Skinheads were responsible for making reggae popular. Crazy though this sounds, it’s actually true. Let’s take a peek into the past and see exactly how a genre of music originating from an island in the Carribean became a world phenomenon.
Sure, reggae was massive in Jamaica – no-one can deny that. Outside of its home, it was little more than a curio – so called “race” or “minority” music. You see, record labels were consciously marketing different genres to black audiences and white audiences. And “black” music didn’t get the promotion and airtime that “white” music got.
Boss Reggae Blogspot Videos Google Earth For Mac Os X 10.4 11 Download Syberia 3 Mac Uplink Developer Cd Zip Files Mac Os For Samsung Nc10 Minecraft 2017 Microsoft Office 2013 Download Free For Mac Indesign For Mac Free Download Bresser Usb Microscope Digital Drivers For Mac Panasonic Pv Dv102d Drivers For Mac. Moonwalk Treasure Isle Skinhead Reggae Anthems. Bluebirds Flying Over - The Silverstones. Moonlight Lover - Joya Landis. Moonlight Groover - Winston Wright. Hey Girl - The Melodians.
This all changed in 1969. As skinhead culture has spread to every corner of Great Britain, sales of reggae records sky-rocketed. Hundreds of thousands of copies were being sold to youths anxious to get a hold of the latests sounds -in spite of basically non-existent advertising. It was only a matter of time before reggae burst from its obscurity and into the charts. Finally, the first ever record to become a #1 hit outside of Jamaica topped the charts – Desmond Dekker’s “Israelites”.
Desmond Dekker – “Israelites” (Pyramid, 1969)
To be sure, this record’s themes of slavery and suffering prefigured the wave of Rastafarian roots reggae which was to become widely popular in the 1970s. In the meantime, groups of mostly-white short-haired youths were essentially the only reggae fans around. This song – a skinhead anthem to this day – is a testament to that.