Reggae Golden Jubilee: Origins of Jamaican Music, 50th Anniversary features 100 of Jamaica’s most significant hit songs. The importance of this collection is not to sell units but to emblazon Jamaican music as a major brand of the nation. Released by VP Records, this compilation, which features greats such as Desmond Dekker, Bob Marley, and Yellowman, also marks the 50th anniversary of the island nation’s independence from the British Empire.
Handpicked by ex-Prime Minister, the Honourable Edward Seaga, each song on Jubilee is a musical roadmap of Jamaican music, from ska and rocksteady, to roots and dancehall. To Mr. Edward Seaga, the term “reggae” is as much a misnomer as it is a generalization. He personally played a key role in the development of the Jamaican music industry. Mr. Seaga selected the tracks, wrote the package liner notes, and added foot note annotations.
We were very humbled to have the former Jamaican Labour Party leader take a moment to chat amid preparations for Hurricane Sandy.
Tell me about your pre-political days, as a music producer, and the beginnings of popular reggae.
Well, after I graduated from Harvard, I went back to Jamaica to do an anthropological study of the folk culture on Jamaican society. It’s what the British call the Jewel society. I didn’t really know too much about the other. I decided I wanted to cross “the bridge” to the folk society to learn about it.
I learned about [Jamaican folk] music as well as all the aspects of their society. I published an album through Folk Police Records. It was a commercial effort. I went out to become a producer by setting up a plan. This happened at the same time Jamaican popular music was beginning to emerge in a sense that there were Jamaican composers and Jamaican singers.
How many records did you publish?
I published and produced two records at that time [circa mid to late 1950s]. One was an American song called “Dumplins,” which was influential, but that didn’t get me into the business. What got me into the business was my label West India Records Limited, which became popular in Jamaica among participants in talent shows. I used to hang out with all of the singers and the composers. It was “Manny Oh” that became part of a sequence of songs that were emerging at that time.
How did you help with promoting reggae beyond the islands?
I helped promote reggae from my Minister of Development and Welfare position by sending artists such as Peter Tosh and Byron Lee to the New York World’s Fair and doing a lot of other things behind the scenes.
So who are some of your favorite artists who were in this collection?
Well, I have to say in this collection, my favorite artist has to be Jimmy Cliff. To be quite honest with you, he’s one of my favorite artists in any collection.
Tell me about your involvement in producing vinyl records.
I was the first one to produce a vinyl record, which was indeed a Jamaican record. And that was “Manny Oh” [by Higgs and Wilson]. The records were produced on a sound system operator. I presume you know what a sound system is?
Probably not your version. Please tell me.
A disco. In short it’s a group of artists such as disc jockeys, engineers and artists that played ska and rocksteady music. They played makeshift audio systems often from the flat bed of a pickup truck.
Do you like the medium, yourself?
I have a lot of vinyl copies from my own collection. But I would prefer the disc because it’s more compact…
But there are a lot of sound system people who are true aficionados. They prefer vinyl like the preference of regular film over digital film. To them vinyl is cleaner in terms of sound.
With the worldwide popularity of reggae music, what’s your take on its message and the social or economic impact on Jamaica?
Well, it is the biggest brand in Jamaica’s 50-year history. It’s the brand that has made Jamaica an international name and internationally known. We have other things that have done so, but not to the same extent as the music. Tourism and athletes add to the brand. But it’s the music that’s most well-known.
Mr. Seaga is no longer involved in making music or mentoring musicians. The main reason he compiled Reggae Golden Jubilee was to introduce a new generation of Jamaican youth to the music that shaped the nation. The box set is only available on CD, but you can find many of these tracks on vinyl.
