By Horane Smith

“Reggae gone international, mon,” was a common phrase used in Jamaica during the mid-eighties. Indeed, the music has spread its influence far beyond the white sand beaches of this island, regarded by many as paradise.Reggae is as big as ever today, and there’s no stopping it now. Surely, American music has dominated markets internationally. Music from other countries have done well, too. But, be it rock and roll, tejano, pop, or salsa, no music from a country roughly the size of Connecticut has had an impact as great as Jamaica’s reggae.Jamaica’s influence in music is not a new phenomenon. The first international hit by a Jamaican artist was Millie Small’s My Boy Lollipop, which went gold in Britain in 1962. Then
Desmond Dekker and the Aces’ Poor Me Israelites became an international hit. That was the beginning of what has become one of the most potent art forms today.During the 1960’s, Jamaican music began its journey to the world stage, from mento to ska, from ska to rock steady, and from rock steady to reggae. The music began in the ghettos of the capital city Kingston, with trios such as The Wailers, Toots and the Maytals, and The Skatallites.Reggae’s roots are traced back to mento and blue beat rhythms. “Mento progressively marginalised to rural festivities and tourist hotels as the capital’s cultural dominance increased and the number of mento artists declined sharply by the late 1950s,” Kevin O’Brien Chang and Wayne Chen write in Reggae Routes: The Story of Jamaican Music.By the time rock steady was in full swing, music labels, notably “Sir” Clement Dodd’s Coxsone and Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle, were releasing dozens of songs each week. Rock steady began its metamorphosis into reggae somewhere around the late sixties. The identity of the first reggae song is still in dispute today, although many regard as the first reggae song Larry Marshall’s Nanny Goat. Another school of thought said Hopeton Lewis might have been responsible for the first reggae song.Leonard Barrett, author of The Rastafarians: the dreadlocks of Jamaica, described reggae as “Africa, Jamaica, soul, nature, sorrow, hate and love all mingled together.” One of Jamaica’s oldest trios, Toots and the Maytals, earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the fastest album ever made: Live at the Hammersmith Palais. It was released within 24 hours of recording in London, England.Reggae songs often comment on the struggles of a people after 300 years of colonial rule. From the challenges of ghetto life to the philosophy of Rastafarai, the music is the prime medium for social commentary. Yet reggae songs, too, have a place for the romantic. Bob Marley sings of Could You Be Loved, an international hit, and Ken Boothe’s Everything I Own, reached number one in Britain.

With ska, rock steady, and reggae came the dance halls and sound systems, which blared the music from the tiniest of community in rural Jamaica, to the big nightclubs of Kingston. The influence of Rastafarianism, which was also founded in Jamaica, began to spread to the music in later years. Its most notable exponent was the late superstar Bob Marley. The highly rated album Natty Dread took the world by storm and was an instant hit in November 1974. With the groundwork already laid, it was just a matter of time before the international break came.“By 1968, (Toots) Hibbert’s Do the Reggae was taking the market. Within a year or two, Bob Marley was making reggae the world’s favourite beat,” Philip Sherlock and Hazel Bennett write in their scholarly work The Story of the Jamaican People.“One good thing about music--when it hits you feel no pain,” writes Marley in one his popular songs Trench Town Rock. Indeed, Marley music did hit far and wide. Although Bob Marley died in 1981 of brain cancer at age 36, his music is still big today. His monster hit album Legend was at one time among the top three albums on Billboards All Time Pop Catalogue.In recent years, Dennis Brown attempted to emulate reggae king Marley’s seemingly unbeatable record. Brown, dubbed the “Crown Prince of Reggae,” carried that title for many years and was seen as a likely successor to Marley. Brown died in 2001, after a career that spanned 30 years.Jimmy Cliff has also been credited for taking the music to the international stage, long before Marley. Cliff is still a force to reckon with today, although he has not been given the same recognition as Marley. Since the late eighties, the international community has been embracing some new faces in reggae. Shaggy and Sean Paul had million sellers recently.As new reggae artists get the exposure that the early pioneers failed to receive, the future of reggae is brighter than ever. The advent of the internet has increased accessibility. An even greater storm seems to be brewing for the future of this pulsating music, famous for its heavy bass and rocking rhythm. The stumbling blocks of the past appear to be giving way to a new path lined with countless opportunities waiting to take the rhythms of Jamaica to an even higher note.

IN DEPTH

"In The Reggae Spotlight" is pleased to profile

Space Coast Reggae Radio

There is an exciting new developement in our quest to elevate music to a higher plane. roadsidereggae.com is pleased to announce" SPACE COAST REGGAE", an internet radio station. We hope to give upcomming reggae musicians an avenue through which to showcase their music. We will also play conscious reggae, smooth jazz , soca and World music. If you believe your music is worthy to be heard you may email us at radio@roadsidereggae.com One Love, Rastafari!

http://live365.com/stations/roadsidereggae

"In The Reggae Spotlight" is a new forum from roadsidereggae.com We will feature talented Reggae musicians who have not received support or publicity from the establishment. We will write a feature article outlining background, experience, or information pertaining to the person, group or band which will give the Internet audience an insight into the featured artist/artists.You may also send your bio and we will edit it if necessary. Please remember to keep it brief! The goal of "In The Reggae Spotlight" is to give a voice to those who now speak in whispers, together we will roar! Rastafari.