Daddy, I know the way you feel but one day you will understand
My son, what is the plan for the future?
He said: Daddy, I plan to use my education to defend human rights, equality and justice throughout the Universe
This time the Mother is in the kitchen cooking the best dressed chicken
So she run when she realize her one son was home to greet her one son
When she sight Natty Dreadlocks she nearly drop down dead
She said: My son, my son. What are we going to tell the people of the neighborhood?
He said: Mom, tell them that the power of Jah is moving on-ya!
So that song has special significance Father’s Day 2019. The power of Jah is movin’ on ya! Foward ever, backwards never Papa Bob!
<The Power of Jah is movin’ on-ya!; 51 sec.>
bless, Bobbylon
Smile Jamaica Ark-ives: June 15, 2019 Annotated Playlist; 64 sec.
Set 1:
The African Brothers – Lead Us Father; Want Some Freedom (Easy Star) ’74 3 hours of Father’s Day
Roots Radics – Time Capsule (RAS) ’82 Barrington Levy dubs
Charlie Ace – Father and Dreadlocks; 7″ (Studio One) JA
Dennis Brown – Created by the Father; Best of: The Niney Years (Heartbeat) ’79
Black Roots – The Father; In Session (Makasound) ’83 UK
Sylvan White – Mammy & Daddy; 7″ (Corner Stone Church of Music Congress) JA
Capital Letters – Daddy Was No Murderer; Headline News (Greensleeves) ’79 UK
Set 2:
Sister Carol – Mi Love the Father; Lyrically Potent (Heartbeat) ’96
Jah T – Grandfather Land; The Sound Doctor (Pressure Sounds) ’72 Lee “Scratch” Perry prod’n
Prince Alla – In My Father’s House; Sweet Sensations (Corner Stone) ’84
Freddy McKay – Father Will Cut You Off; 7″ (Money Disc) ’83 JA
Ian Sweetness – Almighty Father; All I Have Is Love (Easy Star) 2001
Dennis Bovell – Oh Mama, Oh Papa; LKJ Presents (LKJ) ’93 UK dubmaster
Set 3:
Cedric ‘Im Brooks & the Light of Saba – Song For My Father; Light of Saba (Honest Jon’s) ’76 nyah horns instrumental
Lots of stories on this edition of the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives. During our vinyl segment I played a song by Yellowman chronicling the fallen heroes of Reggae music, Many of them murdered: Peter Tosh, General Echo….and Bob Marley? (Lee “Scratch” Perry blamed Island records own Chris Blackwell of killing Bob for his royalties.)
Alex Jones also believes the CIA killed Bob Marley to stop his revolutionary music from influencing liberation movements in South Africa, Palestine and Central America. My cryptic comment. How does a black man die of melanoma (skin cancer.)
<Did the CIA kill Bob Marley? 27 sec.>
On a more positive note, the state of Illinois is so broke they had no choice but to legalize the seven leaf — through their legislature. Signed by the governor! Now it’s 11 down, 39 to go!; 41 sec.
Illinois also legalized casinos throughout the state. State Casino Board chairman, Al Capone III, said blackjack and cannabis are a winning combination that rules the nation!
<weed and casinos in Illinois; 71 sec.>
Al Capone spins in his grave: legal weed and gambling
And lastly, a guy who likes weed, Reggae and probably conspiracy theories, one Keith Richard, guitarist of the Rolling Stones shows his love of the rub-a-dub by covering Half Pint off the Dirty Work CD.
bless, Bobbylon
<Winsome = Too Rude; 49 sec.>
Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives June 8, 2019 Annotated Playlist; 77sec
Set 1:
Jah Woosh – Psalms; D.J. Legend (Original) ’82 UK vinyl
Derrick Harriott & the Crystalites – Rasta Is Love; Scrub-a-Dub (Crystal) ’74 JA dub album of the hour
Rita Marley – One Draw; 12″ (Shanachie) ’81 4:20 for Illinois legalize
Jay McGee – One Draw; 12″ (Scorpio) ’81 Canada
Loi – One Draw; 12″ (Abraham) Willowdale, Ontario Canada; female
I was born in a small north central Montana town called Fort Benton. Along the Missouri river, it was the furthest the steamboats could go before you had to pack wagon trains of goods to Oregon and Canada.
Brutally cold in the winter. Gorgeous in the summer, although the mosquitos are the size of kittens. A town of 1500 didn’t have much in the way of shopping, so you had to drive 35 miles to Great Falls.
Movies, clothes shopping, better restaurants. When the drinking age in Montana was 19, we would buy beer where no one knew us. They had a good record store there called Hastings. It was across the street from the mall, so I would always try and swing by there before I left for home.
Usually, I would buy vinyl. But, it was about 45 minutes to drive home, at 55 max MPH speed limit. So I would tend to buy a cassette to listen to for the drive home.
I was getting ready to graduate May of 1983. I remember the album I bought: Ramones – Subterranean Jungle. The cassette was the big novelty hit of ’83. MTV crossover: Musical Youth – Pass the Dutchie.
Youth group from UK singing and toasting over a sanitized version of the Mighty Diamonds’ Pass the Kutchie.
Kutchie = cannabis utensil. Can’t have kiddies singing about the Seven Leaf, so they switched up the lyrics to the cooking pot, dutch pot = dutchie.
I bought it for the song, not because it was Reggae. That was #2 Reggae addition to the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ive. Over the years, I picked it up on LP and various 12″ promo singles. Then, cratedigging in Minneapolis a few years ago, I got their 2 albums on 1 CD for $5 in the discount rack. Nice price!
I was cleaning out my garage and came across a shoebox full of cassettes and found it there. (First Reggae album you are wondering? Peter Tosh – Wanted Dread & Alive; Xmas ’81. Thanks Mom!
bless, Bobbylon
<Musical Youth – second addition to the Smile Jamaica Ark-ive>
Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: June 1, 2019 annotated playlist
Set 1:
Michael Prophet – Jah Jah Is My Master; Yabby You & King Tubby’s All Stars (Yabby You) early 80’s JA vinyl
Augustus Pablo – The Big Rip-Off; Ital Dub (Trojan) ’74 UK vinyl dub album of the hour
Cymande – Zion I; Renegades of Funk (Newhouse) ’72 UK soul/rock/reggae
Sugar Minott – Devil Is At Large; Tempo Explosion (Black Victory) ’85
Natural Vibes – Life Hard a Yard; King Jammy a Man and His music Volume 1 (RAS) ’82
Tristan Palma – Sensimilla; Return of the Rub-a-Dub Style (Echodelic) 2011 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement
Lucy Clark – Just One Look; 12″ (Bullet) US Doris Troy cover
Set 2:
Sister Carol – Natty Live Up; Lyrically Potent (Heartbeat) ’96
Nerious Joseph – Guidance; Fashion in Fine Style vol. 1 (Fashion) ’92
The Royals – Pick Up the Pieces: Full Up: Best of Studio One vol. 2 (Heartbeat/Studio One)
Wingless Angels feat. Justin Hinds & Keith Richards – Come Down Wicked Man; Wingless Angels II (Mindless) ’96 nyahbinghi
Junior Delahaye – Working Hard For the Rent Man; 12″ (Wackies) ’83 Bronx
Set 3: Best of Smile Jamaica 29+ Years
Dennis Brown – Westbound Train; Some Like It Hot (Heartbeat) ’75:
Aisha Morrison – Ethiopias; Stay Red (Esoldun) 77? Black Ark prod’n
Freddie McGregor – Rastaman Camp; Bobby Bobylon (Heartbeat/Studio One) ’79
Musical Youth – Rub ‘N Dub; Youth of Today (MCA) ’82 UK youth group
Aswad – Dub Fire; New Chapter of Dub (Mango) ’82 Dub Album of the Hour
Set 4:
Thievery Corporation feat. Puma – Babylon Falling; Temple of I & I (ESL) 2017
Stepped away from the airwaves last week for a four day weekend. So I bunkered down in the Secret Dubratory and cooked up 3 hours of my favorite roots tunes for the massive.
Bless, Bobbylon
0-30 min.
10 Foot Ganja Plant – Deliver Us Jah; Bass Chalice (ROIR) 2005 NY
Afro Omega – Move Like Light; Move Like Light (Afro Omega) 2012 SLC
Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers – Pass It On; Hawaii Five-0 Soundtrack (CBS) 2011 Bob Marley cover
Jr. Reid – Concrete Castle King; History Of Tamoki Wambesi (Tamoki Wambesi) ’85
Joan Armatrading – I Can’t Lie to Myself; Walking Under Ladders (A & M) ’81 w/ Sly & Robbie
Smile Jamaica is hosted by Robert Nelson on 90.9 FM KRCL in Salt Lake City, Utah (Saturdays, 4-7 p.m. MT). Ark-ives available weekly here at the Smile Jamaica blog.
Smile Jamaica 