Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Desmond Dekker (1941-2006)

Play it: Desmond Dekker RIP (1941-2006)

While I was gone, it came out that the great Desmond Dekker died. The king of ska and rocksteady was preparing for a big European tour when he had a heart attack at his home in Surrey, England, May 25, 2006.

Before Bob Marley, the king of Jamaican music was Desmond Dekker. His work with producer Leslie Kong is the stuff of legend, and they had a hitmaking run from 1963 up until Kong's untimely death in 1971. In 1968, they released "Israelites" (PLAY IT) which became the first truly Jamaican song to top the UK charts and crossover into the US charts (top 10.) There's not one compilation that has all of Dekker's best, unfortunately (the best of the bunch, though, is Rockin' Steady: Best Of Desmond Dekker - not Rhapvailable.) Here's a playlist of of Dekker's more memorable cuts during his and Kong's hey-day (PLAY IT.)

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1 comment:

Shawn Anderson said...

Desmond Dekker (1941 - 2006)

* "Honour Your Mother And Father" - Desmond Dekker
* "King Of Ska" - Desmond Dekker
* "This Woman" - Desmond Dekker
* "007 (Shanty Town)" - Desmond Dekker
* "Keep A Cool Head" - Desmond Dekker
* "Unity" - Desmond Dekker
* "Wise Man" - Desmond Dekker
* "Israelites" - Desmond Dekker
* "It Is Not Easy" - Desmond Dekker
* "Young Generation" - Desmond Dekker
* "Intensified '68 (aka Music Like Dirt)" - Desmond Dekker & The Aces
* "It Mek" - Desmond Dekker
* "Rude Boy Train" - Desmond Dekker
* "Too Much Too Soon" - Desmond Dekker
* "Pickney Gal" - Desmond Dekker
* "You Can Get It If You Really Want It" - Desmond Dekker
* "Licking Stick" - Desmond Dekker