25-478: The Mighty Diamonds were a Jamaican harmony trio, recording roots reggae with a strong Rastafarian influence. The group was formed in 1969 and were best known for their 1976 debut album, Right Time , produced by Joseph Hoo Kim , and the 1979 release, Deeper Roots . On March 29, 2022, their lead singer, Donald "Tabby" Shaw, was shot dead in a drive-by shooting. On April 1, 2022, Fitzroy "Bunny" Simpson died. They disbanded shortly afterwards. Formed in 1969 in
50-568: A lot of black, white and mixed roots reggae bands were formed in Europe. Later on roots reggae made its way into the United States with the migration of Jamaicans to New York. This took place with the reforms made to American immigration laws in the early 1960s. Along with localised traditions and food, reggae music was inevitably brought as well, contributing to the New York City soundscape, such as
75-526: A result. Other modern roots artists and bands also emerged at this time, including Luciano , Junior Kelly , Morgan Heritage , Anthony B , and Sizzla . Similar to the oversimplification and limitations of the terminology middle passage , the roots reggae displays Africa as a mythical paradise that functions primarily as a motivating symbol, imagined origin, and semantic center. "More so even than earlier sounds, roots reggae always seemed to invite itself directly to Africa, brazenly insisting upon itself as
100-424: A subgenre that evolved from traditional reggae, while sharing a common Jamaican heritage, exhibit distinct characteristics that set them apart. Traditional reggae encompasses diverse themes, including love, everyday life, and dancehall culture, whereas roots reggae tends to focus its lyrics on social consciousness. Traditional reggae rhythms vary widely, featuring both upbeat and slower tunes. In contrast, roots reggae
125-515: Is a common theme in roots reggae. The increasing influence of the Rastafari movement after the visit of Haile Selassie to Jamaica in 1966 played a major part in the development of roots reggae, with spiritual themes becoming more common in reggae lyrics in the late 1960s. Important early roots reggae releases included Winston Holness 's "Blood & Fire" (1970) and Yabby You 's "Conquering Lion" (1972). Political unrest also played its part, with
150-636: Is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Africans and those in the African Diaspora , including the spiritual side of Rastafari , black liberation, revolution and the honouring of God , called Jah by Rastafarians. It is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer, and the rural poor. Lyrical themes include spirituality and religion, struggles by artists, poverty , black pride , social issues, resistance to fascism , capitalism , corrupt government and racial oppression . A spiritual repatriation to Africa
175-465: Is marked by a deliberate one-drop rhythm and a slower tempo. Rooted in a deep social and political consciousness, its lyrics often tackle issues of poverty, oppression, and spirituality, influenced by the Rastafarian movement. Musically, roots reggae maintains a specific sonic identity, characterised by deep basslines, skanking guitar patterns, and the inclusion of horns. While these distinctions exist,
200-481: Is seen by some music historians as one of the earliest (albeit analogue) contributions to modern dance music production techniques. Roots reggae became popular in Europe in the 1970s, especially among left-wing white youths in Western Europe . The Wailers ' popularity in Europe opened the door for other artists, and roots reggae artists became popular with punk rock fans. When Jamaicans turned to dancehall ,
225-495: The Order of Jamaica . A Member or Honorary Member may be promoted from the rank of Officer to that of Commander. Commanders of the Order of Distinction are entitled to use the post-nominal letters CD in the case of Members, or CD (Hon.) in the case of Honorary Members. Officers of the Order of Distinction are entitled to use the post-nominal letters OD in the case of Members, or OD (Hon.) in
250-497: The Trenchtown area of Kingston , the group comprised lead vocalist Donald "Tabby" Shaw, and harmony vocalists Fitzroy "Bunny" Simpson and Lloyd "Judge" Ferguson. They had become friends at school in the mid-1960s, and were originally called The Limelight, adopting 'Mighty Diamonds' after Shaw's mother started referring to them as "the diamonds". Their smooth harmonies and choreographed stage show were inspired by Motown vocal groups of
275-536: The 1960s, with Shaw listing The Temptations , The Stylistics , The Impressions , and The Delfonics as influences as well as Jamaican rocksteady artists such as John Holt and Ken Boothe . Their early recordings were produced by Pat Francis , Stranger Cole ("Girl You Are Too Young" (1970), "Oh No Baby"), Derrick Harriott ("Mash Up"), Bunny Lee ("Jah Jah Bless the Dreadlocks", "Carefree Girl"), Lee "Scratch" Perry ("Talk About It"), and Rupie Edwards , but it
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#1733086208752300-823: The 1972 election campaign of Michael Manley targeting the support of Jamaica's ghetto communities. Increasing violence associated with the opposing political parties was also a common lyrical theme, with tracks such as Junior Murvin 's "Police & Thieves" and Culture 's "Two Sevens Clash". The heyday of roots reggae is usually considered the latter half of the 1970s – with artists such as The Abyssinians , Johnny Clarke , Cornell Campbell , Bob Marley , Peter Tosh , Burning Spear , Dennis Brown , Max Romeo , Horace Andy , Hugh Mundell , and Lincoln Thompson , and groups like Black Uhuru , Steel Pulse , Israel Vibration , The Gladiators and Culture – teaming up with producers such as Lee 'Scratch' Perry , Bunny Lee , Joseph Hoo Kim and Coxsone Dodd . The Sound system (Jamaican)
325-545: The Kouchie", recorded on the "Full Up" riddim . Their work with Clarke produced the 1981 album Changes . " Pass the Kouchie ", written by Ferguson and Simpson, became an international hit twice, when first released (on their 1982 album Changes ) and again when it was covered by Musical Youth with altered lyric to remove the drug references, and released as " Pass the Dutchie " (1982). Their performance at Reggae Sunsplash in 1982
350-497: The Order is "Distinction Through Service". The Order of Distinction is conferred upon citizens of Jamaica who have rendered outstanding and important services to Jamaica, or to distinguished citizens of a country other than Jamaica. The former are made Members of the Order, and the latter are made Honorary Members. The Order has two ranks: the higher class of Commander, and the lower class of Officer. Commanders take place and precedence immediately after Members and Honorary Members of
375-485: The Rastafari movement and began incorporating roots themes into their music. Most notable among the new generation of "conscious" artists was Garnett Silk , whose positive spiritual message and consistent use of roots and rocksteady riddims gave him cross generational appeal with Caribbean audiences. While other notable dancehall stars like Capleton and Buju Banton became devout Rastas and changed their musical direction as
400-441: The continent's primary echo, if not recursive mirror". The mythical Africa articulated in roots reggae is shaped by desire, nostalgia and trauma under the pressure of local Caribbean politics. While an imagined Africa is used as an inspiration for resistance and revolution against "Babylon" (corrupted capitalist colonial culture), Africa's actual complexity and contradictions are not investigated. Traditional reggae and roots reggae,
425-497: The development of hip hop . While roots reggae was largely overtaken in popularity in Jamaica by dancehall, several artists from the original era, such as Culture, Burning Spear, and Israel Vibration continued to produce roots reggae, and artists like Beres Hammond and Freddie McGregor continued the use of roots reggae, as a musical style and thematically, through the 1980s. In the 1990s younger Jamaican artists became interested in
450-555: The lines between reggae and roots reggae can be flexible, and the two genres share a significant overlap within the broader reggae musical landscape. Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction ( OD ) is a national order in the Jamaican honours system . It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament ( The National Honours and Awards Act ) in 1968. The motto of
475-461: The occasion of Jamaica’s 59th Anniversary of Independence. On 29 March 2022, Donald “Tabby” Shaw was shot dead, along with one other person, on McKinley Crescent in St Andrew, Kingston, Jamaica. Three others were injured in the shooting. The following Friday, 1 April, co-singer with the group, Fitzroy "Bunny" Simpson died whilst in an undisclosed Kingston hospital. Roots reggae Roots reggae
500-462: The production not appealing to reggae fans, and the album later described as "an attempt by New Orleans soul musicians to play reggae". Back in Jamaica, they continued to record for Channel One, with the Stand Up to Your Judgment album released in 1978, and continued to produce a string of hit singles. They also released records on their own 'Bad Gong' label. The group's Deeper Roots , released in 1979,
525-502: The top Jamaican groups of the time. Virgin Records signed them and the group's début album, Right Time , was released in 1976, including most of their early Channel One hits. The album was an international success and for the follow-up, Virgin sent them to work with Allen Toussaint in New Orleans , with local musicians providing the backing. The resulting Ice on Fire album sold poorly,
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#1733086208752550-578: Was in 1973 that they had their first hit single with the Francis-produced "Shame and Pride", recorded at the Dynamic Sounds studio. It was their mid-1970s work with producer Joseph Hoo Kim that gave them their real breakthrough. "Country Living" and "Hey Girl" were recorded and released by the Channel One label. "Right Time" followed, on Hoo Kim's Well Charge label, and cemented their status as one of
575-594: Was of unequalled importance in spreading reggae and dub, with the diaspora represented by leading sound system operators such as Jah Shaka , who, in turn, went on to profoundly influence many in Britain and the world, influencing early punk rock musicians in London, as well as definitively shaping later bass dominated genres such as Jungle music and Drum and bass . The experimental pioneering of such producers within often-restricted technological parameters gave birth to dub , and
600-470: Was released on an album later that year, paired with the performance from Mutabaruka . The group continued to release albums regularly, adapting successfully to the prevailing digital rhythms of the 1980s and beyond. Tabby, Bunny and Judge issued over forty albums in their long career. In 2021, the group was honoured with the Order of Distinction (Officer Class) in the National Honours and Awards, on
625-447: Was their next big album success, again released by Virgin, on its Front Line label. In 1978, The Mighty Diamonds made a brief cameo in the film Rockers, directed by Ted Bafaloukos. In the early 1980s, they recorded with producer Gussie Clarke , largely using old Studio One tracks as the basis for their recordings, and dubplates of these sessions became popular on sound systems in Jamaica, New York, and London, particularly "Pass
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