Sometimes referred to as the 'Jamaican Sam Cooke', Ken Parker was born around 1948 (there is some confusion as to his birth year) and grew up in Savannah-La-Mar in the Westmoreland Parrish area of Jamaica, where his father was a preacher. Parker was exposed early to the effects of gospel music, and he drew on gospel inflections in his vocals throughout his whole career. Working with some of the biggest producers of the time including the legendary Clement Coxone Dodd, this track entitled 'True True True' is taken from his 1974 LP 'Jimmy Brown' released on Trojan Records. One of my favourite reggae artists of all time, an incredible soulful reggae talent. For a good retrospective of some of Ken Parker's best, pick up a copy of 'Ken Parker - The Best Of - Groovin' In Style (1967 - 1973)' (Amazon Link Below)

Born Dalton Sinclair Bishop in 1938 in Barbados 'Jackie Opel' was a Bajan soul singer, composer, arranger and instrumentalist. Although Opels' Career was tragically cut short at the young age of 32 he was the composer of 700 known songs, an innovator in musical styles & an arranger who helped create the early ska sound. He frequently played and also toured with Jamaican Reggae/Ska Legends Alton Ellis & The Skatalites. Unlike many of the Jamaican singers and musicians of the time he never came to England which some feel has meant his genius has never been widely acknowledged outside of his homeland or in the historical context of Jamaican music. This track is a cover of Jackie Wilson's 'Higher and Higher' and featured on a collection of songs entitled ‘The Memorable Jackie Opel’, which unfortunately is out of print. An incredible voice who, like many, deserves the titles of 'genius 'and 'soul legend' despite his obscurity. For more info about Jackie Opel please read this great article linked below. I have also included a link to where to buy Jackie Opel recordings.

Ask any reggae connoisseur and they will tell you that with out these two monster record labels reggae and all it's associated musical forms would be shadows of their former selves.

1. Studio One: Started in 1954 by the legendary Clement 'Coxone' Dodd, Studio One has been described as 'Jamaica's Motown' and 'The Birthplace Of Reggae Music'. Involved with most of the major music movements in Jamaica during the 1960s and 1970s, including ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub & dancehall their catalogue of artists reads like a who's who of roots music legends. These include Bob Marley & The Wailers, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Burning Spear, Ken Boothe, Toots & The Maytals and The Skatalites just to name a few. If you don't have time to digg through the crates to find the originals of some of this amazing material not to worry, Soul Jazz Records have refiled the vaults for you and put together a great selection of Studio One compilations that are all available on their web shop (linked below). Click 'Read The Rest' for a brief background and links for Trojan Records.

Soul Jazz Records - Studio One Label


2. Trojan Records: Started in the UK in 1968 by Lee Gopthal, Trojan Records was one of a few labels that fed the craze for reggae, ska and rocksteady that swept Britain during this time. These musical styles became particularly popular amongst subcultures like the skin heads and the mods. Trojan's name comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck that was used by Jamaican producer and DJ Duke Reid which had Duke Reid - The Trojan King of Sounds painted on the sides. Reid's sound system became known as the Trojan Sound, which became synonymous with the new and hip music. By 1970, Trojan artists were even making headway into the pop music charts, these included: Lee 'Scratch' Perrys Upsetters, Bob & Marcia & of course the legendary Desmond Dekker.

However, In 1972 after a decline in the popularity of reggae in the UK , Island Records (Trojan's sister label) pulled out of its partnership with Trojan Records. This lead to a steady decline eventually causing Trojan to become settled into inactivity by 1982.

After A 3 year hiatus, luckily the label was resurrected, and in 1985 and with the help of some new talent at the helm they began to research and compile new Trojan releases. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, Trojan was unearthing and compiling a lot of reggae recordings (including tunes originally recorded on studio one) and re-issuing them for the first time in 25 years. Today Trojan has an unbelievable amount of compilations, box sets and albums available and In June 2007, Universal Music added Trojan Records to its empire with the purchase of Trojan's parent company Sanctuary Records for £45 million. Check out the huge selection of Trojan releases available on amazon, I would definitely recommend the soulful reggae box set, which includes some great re-interpretations of classic soul tunes by reggae artists from the 1960's and 70's.

Amazon - Trojan Records