If one is to go by the popular notions, "reggae" is a traditional Jamaican music but the fact is that it traces its roots to the USA and Africa . The word “reggae” was coined in 1960 essentially to refer to a frayed style of dance and music, which is somehow typical of the Jamaican music. Unlike rock, here the beats come at intervals and are rather scattered. Reggae also struck a chord with the African style of drumming, where every two beats come with a pause; post a definite interval. It basically reversed the role of guitar and music in beats. While beats play the lead in rock, followed by guitar, in case of Reggae music, Guitar leads and the drums follow in a broken fashion.
Reggae as we understand today is basically an expression of varied emotions including love, hatred, loss, pain, happiness, celebration and is even didactic at times. At the time of its very inception, it mainly related to a rustic phenomenon associated with violence as it existed amidst gangs. However, newer compositions gave it a fresh approach and took the style beyond the stereotypes. Within a decade of its existence reggae became synonymous with peace and love. A new meaning lent by the likes of Jimmy Cliff, who made use of these unusual Jamaican beats to express love and pain in his composition: Wonderful World Beautiful People . This gave the genre a new high and added to its popularity. Reggae was then seen as a strong expression and grew way beyond the monotony of its beats.
Reggae was now in for all sorts of experimentations and grew beyond its roots. It now started spreading its roots to the USA and the UK . While Prince Buster's Al Capone, carved a niche for the genre in 1967, Neil Diamond's Red Red Wine made a pop hit in the USA . Post 1967, reggae attained an all time high. Apart from clubbing its varied forms, music enthusiasts even started fiddling with its basic course. Jamaican disc-jockey Rudolph "Ruddy" Redwood, for instance, started experimenting with the chords and the beats of reggae and the instrumental music alone marked the success of his bar. The idea of using the reggae instrumental kicked off a new style altogether, wherein musicians started recording both lyrical and instrumental versions and clubbed it in the same album. The trend got picked up and was imitated for other styles of music as well.
While many people did their own jigs with the traditional Jamaican music for years, veterans like Bob Marley , Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff and Marcia Griffiths, gave the form its due credit. It became a chartbuster on the American airwaves and ruled the roost. By 1972, reggae became one of the most intrinsic parts of the Western Radio Stations and emerged as the most sought after genre. What made reggae a rage was its simplicity and originality. While many traditional forms succumbed to commercial viability, reggae managed to retain its passion and authenticity. |
