00:00hello everybody you're welcome back again to the reggae appreciation society the popular saying
00:07goes that the pen is mightier than the sword an expression that highlights the superiority of
00:12culture over the force of arms in terms of actual power i've always said that the lovely little
00:18island of jamaica is one of the most powerful countries on the planet this island with just
00:24about 3 million people is a cultural juggernaut whose music style and even patois has taken root
00:29all over the world without using an army to enforce it call me biased but reggae is the greatest
00:36genre of music on jazz green earth it's among the youngest genres as it emerged at the end of the
00:411960s but its influence has been simply humongous it's no secret that hip-hop came out of reggae
00:48culture but what i feel is underreported is reggae spectacular influence on rock music at the time
00:54reggae was being born rock was the biggest sound on the globe and the soundtrack for the millions
00:59of rebellious youth around the world and a counter-culture movement but by the time reggae
01:04came into its own it not only established itself as the reigning counterculture sound but would
01:08literally capture the hearts and minds of the biggest rock musicians and indeed the soul of rock
01:14itself as the 1970s unfolded building a fusion that inspired some of the biggest hits of the 20th century
01:22and endures till this day as exemplified in the massive california phenomenon known as kali reggae
01:28let's take a look at how reggae captured rock now for a start the story begins with where reggae first
01:34took root outside jamaica and that was great britain reggae music came into the uk courtesy of the
01:40windrush generation attempt to describe the waves of caribbean immigrants that moved over to the uk
01:46after the second world war as these immigrant communities thrived so too did their culture music
01:52inclusive and by the 1960s reggae would over time become loved and accepted by the indigenous british
01:57people who lived in the same working-class neighborhoods and began to permeate into british
02:02culture the first true sign of what was to come was when the beatles then arguably the biggest rock
02:07band on the planet put out a ska reggae tune called Obladi Oblada in 1968. By then reggae was a
02:14phenomenon in the streets with both white and black people jamming that infectious sound in youth clubs and
02:20house parties everywhere but that was just the beginning as the 1970s unfolded biggest popularity
02:27would explode and reverberate around the world in a wave that was led by the genre's global ambassador
02:33bob marley its infectious and irresistible skanking rhythms had acquired fans among rock music's royalty
02:39including superstar guitarist and singer eric clapton clapton had experienced a slump in his personal life
02:46and career since its emergence in the 60s but was inspired to make his comeback with his cover of the
02:52whaler song i shot the sheriff which came out in 1974. clapton's version was a riveting rock reggae effort
02:58that was a smash hit that went to number one in several countries and was incidentally his only
03:03song to reach number one in the us and also around that same period the rolling stones also got in on the action
03:10so they moved to jamaica to record their album titled goat head soup and within later years cover eric
03:16donaldson's classic hits cherry old baby around that same time in the mid 1970s there was a revolution
03:22going on in the rock music space as punk rock began to rise in popularity punk rockers were a cultural
03:28reaction to what had become the corporate nature of mainstream rock like the skinheads before them the
03:34punk movement was an outlet for this affected youth in britain and their popularity would spread like
03:39wildfire the punk look and fashion was simply outrageous in those times they often wore colored
03:45or spiked hair with leather jackets or customized blazers that look really wild with chains spikes
03:51and so on and their looks and ways would alienate them from the rest of society very similar to how
03:57rastafarians were kept at arm's length thousands of miles away in jamaica the headquarters of the punk
04:03movement in london was a gritty underground nightclub called the roxy that took off in 1977
04:09eventual legendary rock bands like the clash the police and the sex pistols and would all cut their
04:14teeth performing there and it was also there that the marriage between punk rock and reggae music
04:20became formalized and this union was courtesy of a 21 year old young man of jamaican descent
04:26called don let's he was the dj at the roxy and would every night play punk records to the patrons
04:33but that was early in the punk era and they went to many records that passed the tests for the radical
04:38and aggressive listeners so to keep the crowd busy he would play dub reggae and to his relief the
04:43punks loved it to bits they identified with the bass lines the militant anti-establishment lyrics
04:49and not to mention the herb culture the impact of this was heavy on both the fans as well as the
04:55musicians and the first punk band to open their account with reggae sound was the clash who did the
05:00cover of junior mervyn's police and thieves in that same year and as this was all coming together none
05:05other than bob marley was on self-imposed exile in london after escaping the assassination attempt
05:11on his life the year before don let's became very friendly with bob and often ran errands for the top
05:17gong to buy idol food and most especially the finest herb in the city and don would eventually invite him
05:23and his crew to come over to the roxy to see how punk bands were channeling reggae in their music
05:29so bob and his crew paid a visit to the club and were amazed at the energy from his upcoming groups
05:34and the movement altogether and in honor of this bob would record the song punky reggae party also in
05:40that same year and the bands that started at the roxy would break into superstardom doing music that was
05:46in my opinion 70 percent reggae and 30 percent rock like the clash and the police the police in
05:52particular became superstars on the strength of heavily reggae fight songs like roxanne meanwhile
05:58thousands of miles away across the atlantic american rock bands like steely dan were already getting in
06:04on the action as exemplified in their 1976 hits haitian divorce not to mention the eagles whose reggae
06:11fire track hotel california became a monster hit that went to number one in the u.s billboard 100
06:17and top 10 in many countries by the middle of 1977. by then it was almost a given that the average
06:24rock band would have a reggae single or two on their album and one of my favorites from that period
06:29was dreadlock holiday by british band 10cc and by the 1980s the floodgates were well and truly open
06:36in fact 1980 would see american rock band blondie score their biggest hits with the cover of a song
06:42by john holt and the paragons in the tide is high the next year australian rock band men at work would
06:48also score their biggest hits with the incredible down under an absolute monster that went to number
06:53one in nine countries including the uk the us canada and australia even pop groups like culture club
07:01who will come into prominence doing lovers rock tracks like do you really want to hurt me but out of the
07:06countless reggae offerings from these rock bands i think my absolute favorite of all time is bank
07:11robber by the clash that was produced by mikey dread simply a masterpiece and i believe that best ever
07:18song and i've left a link to it in the description section below for your listening pleasure after
07:22watching this video okay but generally the most enduring example of reggae's influence on rock is what
07:28took place in america on the californian scene and where bands truly crystallize their own sound
07:32into a trademark fusion that since become known as kali reggae the pioneers of this movement was the
07:38band sublime that was formed in 1988. their influence would spawn a whole new generation and sets of
07:45similar groups with the most popular being the band slightly stupid today it's an incredibly powerful
07:51and popular scene with the likes of revolution aeration and the expendables doing amazing things with massive
07:58reggae rock festivals taking place every year it's truly awesome and amazing to behold the influence
08:04that reggae has had on the world music stage and its impact on the juggernaut of rock music is the
08:10ultimate example and evidence of jamaica's place as a global cultural superpower so there you have it
08:17thank you for watching the video today please leave a like subscribe and until next time jobless
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