The Ethiopians
The Ethiopians are one of the most influential Jamaican singing groups . They were not only pioneers in the transition from ska to rocksteady to reggae . The lyrics by lead singer and songwriter Leonard Dillon , strongly influenced by Rastafarianism , also paved the way for the socially critical roots reggae era in the 1970s. This band is not to be confused with the band The Abyssinians , although the band names are synonyms .
History of the band
Leonard Dillon, the band's founder, was born in Port Antonio , Jamaica in 1942 . Like many Jamaican musicians, he gained his first musical experience in the church choir. He moves to the capital Kingston , where he meets Peter Tosh . In 1965 he released two singles under the pseudonym "Jack Sparrow" and with the Wailers as a background choir : Ice Water and Suffering on the Land . The producer is Clement Dodd .
It was around this time that Dillon became acquainted with a vocal duo consisting of singer Stephen Taylor and singer / guitarist Aston Morris who made their living on the street. They decide to found a trio, the "Ethiopians". In 1966, in the late stages of ska, they recorded a number of singles at Studio One , then Morris, himself a songwriter, left the group. As a replacement for him comes Albert Griffiths, who was later to found the Gladiators . With the new line-up, they make the breakthrough with one of the most famous ska hits of all: Train To Skaville , a huge success in Jamaica, which also reached the top 40 in England. The Ethiopians should never see a lot of money from their success.
In 1967, the heyday of rock steady , the group worked with producer Sonia Pottinger and partly with Lee Perry . The Whip , a song that stands out due to the long brass intro and the percussion mixed in the foreground , is a great success . Another hit is Engine 54 .
In 1968, the Ethiopians join producer JJ Johnson , with whom they should perhaps have their most artistically productive phase. Melvin "Mellow" Reid joins the group for Albert Griffiths, but Dillon and Taylor have occasionally worked as a duo since then. Their first LP "Engine 54" appears. Her single Everything Crash becomes a great commercial success . The text deals with the economic and political instability that arose after Jamaica became independent from British colonization . The government had rationed drinking water . The telephone network was ailing. The police killed 31 people over the course of a year and then went on strike themselves . Riots arose among the workers. Leonard Dillon describes the situation and points out that many problems stem from the English colonial era:
- Look deh now - everything crash
- Look deh now - everything crash
- Firemen strike
- Watermen strike
- Telephone company too
- Down too the policeman do
- What damn bad a morning can't come good a evening, woy
- Every day yuh carrying bucket to the well - one day the bucket bottom mus' drop out
- Everything crash
But the Ethopians can also play softer tones, such as: B. Long Time Now , a wonderful love song.
In 1969 a new style of music replaced rock steady; the Ethiopians sing about it in reggae hit The Town . Their collaboration with Johnson results in two other great albums: "Reggae power" and "Woman Capture Man". The Ethiopians are starting to work with a number of other producers. Melvin Reid appears less on the records, and the Ethiopians work more and more as a duo. 1974 Reid leaves the group for good. Although they continue to make great music, commercial success has not been achieved and Dillon and Taylor have to take "normal" jobs. Taylor works at a gas station, where he was hit and killed by a passing truck in September 1975. After the tragic loss of his closest friend, Dillon moves to his hometown of Port Antonio. He only became active again in 1977 and released the album "Slave Call" together with the former Ethiopians member Aston Morris. The following year, Dillon's solo album "Everything Crash" appears under the name Ethiopians (although there is also an Ethiopians "Best Of" under the same name). He received the "Certificate for Appreciation for Pop Music Development" from the then Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga .
After a few solo activities, Dillon formed the Ethiopians with Harold Bishop and Neville Duncan (formerly with Burning Spear ) in the eighties and completed a number of tours with this line-up. Towards the end of the millennium, the Ethiopians lineup consists of Dillon and backing singers Jennifer Lara and Merlene Webber, who also played on the 1999 album "Tuffer Than Stone". Most recently the group went on a great tour with Max Romeo .
Discography
Singles / songs
- 1966: Dun Dead A 'Ready, For You, Free Man, I Am Free, I'm Gonna Take Over Now, Live Good, Owe Me No Pay Me, Why You Gonna Leave Me Now
- 1967: Cool It Amigo, Do It Sweet, Engine '54, I Need You, Stay Loose Mama, The Whip, The World Goes Ska, Train to Glory, Train To Skaville,
- 1968: Come On Now, Everything Crash, Fire A Mus Mus Tail, Give Me Your Love, Long Time Now, My Love, Reggae Hit the Town, Unchanged Love, Woman's World, You Got The Dough,
- 1969: Big Splish Splash, Buss Your Mouth, Clap Your Hands, Contention, Everyday Talking, Feel The Spirit, Gun Man, Hong Kong Flu, I'm Not A King, My Testimony, Not Me, One Heart, One Love, One , Well Red, What A Big Surprise, What A Fire, Woman Capture Man, You, Wreck It Up
- 1970: Condition A Bad A Yard, Don't Let It Go, Drop Him, Mek You Go On So, Mother's Tender Care, Good Ambition, Hang On, I'll Never Get Burnt, No Baptism, Praise Far I, (Things A Get) Bad To Worse, What A Pain, Your promise
- 1971: He's Not A Rebel, I Need Someone, Jennie, Lot Wife, Pirate, Promises, Sad News, Solid As A Rock, Sound Of Our Forefathers, Starvation, The Selah,
- 1972: Israel Want Be Free
- 1973: Hail Brother Rasta, Hail, The Ring, The Word Is Love
- 1974: (I Want To Be) A Better Man, Conquering Lion,
- 1975: Band Yu Belly, Knowledge Is Power
- 1976: Another Moses
- 1977: Culture, Ethiopian National Anthem, Guilty Conscience, Hurry On, I Love Jah, Let It Be, Nuh Follow Babylon, Obeah Book, Slave Call
- 1986: Pirate
Albums
- 1968: Engine 54
- 1969: Reggae Power
- Title: Woman A Capture Man, Everything Crash, What A Fire, Losing You, Robert F. Kennedy (Sir Jj All Stars), Free, Hong Kong Flu, Gun Man, One, Feel The Spirit, Dollar Of Soul (Sir Jj All Stars)
- 1970: Woman Capture Man
- 1977: slave call
- Titles: Ethiopian National Anthem, Slave Call, Guilty Conscience, Hurry On, Nuh Follow Babylon, Train To Skaville [remake], Culture, Obeah Book, Let It Be Me, I Love Jah
- 1978: "Everything Crash"
- 1994: Owner Fe De Yard
- 1999: Tuffer Than Stone
- Title: Long & Dusty Road, True Rastaman, Reggae Magic, We Can Fix It, Tuffer Than Stone, Rockaway, Ungrateful Johnny, Somewhere Out There, Mastic Man, Knowledge is Power, Misleader, Africa Is Our Home, I'm Not Loosing You, Play By The Rule, Tribute to the Hero