The legend's still going strong!If there's anyone cooler than Derrick Morgan I don't want to know about it. I saw him perform for the second time last week at the current leading Brixton venue Hootenannay (try not to miss The Heptones show on the 19th July). He's a great performer and reminded us why he was one of the top artists throughout the 60s, easily adapting (and leading the way) through the musical changes of the decade- ska, rude boy tunes, rocksteady, reggae, slackness (not on here- wait for part 2!) and even early DJing styles. The show last week was so nice. Really packed with different kinds of people, young old, black and white and had a great atmosphere. I met a really interesting guy there. Do you remember in Babylon when Jah Lion sound got vandalised they pulled a guy out of a church and asked for the keys to his sound- well I met that guy. He was involved in the sound business at that time and was called Rootsman Hi Fi. He introduced me to a few of his friends who also had different sounds. It was a good drunken time after the show. Jah Revelation Muzik showed us their oldies selection till 3am or so.
In this mix I'm playing through my favourite 45s (lots of reissues on his own Hop label should still be available to buy) and a few LP tracks. I have enough sides still for a part 2, so watch this space....
Dennis Alcapone, Derrick Morgan, Jimmy Cliff, Bunny Lee (1971ish)
"Derrick Morgan (born
27 March 1940, Mocho,
Clarendon Parish,
Jamaica) is a
musical artist popular in the 1960s and 1970s.
[1] He worked with
Desmond Dekker,
Bob Marley, and
Jimmy Cliff in the
ska genre, and he also performed
rocksteady and
skinhead reggae.
In 1957 Morgan entered the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour, a talent show held at the Palace Theatre in
Kingston. He won with rousing impressions of
Little Richard, and shortly after that, was recruited to perform around the island with the popular Jamaican comedy team, Bim and Bam. In 1959 Morgan entered the
recording studio for the first time.
Duke Reid, the acclaimed
sound system boss, was looking for talent to record for his Treasure Isle
record label. Morgan cut two popular
shuffle-
boogie sides "Lover Boy", a.k.a. "S-Corner Rock", and "Oh My". Soon after, Morgan cut the
bolero tinged boogie, "Fat Man", which also became a
hit. He also found time to
record for
Coxsone Dodd.
In 1960 Morgan became the only artist ever to fill the places from one to seven on the Jamaican
pop chart simultaneously.
[2] Among those hits were "Don't Call Me Daddy", "In My Heart", "Be Still", and "Meekly Wait and Murmur Not". But it was the following year that Morgan released the biggest hit of his career, the
Leslie Kong production of "You Don't Know", later retitled "Housewives’ Choice" by a local
DJ. The
song featured a bouncing ska
riddim, along with a duet by Morgan and Millicent "Patsy" Todd.
"Housewives’ Choice" began the legendary rivalry between Morgan and
Prince Buster, who accused Morgan of stealing his ideas. Buster quickly released "Blackhead Chiney Man", chiding Morgan with the sarcastic put-down, "I did not know your parents were from
Hong Kong" – a swipe at Kong. Morgan returned with the classic "Blazing Fire", in which he warns Buster to "Live and let others live, and your days will be much longer. You said it. Now it’s the Blazing Fire". Buster shot back with, "Watch It Blackhead", which Morgan countered with "No Raise No Praise" and "Still Insist". Followers of the two artists often clashed, and eventually the
government had to step in with a staged
photo shoot depicting the rivals as friends.
In the mid-1960s, when ska evolved into the cooler, more soulful
rocksteady, Morgan continued to release top quality material, including the seminal
rude boy classic, "Tougher Than Tough", "Do the Beng Beng", "Conquering Ruler", and a
cover of
Ben E. King’s
soul hit, "Seven Letters". Produced by
Bunny Lee, "Seven Letters" is often cited as the first true reggae single.
[3] In 1969 Morgan cut the famous skinhead anthem, "Moon Hop" (on
Crab Records). However, failing eyesight then forced him to give up regular stage appearances. Morgan still performs occasionally at ska revival shows across the
world – often backed by the
guitarist,
Lynn Taitt. He remained popular in Jamaica and the
UK into the early 1970s, and has lived primarily in the UK or the
U.S. since the late 1960s." - Wikipedia
Tracklist:
IN MY HEART (PRINCE BUSTER)
DON'T CALL ME DADDY (TREASURE ISLE)
GOING DOWN TO CANAAN - WITH DENZIL DENNIS (HOP)
PLEASE DON'T TALK ABOUT ME- WITH ERIC "MONTY" MORRIS (HOP)
FORWARD MARCH (BEVERLEY'S)
GATHER TOGETHER- WITH THE BLUES BLENDERS (HOP)
BE STILL (APPLE)
BURNETTE (BLUE BEAT)
HOUSEWIFE'S CHOICE- WITH PATSY (HOP)
OH SHIRLEY- WITH PATSY (HOP)
WALL FLOWER- WITH NAOMI (HOP)
I WISH I WERE AN APPLE- WITH NAOMI (HOP)
HEART OF STONE- WITH NAOMI (HOP)
LET ME GO (HOP)
BLAZING FIRE (BEVERLEY'S)
GREATEST THING (I AM A BLACKHEAD AGAIN) (HOP)
THE RULER (HOP)
MINE YOU KILL ME DEAD (HOP)GREEDY GAL (HOP)
YOU NEVER MISS YOUR WATER (TROJAN LP)
BAD LUCK ON ME- WITH LYN TAIT [SIC] & THE JETS (HOP)
STUMBLING BLOCK- WITH LYN TAIT [SIC] & THE JETS (HOP)
RUDIE DON'T FEAR (HOP)
CONQUERING LION (TROJAN LP)
FATHER KILLOM (HOP)
GOT YOU ON MY MIND (TROJAN LP)
TEARS ON MY PILLOW- WITH LYN TAIT [SIC] & THE JETS (HOP)
IT'S ALRIGHT (HOP)
DON'T PLAY THAT SONG (PAMA)
STAND BY ME (HOP)
FIRST TASTE OF LOVE (PAMA)
GIMME BACK (HOP)
WIPE YOUR TEARS (PAMA LP)
RIVER TO THE BANK (HOP)
HOLD U JACK (STRIKER LEE)
I LOVE YOU (HOP)
TOP THE POP (UNITY)
79mins/ 9 tracks/ 224kbs/ 127mb/ word format CD sleeve in folder