Reggaebooks Rundown

If you're a serious music fan it's of course not enough to just listen to the music, you wanna know about the artists, put the music in it's social context and basically just know a lot about it. What better way could there be to obtain that knowledge other than reading books (and watch documentaries)? Here I'll give you the rundown on a few of the great books about reggae that's out there, it's far from final and complete though.....

Reggae Island - Brian Jahn and Toby & Tony Weber (Da Capo)
A lot of books about Reggae have a focus on the 70 ies, talking about and featuring all those amazing artists from the "golden age", not this one, it does not try to be no definite history of the genre but more contemporary. Well, it's a few years old so that translates into the artists that where around in the early 90ies. It's made by Brian Jahn (& Tony Webber) who's an photographer whit a long commitment to Jamaican music.


There's photos a plenty and a whole bunch of shorter interviews whit folks like Yellowman, Tony Rebel, Michael Rose, etc.... You will also find a number of interviews whit classic 70 ies artists dealing whit their transition to new times. If you're looking for that deep penetrating knowledge of Reggae this may not be the book to get it in (the interviews are kinda short) but it's nevertheless a nice addition to your skankin' library and should be pretty cheap ordering used from Amazon

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King Jammy's - Beth Lesser (ECW Press)
There has been no-one in the history of Dancehall Reggae that has been more important than producer extraordinaire, King Jammy, the man behind the insanely popular Sleng Teng Riddim. This is the book about him and the artists who was around him such as Half Pint, Junior Reid and many more. This book was originally published in 1989 by a small Finish company but the version you are likely to find is the expanded re-print (which also features articles from the authors now slumbering fanzine).


Some have criticized the design of this release which is by no means ugly but detract from the many amazing photos who came out better in the less fancy original. The author was there when everything happened so what we get is eyewitness accounts, interviews by artists in the middle of whatever is going on, not no "looking back at things" perspective as we get in many other books. My only complaint is that the format of this book is too small, what we get is sooo good that i wish there was more of the same stuff. Buy this whit the cd "King at the controls" (which includes an amazing dvd documentary) from VP and you get a good look at one of Reggae's most important.

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Reggae Explosion: The Story of Jamaican Music - Chris Salewicz & Adrian Boot (Harry N. Abrams)
When you want luxurious large format coffetable books whit plenty of stunning photos this is the way to go, it's laid out as a history of reggae from start to where it was at the time of publishing. The book covers all the big names in Reggae such as Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Luciano, Toots & The Maytals, Lee Perry, etc... Some has said that it's way to general and does not cover everything it should, something i find a bit unfair. Yes, it paints whit broad strokes and does not mention every obscure guy who has ever been in the business but id still say this is a great book whit amazing photos, good design and informative texts.

If you are a musicnerd in general without a specific genre of interest, who jumps from rock, to reggae to pop this is the only book on Reggae you will ever need, if you have just started getting interested in Reggae this is a good starting point as long as you're aware of that there is a lot more to explore. Either way,this is a good book and you have to like it for what it is other than to dislike it for what it's not.

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Reggae: The Story of Jamaican Music - Lloyd Bradley & Dennis Morris (BBC)
A companion piece to the excellent BBC 3 part tv-series by the same name, another history of reggae whit plenty of photos in both color & black and white. Some dislike when graphic designers are allowed going crazy over the photos and they will find it refreshing that the photos are represented without any design elements, just like they where taken, no borders, special-fx or anything else.



There is plenty of interviews whit old and new artists and well researched texts who covers a lot of ground while at the same time leaving a lot out. One could have wished for a thicker book whit longer chapters and more of everything but what we get is still very good. I really appreciate the section on British reggae & lovers rock, a subject often left out in other 100% Jamaicancentric books. As said, this accompanies a tv-series but still works very well on it's own, unf. the series is not out on DVD at the moment but do float around on the net as a "Torrent" or "Direct Connect" download.

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Reggae Bloodlines - Stephen Davis & Peter Simon (Double Day Anchor)
For all of you who prefers the Reggae of the 70 ies, the golden age of "roots" and "vocal trios", this is the top book, written at the times things went down and featuring artists like Max Romeo, Augustus Pablo, Mighty Diamonds, U-Roy and more this is a treasure chest of knowledge in the shape of a book. It comes in the mix of a music book and guide to Jamaica as a country. The authors obviously wanted to put the music in a social context and let us know how life is (or more correctly was) on the island.


Besides getting chapters dealing whit artists like Ras Michael, Fred Locks etc they also take time to explain Jamaican politics, Michael Manley, Gun Courts, Maroons and life on the countryside. Works just as well for folks interested in Jamaica as those interested in it's music life. Among all the books available this (the first book on Reggae) is my favourite and while it may cost a bit nowadays (as it's out of print) it's worth every penny you can pay, highly recommended.

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Solid Foundation: An oral history of Reggae - David Katz (Bloomsbury)
For sheer information this book is quite amazing, mr.Katz has done an amazing Job of finding "everyone and their Mamma" and sucked them dry of information. Lotsa obscure guys from the childhood of Jamaican music are in here, do y'all know about guys like Ken Khouri or Charlie Motta and what role they have played in Jamaican music history? Hmm, didn't think so. There's actually so much information here that you can only read a few pages a time or your system are bound to suffer from "information overload".


Those who demand a whole heap a photos, a flashy design and colors will be disappointed of this book, it's all about the text in "Solid Foundation". Sure, there's quite a few photos in here but they are small and not of any higher quality than you would find in a newspaper. As mentioned in the title this is a "oral history" and there is plenty of "X said this and this but on the other hand, Y claims it more like that and that". Sometimes there is conflicting statements and Mr.Katz mentions this and how he has tried his best to verify all information. But, sometimes it's just not possible, deal whit it or avoid this book.


If you're a 100% Reggae fanatic who want to know exactly everything there is to know about your genre and everyone in it id say this is your best choice, the information contained here is quite overwhelming in it's volume. However, this is not a book you glance thru for a few minutes, it demands your attention and a major interest in Jamaican music.

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Reggae & Caribbean Music - Dave Thompson (Third Ear)
Out of all the books on Reggae i own this is the one that has impressed me the least, it's some sorta encyclopedia on Reggae & Caribbean music dealing whit artists, releases and carnivals. It's a thick & fairly large book, 532 pages, whit mostly written material (and a few photos here and there). Thick or not, it bites more than it can chew and i would have preferred if it had only dealt whit reggae artists/producers. As it is right now, too many important names are left out and no matter how much the book contains it feels way too incomplete to be satisfying.

You can't take on such a wide subject as "Caribbean Music" in general and expect to do a good job, imagine someone doing a book on European music having to cover all the genres and artists that exists on that continent, IMPOSSIBLE! And why would anyone into reggae really care about who won carnivals on Trinidad? It's not a worthless book but still far from essential, if you find it cheap in some bargain bin, go ahead and buy it but never pay full price.

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That's it for now, as said this is not a complete list, there are still many books i am yet to read so expect me to be back whit another rundown of books, just dunno when.