The Bigwoods- Live

Well here I am mid-month just trying to finish it out and get to next month. Which means technically I will be writing Christmas posts in August. So here we are then with this which for $4.8 was at a hefty price tag. You would have thought I would have bought it for the accordion on the front, but you would be wrong. Much like the Washington Squares album, I bought it for the female drummer. I was hoping for some Rezillos style female vocals. Also, this album is autographed.

From what I can hastily put together, the Bigwoods were the ship band on the mighty Queen Elizabeth 2, known as Q.E.2 to those who know their luxury cruise ships. It had a useful cruise life between 1969 to 2008, including a stint transporting troops during the Falkland War. After its retirement, the ship wandered aimlessly in life until 2018 where it became a floating hotel in Dubai.

During the ships cruising days, The Bigwoods had the pleasure of serving as the ship band for at least two seasons. The group consisted of Bobby Bigwood, Anne Bigwood (unsure if spouse or sister), and Robb Wyatt. Anne played drums. Robb played guitar and sang. Bobby also sang as well as played the Cordovox, which the album insists is not an accordion despite looking awfully close to one. Apparently, they played on other cruise lines before the Q.E.2 gig, mostly out of South Hampton, UK. I believe Bobby was from Poole.

Well, I was kind of bummed that there were no female vocals on this album. But despite that setback, i rather enjoyed this effort which featured various songs from various backgrounds but seemed to focus heavily on a Caribbean sound. This no doubtably honed from their time on cruise ships to the region. Besides the island tunes, we have an Irish medley, the Greek “Zorba’s Dance”, and contemporary standards of the day such as “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” and “Those Were The Days”. This record came out on Chance Records out of Dorset and is no doubt a souvenir type record. Not sure when it was released but it was obviously signed in 1971.

For a sample, I must have recorded 3/4’s of this album for consideration. I decided to go with “Paradise Beach ” which I belive was written by Wyatt. I also went with “Israel to Russia In Three Minutes” because I thought it was a witty adaptation.

Satisfactory Album

Paradise BEach
Israel to Russia In Three Minutes

Lord Jackson and His Limbo Gang- Limbo

Here is a return to normalcy with a $1 record.  Not sure why I bought this other than the standard limbo tunes on it. A little rushed this week writing this as I am trying to cram two weeks of blog writing into two days.

Limbo, the dance, was invented in Trinidad sometime in the 1800’s.  It got its name some time later in the 1950’s as an offshoot of the West Indian English word Limber.  Popularized by both Julia Edwards in films of the time, as well as Chubby Checkers in the tune “Limbo Rock”, I am not sure how popular it remains today.  I guess since I still know what it is, the dance still has some shelf life.  I guess I can say I actually saw the dance 8 years ago when I was in Colombia.  A group of folks were doing it at a convention I was at.  Not professionals mind you.  These were folks in business suits.

This was released sometime in the 60’s I believe, from Palace Records.  Definitely a budget production by looking at the back cover.  Not sure who Lord Jackson or his Limbo Gang were.  Could be studio musicians or local musicians gathered to produce this effort.  What I do know is we have 10 songs with Limbo themes.  Pretty decent stuff but quite repetitive on the theme.

For a sample, I went with the Caribbean standard , “Hold Em Joe”.

Decent record.  Satisfactory.

Lord Cody and the Coralites- ST

Winding down this month with this fine piece of work.  $6 this was. For the second day in a row, I have a subject that I can’t find a whole lot of information on.  Again, if you know something about this group and can share some info/ pics, please drop me a line. A wicked thought occurred to me while writing this.  Perhaps I should just start making minimal posts and let readers fill in the blanks. Well, it has not come that far yet but I will keep this in mind for the future.

Alvin Sweeting aka Lord Cody and the Coralites formed in Nassau, Bahamas in 1959.  Rounded out by Kasavubu (David Smith), “Valient” Vendal Higgs, and Ozzie Roach, the group put out 3 records that I know of, all on small labels.  I am guessing this is a tourist/ souvenir / novelty type album, sold at a hotel lounge that hosts these type of groups.

 

Released on Carib Records, a subsidiary of Caribbean Folk Music LTD, this came out in 1962 and was the group’s first recording as far as I can tell.  The music is calypso heavy with traces of Jamaican influence.  The backing band is quite good as well, particularly the guitar, which has a heavy African sound.  The vocals are smooth. I really like how all the styles really came together on this.  I recorded about half of the record for consideration for use as samples.  After trying to narrow it down, I decided to go with “Trouble”, “Mini Skirts”, and “Shame and Scandal” which highlights the problems of having a philanderous father in a small island community.

This was a great little jam packed album.  Like a little beach party. Satisfactory

The Mighty Sparrow- Great Calypsoes

A friend of mine as well as the blog saw this and bought it for me.  It was 50 cents. I am not sure if I paid her back.  It s Donkey-Show.com policy to reimburse people who find records for me as promptly as I can manage.  But nobody uses cash anymore and I am not savvy enough to Venmo stuff.

The Mighty Sparrow, aka Slinger Francisco , was born in 1935 in Grand Roy, Grenada.  Two years later, he moved with his parents to Trindad, the country he is greatly associated with.  To me Slinger Francisco is a way cooler name, but the world of 40’s/50’s calypsos seems quite flamboyant and when you are given your calypso name by your peers, you keep it.  Francisco apparently was quite the energetic type and due to his movements on stage, he was given the name Sparrow, first Little Sparrow, then graduating up to Mighty Sparrow.  Sparrow is probably one of the best known Calypsonians winning the Carnival Road March eight times, the Calypso King/ Monarch eight times, and the Calypso King Of Kings Title twice.  I believe those are in order of ascending importance. Anyway, as of today, he is still alive and kicking.

 

Sparrow’s Webpage

This record, released by RCA in 1963 is a collection of hit songs released in the years prior.  I am not sure if this is a straight compilation or a re-recording of past hits.  I believe it is the first. Anyway, here are these songs which are pretty good.  Besides Sparrow’s vocal skills, the album showcases a versatility of subject matters from love to politics to local issues to the nation as a whole.

Pretty good album.  I recorded seven songs off this to use as a sample (average is 2 songs per album).  So after some consideration, I went with one of his more popular songs “Dan The Man” as well as “Federation”, a tune blaming the breakup of the West Indies Federation clearly on Jamaica.  Take that, Jamaica.

Great little album.  Thanks for buying this for me.

Harry Belafonte- The Many Moods of Belafonte

Given the recent rise in record prices, I am surprised I got away with this one for $4.  Well, If I were to find a bright side. at least the hike in prices has somewhat slowed down record purchases as I am still sitting on a three year backlog.  I did not mean to make this month so calypso heavy.  It just kind of happened.  This record previously belonged to Staff Sargent Larry J Cromer.

Harry Belafonte, the King of Calypso, was born in 1921 in Harlem, NY to Jamaican parents of mixed race.  His singing oddly enough, arose as a way to pay for his true love, the stage.  Yes, Belafonte sung in the early days as a way of making money while trying to break into acting.  As a result, he introduced Calypso ( which originated from Trinidad & Tobago) to the US mainstream audiences.  Along his storied career, Belafonte won three Grammy’s, an Emmy, and a Tony, just one Oscar away from EGOT territory.

This album I think was his 13th solo studio album, released in 1962.  The album features South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela (who passed this year at age 78) and vocalist Miriam Makeba.  Pretty good little album which follows Belafonte’s calypso style against various backdrops.  In fact most of these songs are not original calypso tunes.  Songs such as “Betty an’ Dupree”, “Try To Remember”, and “Dark As A Dungeon” have been performed in various styles by many artists.  Here Belafonte puts his stamp on these standards. The album would peak on Billboard at # 25.

The album also features the up beat “I’m On My Way To Saturday” which is perhaps the best song on the album, and thus submitted as a sample. I also went with the transitional “Zombie Jamboree”, maybe because the song has been updated from its 1950’s version to include references to the atomic bomb and Brigitte Bardot.

Satisfactory,

Gemini All Stars De Ti Manno- ST

By my records, baring some major event in the next week, this should be post # 1000.  Whew.  This was on the high end of the scale at $8.  I do not get a whole lot of what ever I thought this was when I bought it.  Turns out it is a bit calypso, a bit reggae.  Pretty decent mix of both actually, straight from Haiti by way of Panama.

The singer on this post, Manno Antoine R Jean Baptiste or Ti Manno as he is better known, was born in 1953 in Gonaives, Haiti.  He was a very popular singer, musician, and band leader among Haitians.  With his avant-garde lyrics, he played in various bands before moving to the US in the 1970’s, first Boston and then New York.  After a few ventures, Ti Manno formed the Gemini All Stars, who made 5 albums.  In 1983, he became gravely ill from an undisclosed disease.  His illness led to a huge outpouring of the Haitian community, raising money for his treatment.  When he passed in 1985, a huge turn out of fans attended his service in Brooklyn. He was only 31.

This album was his first with the Gemini Allstars.  Leading the band, the album features two songs written by Ti Manno, as well as three songs written by others.  Pretty good stuff.  Again it is heavy on the calypso side with a shout out to reggae and a bit of funk.  I really liked both “L’Argent” and “Cantor”.

The highlight, however, is the ten minute plus “Hommage A B. Marley”, obviously, a tribute to the  reggae legend, Bob Marley.  The song contains a medley of Marley tunes, including “No Woman No Cry”.  Pretty decent number in all.  However, at the end of the tribute, To Manno breaks into  Jacob Miller’s “Tenement Yard”.  I am not sure why this was included in a Marley tribute , but I am not complaining.  Ti Manno’s version is excellent.  Well, as I do not like posting long songs, I excised Miller’s classic from the overall homage and have submitted it here as a sample.

Good little album.  Satisfactory.

VA- Slop N’ Mash Vol 1.

This was $8.00.  I got it as there is just not enough Jamaican music on this page.

A few years back, well decades really, sometime in the mid 90’s, I got this four -CD set of Jamaican music, from Mango Records, titled Tougher than Tough.  Starting with the Folkes Brothers “Oh Carolina” from 1961 and ending with the same song by Shaggy, (which at the time represented the present day of Jamaican music), the compilation details the history of the genre from early ska from the 60;s, to the heavy reggae of the 70’s, to the dancehall of the 80’s/90’s.  Really good collection.  I got a whole lot of mileage out of the set.

So when I saw this record, I went ahead ant snapped it up, despite the high price. This collection predates the cd set described above a bit by presenting some seminal works from 1958 to 1962.  The genres hit on the ska and easybeat sounds which birthed the nation’s music.  A lot of decent artists on here including Owen Gray, Duke Reid, Lord Lebby, Derrick Morgan, Lauren Aitken, and Byron Lee.

For a sample, I was struck by three tunes in particular.  “Crazy Dog” by Beans, Dumplings” by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, and “Palms of Victory” by Azie Lawrence.

Great little record.  Satisfactory.

The Ska Men- Jamaica Ska

dscn5349Welcome to yet another month of the world famous Donkey-Show.  Still going because I have too many records not to.  Anyway, lets start this month’s show with this gem, only $3.20.  I do not come across much ska so I tend to jump on something when I find it.tumblr_n4o3g1ivjr1suyji3o1_500

Ska, the father of rocksteady and reggae, was born in Jamaica in the late 1950’s. It was a mixture of Caribbean folk music and American rhythm and blues.  Musicians/producers/promoters, Prince Buster, Coxsone Dodd, and Duke Reid recorded their own songs for use in their DJ sound systems. The music form was popular in the 1960’s and had a rebirth in the UK in the late 1970’s.  Both movements contributed to a movement in the USA in the late 80’s and 90’s.  Incidentally, Prince Buster passed away last month. I did a obit post for him.prince-busterdd

This was released by Diplomat Records which was owned by Ambassador Records which was owned by Synthetics Plastic Company of Newark, all of which owned by Daniel Kasen (some of which with his brother Louis).  Other than that, I know little else about the album or the band.dscn5350

The record label is a budget label so this must have been made on the cheap. The band does sound kind of authenic , though so I doubt this was spit out by some folks from Jersey.  A few copies have been floating around the Net between $11 and $50.doddreid

The album is pretty good.  I mean, it is watered down in some parts as compared to the authentic Jamaican output done by Reid, Dodd, and Buster. There is nothing gritty about it.  Other than that statement,, I like this album.  It features good versions of “My Boy Lollipop”, “Marianne”, “Whole Lot Of Shakin’ Goin’ On”, and the old Leadbelly standard, “Cotton Fields”.duke-reid-system

There are also dance instructions on the back which is pretty cool.  There are two basic ska steps, a ska step with hand variation, the western roll, the Kingston head roll, rowing, rowing across, and the in place hand drive.

For sample, I decided to go with a pretty good take on the calypso “Banana Boat Song” and “Moniwop”.  They are both really good.jamaican-soundsystem

This is a satisfactory record for me.  It could of been harder and maybe a bit more authentic but for the records I see, this is a pretty good find.

Prince Buster- The Ten Commandments 7″

busterThe world of music lost one of its giants this week with the death of Prince Buster, the King of Ska.  He died in Miami of complications from a series of strokes.  He was 78.

Obit from the Guardian

Obit from the BBC

Obit from the AV Club

pb-png_1718483346Born Cecil Bustamente Campbell in Kingston Jamaica, Prince Buster was influential in the sound system world of Jamaican music.  He pioneered ska and rocksteady in the 1960’s.  Moreover, without him, there would be no UK ska revival of the late seventies.  Madness took their name from one of his songs and the Specials liberally borrowed from him.  Both bands also covered his songs extensively.

I had this 7″ of his in my collection so I am posting it in honor of his passing.  From 1967, here is Prince Buster’s “The Ten Commandments”. The B-side of this was “Don’t Make Me To Cry”.princebuster1

RIP Prince Buster

Byron Lee and the Dragonaires- Reggay Hot Cool and Easy

DSCN4008This was $3.00 at a record show.  I snapped it up as I never see reggae records in my usual searches.  hqdefault

Byron Lee and the Dragonaires are apparently still active although without Lee who has been dead since 2008.  Lee formed the band in 1950 with his friend Carl Brady.  They would release 50+ albums.  Lee would also record and produce songs for other artists.  According to Wikipedia, Lee is responsible for introducing  the electric bass to Jamaica.  According to lore, he grew tired of hauling a double bass around.  The electric bass caught on and grew popular among Jamaican bands.byronlee50s

Another fun fact, they played the house band at a hotel in the first James Bond movie, Dr. No. If you can not put two and two together, that is Byron Lee playing the bass in the clip.

This album came out in 1972.  It was around their 18th album.  It is pretty good.  There are many good tunes on here. Some have vocals even.  But it is the grooves that hold the album together.DSCN4009

For a sample, I went with the Dragonaires’ cover of Isaac Hayes’ classic “Shaft”.  I also decided to throw in “Hot Reggay” as well.  It is St Patrick’s this month so things are going to get Irish for awhile.  Might as well reggae it up now while we can.byron-lee-cover-photoTop Rated Record for sure.