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Article: MUSIC-JAMAICA: NUFF RESPECT TO THE SOUND SYSTEM MEN
- Article from:
- Inter Press Service English News Wire
- Article date:
- September 9, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightProvided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Howard Campbell
Inter Press Service English News Wire
09-09-1996
KINGSTON, Sep. 3 (IPS) -- The sound system men are the unsung,
largely unheralded, heroes of Jamaican music.
Long before ska, rocksteady, reggae, and the latest variation
of Jamaican music, dancehalls, became the vehicles used for
propelling Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh and Shabba Ranks
into the spotlight abroad. And these sound systems (mobile
discotheques), or dancehalls, showcased a rudimentary sound.
With an amplifier, speaker box, turntable and stack of records,
a group of pioneers took the American rhythm and blues (R&B) music
across the Caribbean island on the back of trucks. They began in
the 1940s, stringing ...