when did you first hear about reggae music?

[jomahu]

how, when and why did y'all first get into reggae music?

[Munjibunga]

Back in about '78, my first band, Axolotl, was playing a party and, during a break, the host put Bob Marley and the Wailers' Babylon By Bus album on the record player.

[skaliwag66]

My parents are Jamaican

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

Back in about '78, my first band, Axolotl, was playing a party and, during a break, the host put Bob Marley and the Wailers' Babylon By Bus album on the record player.

I'm not sure of the exact date - but I remember seeing Bob and the Wailers doing "Stir it Up", live on the BBC TV programme "Old Grey Whistle Test" - but it was early 70s - maybe '74.....?

Although earlier, I remember Ska-like records making the UK charts - which were like early Reggae ....?

"Double Barrel" by Dave & Ansell Collins reached Number 1 in the UK charts in 1971 and is often thought of as the first "International Reggae Hit" !!

It has Sly Dunbar on drums at age 14 !!

[Bruce Lindfield]

Ah - just found it on YouTube - 1973!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBP8iw9ooPU

That was how and when I first really got into Reggae!!

[Bassscholar]

I Loved how reggae bass grooved...It was the first style of music I learned and The Riddims have always stuck with me...Bob marley is great....

[Bruce Lindfield]

But the question is WHEN?

Anybody before 1971-3 ?

[FuturePrimitive]

When I was in high school I was into punk/hardcore and not much else (at least not that I would admit to) so my introduction to reggae was actually Bad Brains. Sometimes at the local "all ages" hardcore shows they would play Bob Marley between bands. Never understood why at the time but looking back it was a great contrast of styles and worked really well. I never really got into reggae though, I like it just fine but not well enough to really get into it.

Oh wait, when? Must have been about 1986 or 87 or so.

[Passinwind]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

But the question is WHEN?

Anybody before 1971-3 ?

Israelites came on the radio as a Top 10 hit in the US in '69. Most of us had no idea what the words were saying, or what style you might call it. But I thought it was kind of cool then, and I still do now.

Sadly, I think a lot of people in my circle first caught wind of reggae when Clapton covered I Shot The Sheriff. Even more sadly, I had a psycho girlfriend who pretty much permanently killed my desire to listen to much recorded classic reggae, or cover bands who concentrate on that. I'm quite content to mix or go see original reggae or ska bands though.

[Rick Brienzo]

Bad Brains got me hooked.

[tkozal]

73 or 74, they started playing Marley and the Wailers at Homer's records in Omaha..I remember walking in, thinking "What is that?"

[brianrost]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

Anybody before 1971-3 ?

First Jamaican music I recall hearing was Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop", a bluebeat tune from 1964.

Then in 1968 there was "Israelites" By Desmond Dekker. Not sure if you'd consider that ska rather than reggae.

First I heard of the term reggae would probably have been when Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" was on the charts in 1972.

I'm the USA by the way, I suppose you UK folks would have been aware of it much earlier.

[Musiclogic]

first time I heard Reggae was in 75. My grandparents took my mother, sister and myself on a cruise to Puerto Rico, jamaica, and the US Virgin Islands, really took a liking to all of the island styles I heard, including Reggae

[daofktr]

probably 1978...my piano teacher/friend turned me on to 'kaya'.
...the album, not the herb...not that there wasn't herb too....lol

[pbass2]

As a young player in the 80's, I always kinda dug the feel, and really loved the Police and The Clash doing their take on the genre(s). Then I took a touring gig as a hired gun in the late 80's with a Jamaican reggae artist, and it turned out the tracks I had to learn from his album had been played by Robbie Shakespeare! It was a trial by fire, and I learned A LOT, and very fast. We were on the road with Burning Spear. It was an education to say the least.
Since then I've gone on to play, produce, and remix a good bit of reggae and dub(including something by Mr. Marley). It is now a feel and vibe that is fully ingrained in my musical core--I am fully hooked.
I believe reggae and dub has influenced popular music more than many people ever realize, from hip hop to indie rock to pop to dance and beyond, from playing styles to production values, to sheer attitude.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by brianrost

First Jamaican music I recall hearing was Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop", a bluebeat tune from 1964.

Then in 1968 there was "Israelites" By Desmond Dekker. Not sure if you'd consider that ska rather than reggae..

Interesting points - so Millie is definitely Ska rather than Reggae - but while Israelites is slightly too fast and is not as "relaxed" as Reggae...I'm not sure it is Ska either?

[Baryonyx]

I'm not sure, but unfortunately I still have to suffer it to this day on occasion!

[sarcastro83]

When I was four or so, I remember asking what my black-sheep uncle who used to smoke dope was listening to at his house... he coughed and said "Bob".

[Phalex]

I just Googled it. Pretty sweet! Thanks for the tip.

[floopy]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

Interesting points - so Millie is definitely Ska rather than Reggae - but while Israelites is slightly too fast and is not as "relaxed" as Reggae...I'm not sure it is Ska either?

Israelites has more of a "Rock Steady" tempo - slower than Ska but faster than typical 70s reggae.

Liquidator (also a big UK chart hit from 1969) has a similar tempo. This is THE anthem for reggae fans of a particular age
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSMetyjJs-A

I'm pretty sure we were calling the music 'reggae' by 70-71, definitely by the time this came out (also a UK no 1 single):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUsrXQS6eiM