THE WAILERS - The Wailing Wailers

Few record labels can claim to blend cultural significance, social commentary, and great songcraft in the manner of Jamaica's legendary Studio One label. Since being recently purchased by Yep Roc records, Studio One's catalogue is undergoing a huge reissue campaign. The first salvo of that is the debut from The Wailers, a bouncy, optimistic LP that gave birth to a wealth of reggae icons and reflected the vibe in the newly independent nation.

"In 1964 The Wailers consisted of a five piece harmony group comprising Neville 'Bunny Wailer' Livingston, Winston 'Peter Tosh' Mackintosh, Robert 'Bob' Marley, Junior Braithwaite and Beverley Kelso (who had replaced Cherry Green aka Ermine Bramwell). They were trained in voice control, harmonies and stagecraft in the "government yards in Trench Town" by successful singer and songwriter Joe Higgs, of Higgs & Wilson, before voicing their first records for the legendary producer Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd, who founded one of Jamaica’s most renowned recording studios and record labels in the late 1950s. The label helped to pioneer ska, rocksteady, dub and dancehall, and discovered and released music from The Skatalites, Delroy Wilson, Jackie Mittoo, The Maytals, Jackie Opel, The Gaylads, Alton Ellis and, of course, The Wailers.

The first song The Wailers did for Studio One under the tutorship of Joe Higgs was the exciting ska tune "Simmer Down", which became a number one hit in Jamaica in February 1964. That song, directed to the 'Rude Boys' of the ghettos of Jamaica at the time, sending them a message to cool down or "Simmer Down" with all the violence and crime going on in Kingston, rounded off their 1965 released debut album "The Wailing Wailers", which now - for the very first time - gets a CD reissue with the original track listing and artwork. During their collaboration with 'Coxsone' Dodd, the Wailers recorded every different kind of music the producer requested of them. So the Wailers recorded traditional mento and calypso, gospel, folk, doo wop harmony, soul and pop covers, Christmas songs as well as their own material. This is why interpretations of songs such as Tom Jones' "What's New Pussycat", William Bell's debut tune from 1961 "You Don't Miss Your Water (When The Well Runs Dry)" and The Moonglows' beautiful doo wop song "Ten Commandments Of Love" are included on "The Wailing Wailers"." - Reggae Vibes