The Jamaican rhythm of ska had already generated hits in the United States, notably Millie Small's 1964 hit, "My Boy Lollipop." But that song was treated as a novelty. "The Israelites," with its biblical imagery of suffering and redemption, showed the world reggae's combination of danceable rhythm and serious, sometimes spiritual intentions.Yes, I remember loving that hit and experiencing it as a novelty song (though that doesn't mean that we American kids didn't pick up the spirit of suffering and redemption). Another seeming novelty song that we heard and loved that same summer was "In the Year 2525."
In the year 7510I remember listening to "The Israelites" and "In the Year 2525" -- both were played on the radio constantly -- and feeling really strange in that really strange year 1969. Two infectiously poppy songs with a painful, religious edge.
if God's a-comin' he ought to make it by then
maybe he'll look around himself and say
"guess it's time for the Judgement Day''
In the year 8510
God is gonna shake his mighty head
he'll either say "I'm pleased where man has been''
or tear it down and start again...
Did you know that Paul McCartney named his "Ob-Bla-Di, Ob-Bla-Da" character "Desmond" after Desmond Dekker?
Desmond has a barrow in the market place...
Molly is the singer in a band...
Desmond says to Molly "girl I like your face"
And Molly says this as she takes him by the hand...
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9 comments:
I loved "The Israelites," too. But not as a novelty song. To me, that song was chock full of authenticity. That's because I learned about it from The Clash.
didnt know that about mccartney....
i like the polka beat in that song.
Bissage, not a novelty for me, either, and probably it's a generational thing. It was on the jukebox of a bar I worked at (the Maple Leaf). I also love his work on the Harder They Come soundtrack, and I have a bunch of Dekker in my iTunes. He was a hardworking musician; that's a life to remember.
Sippican,
I had that radio, too. I'd listen to it under my pillow until the station signed off at midnight, just as a train would pass and blow its whistle. Those were good nights.
Jamaican teens could pick up New Orleans AM R&B stations, floating over that water. You can hear their sounds in our music here, and ours in theirs. Aretha picked it up and recorded Rock Steady.
This song sort of contradicts your post yesterday about rock music being conservative. All those preachers keep on haranguing about how the Lord is coming back soon. Every one I've heard (and I've been to some revivals in my time) has talked about it like it will happen in the next few years, and will even say they are certain that it will happen when most of us are still alive.
Which is what the preachers said in 1900, and what they said in 1800, and what they said in 1500, and what they said in 1000, and what they said in...
I believe that Christ will come. And he may come tomorrow. But it isn't out of the question that he may come in 8150, when today's world is as ancient to the people then living on earth, as the ziggurat of Ur is to us.
After hearing "The Israelites" in the film "Drugstore Cowboy", I had to buy a CD with his music.
Yeah, that's how I got hip to him too!
My fave is "Pickney Girl."
Rest in Peace.
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