In loving musical memory of Clement Seymour Dodd, 1932-2004
Studio One Jugglin feat Bob Andy, Heptones, Cornell Campbell, Alton Ellis, Heptones, John Holt
Clement Dodd, the man who shaped so much of Jamaican music, first got interested in music by listening to American jazz: Louis Jordan, Lionel Hampton, Billy Eckstine and Ella Fitzgerald. While his commercial interests led him away from jazz, it always remained his favorite music. In the Fifties he began collecting the R&B records being brought to the island by migrant farmworkers who left Jamaica to work in Florida. It was this raw unschooled black music that struck a chord in the Jamaican psyche.
Studio One mixtape feat Delroy Wilson, Heptones, The Paragons, Phyllis Dillon, Alton Ellis
Around 1954, Coxsone’s awareness of the commercial potential of R&B caused him to form his first sound systemst o play at the parties that were a mainstay of Jamaican social life. Since R&B music formed the bulk of party requests, it was important to supply the growing demand once the hits started to get stale (or as Jamaicans say, “common”). To satisfy this demand, Coxsone was forced to travel through the U.S. to pick up local hits and bring them back home. By being exposed to these new sounds, his shows became more popular than other early sound systems like Count Nick, Woodie, and Tom the Great Sebastian. At the height of this sound system craze, Coxsone had as many as five different shows going a night (average admission price for these parties being 2s6d, or around 50¢).
Ram Goat Liver, the mixtape feat Pluto Shervington, Stanley, Ernie Smith, The Astronauts
While Coxsone in the early Eighties wasn’t running down to his sound system dances to showcase his latest hit record he was still discovering and showcasing new talent. Sugar Minott, Michigan and Smiley, Jennifer Lara, Freddie McGregor, and Johnny Osbourne all owe their own “discovery” directly to Coxsone. In 1982, “Full Up” enjoyed new popularity when re-released as “Pass the Dutchie” by Musical Youth, whose version rose to #1 on the UK Pop charts , as well as high on other European charts.
Studio One Mix, When Music did Nice! Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Mighty Diamonds, Ken Boothe
The Clash’s cover of Willie William’s “Armagideon Time” brought punk’s obsession with Reggae to the forefront and opened another door for Studio One. “Smile” by Lily Allen hits the charts worldwide using a Studio One sample of “Free Soul”. Prodigy sampled Al T Joe’s “Ethiopian Peace Song” for their track “Thunder”. Other artists who sampled Studio One songs include Born Jamericans , Ayatollah and KRS-One. In 1994 Dawn Penn re-made her 1967 Studio One release to worldwide acclaim. It spawned covers by Rihanna, and Ghostface Killah and was covered by Beyonce on her 2009 world tour.
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