Original Dancehall Thursdays Live Performances: Johnny Clarke - Puddy Roots & More Jamaica 2024
Johnny Clarke
Born in Bull Bay, Jamaica in 1955, Clarke was a naturally gifted singer who started out in his late teens after winning a local talent contest. In 1972 he recorded his debut single, "God Made the Sea and Sun" for producer Clancy Eccles. The next year he recorded "Everyday Wondering" for Rupie Edwards. Unfortunately, Edwards didn't bother to put Clarke's name on the labels of the records that he pressed of the single. Despite that somewhat discouraging factor, the song was still a hit. Shortly afterwards, Clarke began working with producer Bunny Lee on what would become some of his most successful output. Between 1974 and 1976, Clarke and Lee created a series of powerful roots reggae albums with help from vaunted dub masters King Tubby and Prince Jammy and backing from Lee's group of session musicians the Aggrovators. The first of these, 1974's None Shall Escape, was an instant success in Jamaica, including the semi-titular hit "None Shall Escape the Judgement."
Other popular albums followed nearly non-stop, with multiple albums a year including highlights like 1975's I'm Gonna Put It On, 1976's No Woman No Cry, wherein Clarke had a huge hit with his cover of Bob Marley's tune of the same name, and 1976 roots reggae classic Rockers Time Now. Released on Virgin Records, Rockers Time Now epitomized Lee's "flying cymbals" production approach, and King Tubby mixed some of his best-loved dubs from the vocal versions presented on this album. A rift between Clarke and Lee in the late '70s led to Clarke leaving Lee to work with different producers, including Mad Professor in the early '80s. The duo produced 1983's Yard Style LP, a rootsy collection that spawned several hits including the eerie and apocalyptic "Nuclear Weapon." Clarke had been moving toward more of a dancehall style at this time, and subsequent work like 1988's Think About It and 1995's Rock with Me went deeper into digital dancehall rhythms and production. Clarke's music continued to reach new listeners as the years went on, and he continued recording and performing into his sixties.
Puddy Roots
A mythical figure with only one album released under his name, Bunny Lion was long thought to be Linval Thompson under an assumed name, but in the 2010s, it was revealed that the man was actually Killamanjaro Sound System vocalist Puddy Roots (aka Puddy Lion). Born in 1957, Puddy sang for Jamaican sound systems like Arrows and hung out regularly at the record shop Randy's, owned by future VP Records president Vincent "Randy" Chin. Puddy was singing in a DJ style, and under the name Puddy Lion, when singer/producer Thompson hired the DJ to sing over tracks from Linval's albums I Love Marijuana and Love Is the Question.
The results were the 1979 album Red, which was only released in the U.K. by the Starlight label. According to Thompson, the name Bunny Lion came from Starlight's possible misreading of the labels on the master tapes, but it mattered little, as Puddy had already moved away from the DJ style and was focused on traditional singing under the name Puddy Roots. Reggae fans often thought that Bunny Lion was actually Thompson singing in the DJ style, but when the rare album was reissued in 2014 by the Fantasy Memory label, interviews with both Linval and Puddy confirmed the mysterious singer's true identity.
❤️💛💚
Uk's Leading Broadcast Station for more Quality Vibes Subscribe to our KZread Channel.
#JohnnyClarke #DancehallReggae #PuddyRoots
Website: donsinclairreggaevibes.com/
Email: Donsinclairreggaevibes@gmail.com
Shop: teespring.com/en-GB/stores/do...
Twitter: DONSINCLAIR247?la...
Facebook: / donsinclairreggaevibes
Instagram: / donsinclairreggaevibes
Mixcloud: www.mixcloud.com/Donsinclair39/
█▬█ █ ▀█▀ Subscribe, █▬█ █ ▀█▀ Like & Comment