Reggae's Secret But Massive Influence On Rock

Reggae Appreciation Society

Reggae music has in it's six decades of existence exerted an incredible level of influence on Rock more than any other genre. This video traces the incredible impact and how it has caused it to evolve  #reggae #rock

Transcript

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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