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CLINTON LINDSAY » Entries tagged with "Laurel Aitken"

LOOKING BACK – HOW JAMAICA’S POPULAR MUSIC FLOODED THE OVERSEAS MARKET IN THE 1960’s!

 By Roy Black— Laurel Aitken— Laying the foundation for the dissemination of Jamaica’s popular music to the outside world is the focus of this retrospective. Last week, the Music Diaries paid tribute to Jimmy James, one of the entertainers who were central to that process. James, however, was by no means alone. In fact, his role of opening the floodgates for the arrival of a multitude of Jamaican stars in the United Kingdom may have been overshadowed by several others, with Laurel Aitken, Millie Small, Desmond Dekker, Wilfred ‘Jackie’ Edwards, Prince Buster, record producer Chris Blackwell and record label owner Emile Shalit, being the main contenders. It all happened between 1960 and 1967. Laurel Aitken was the first to make the move when he migrated to the United Kingdom (UK), in 1960, to capitalize on … Read entire article »

Filed under: BREAKING NEWS, GUEST RUNDOWNS

THE LEGENDARY LAUREL AITKEN WAS INDEED THE “GODFATHER OF SKA!”

THE LEGENDARY LAUREL AITKEN WAS INDEED THE “GODFATHER OF SKA!”

Laurel Aitken—- Laurel Aitken has the distinction of being the first Jamaican in popular music to expose the island’s music to the outside world. Aitken’s exploits in the United Kingdom (UK) forged a new wave of musical transformations that changed the lives of Britons and West Indian expatriates, domiciled in a land they call ‘greener pastures’. Like them, Aitken migrated to the UK in 1960 in search of a better way of life. He took with … Read entire article »

Filed under: BREAKING NEWS, GUEST RUNDOWNS

“BLUE BEAT” BROUGHT JAMAICAN MUSIC TO THE SHORES OF THE UNITED KINGDOM!

Prince Buster— To the highly incognisant music lover, the term ‘Blue Beat’ is limited to being just a synonym for ‘ska’ – a type of popular music that is fast, with a strong off-beat that entered Jamaican music around the time of Independence. It was much more than that: The term ‘Blue Beat’ became very popular, especially in the United Kingdom (UK), following a mass migration of Jamaican recording artists to those shores in the early 1960s, triggered by the prospects of greater financial rewards. It resulted in a massive proliferation of Jamaican music in the United Kingdom. Included in the first Jamaican musical brain drain of the 1960s, were Wilfred ‘Jackie’ Edwards, Laurel Aitken, Owen Gray, trombonist Rico Rodriguez, Kentrist Fagan (better known as Girl Satchmo), and the lollipop girl, Millie Small. EARLY PIONEERS The move was indeed the first … Read entire article »

Filed under: GUEST RUNDOWNS