The Heartbeat of a People....

I've been completely obsessed with Reggae Music for years.

I first heard "Stir It Up" on a trip to Cayman in 1992.

Here's a clip of the Wailers playing it on the old BBC program "The Old Grey Whistle Test":




The beautiful simplicity and infectiously bouncing bass hypnotized me. Immediately upon our return to KC I bought Bob Marley and the Wailers' incredible "Babylon By Bus," which remains one of my very favorite albums to this day.


I followed that up with "Legend," "Catch a Fire," and several other Wailers recordings. I started buying albums by Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, who along with Marley founded the Wailers, and loved everything I heard.



I kept listening to Bob all through college (doesn't everyone?) Pretty much all of the Reggae that I heard was from the 70's, and it never occurred to me to check out new stuff.

I also got into collecting vinyl records in college, and read some articles about how all of the current Jamaican singles are (still to this day) pressed into 7" 45 rpm records and distributed for radio play. I thought it would be cool to try to find some when we were back in Cayman.

So, in 2002, we were down visiting for Thanksgiving, and I started looking for records.

I found a place called "Tha Flava," and its proprietor Chuck Taylor was very patient and helpful in educating me on all of the different styles and artists. I bought about 50 records on the first visit, and about 150 over the next two visits. Chuck would also email me mp3's of new artists to check out since Kansas City's reggae scene left a little to be desired.

A year later Hurricane Ivan flooded "Tha Flava" and prompted Chuck Taylor to move to New York City, and we've since lost contact with one another.

In my desperate search for new reggae records, I found an online store called "Ernie B's Reggae," (ebreggae.com). A very user-friendly menu and incredibly low prices made this my new favorite website, and I spent what now seems like way too much money there... However, they'd get the very latest stuff right form Jamaica, so I was hearing exactly what was burning up Jamaican Dancehalls. Best Buy's "World Music" section really couldn't compete, you know?

I can neither confirm nor deny Limewire's replacement of Ernie B's as my primary source of new Reggae music.... anyway....

I'll profile some of the different genres and styles of Reggae Music, along with supplemental information that will hopefully enhance understanding and enjoying the music I've come to love (and obsess, as you'll soon see) about.

Blessings....