The Discography of Jamaican Music
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1. The systematic study and cataloguing of phonograph records. 2. A list of the recordings of a particular performer, composition, classification, etc.
JA45.com is a discography of Jamaican records. As such, it is informed and modeled along an approach utilized by musicologists before us who have documented American blues and jazz. In particular we acknowledge the work of Godrich & Dixon, Blues & Gospel Records, 1902 – 1942 (pre-war blues and gospel, 1969) and Leadbitter & Slavin, Blues Records, 1943 – 1966 (Post War Blues, 1968).
Jamaican records are different in many ways from American records. For a discography of Jamaican music to allow "systematic study," it must be more than just a list of titles. Without a way to organize and sort within generally accepted categories, any list of titles by itself is inadequate to meet the demands of serious research. In order to document the variations in artist credits, titles or labels found on Jamaican singles, it is essential to include the matrix number whenever possible (and the corresponding label number for foreign releases) to provide accurate documentation. The labels may lie, but matrix numbers rarely do and only the matrix or stamper number can confirm a record.
Why A Discography of Jamaican Records?
Historically, recording sessions in Jamaica studios were rarely documented beyond what we learn from the matrix numbers on singles and from titles or notes that appeared on LP. Jamaican music poses several challenges because alternate versions, re-cuts and remixes are common; the same titles may be recorded by different artists on different labels or for different producers, often in the same year. Adding to this complexity, many records are found only on blank or "pre-release" labels making the real artist and title credits a source of speculation and frustration for the collector. To say that such a reference tool has been the dream of Jamaican record collectors for many years is no understatement.
Perhaps more than any other musical genre, reliable, authoritative documentation has always been difficult to come by for reggae and earlier styles of Jamaican music on record. That is not meant as a criticism because there are many fine text histories written and published about Jamaican music and new ones continue to appear on bookstore shelves. Several of those authors have contributed to this project either directly or indirectly but as a discography, JA45.com complements the published text histories and serves as the ideal reference companion to their work. We like to think that this is the "real" history of Jamaican music – as told by the records themselves.
Why the title, "JA45.com"?
The title we chose to use for the discography project represents our own little play on words borrowed from the lyrics of the popular song of the same name. For us, it is an appropriate phrase descriptive of the deeply intertwined nature of the music. For us, the name characterizes the experience of two non-Jamaicans who have collectively spent decades enjoying many of the pleasures Jamaica offers visitors who love the music. We envision one of Jamaica’s huge, majestic cottonwood trees with roots that just seem to go on forever – perhaps to the very center of the earth itself – as a metaphor for the depth of Jamaican music.
Our own lives have been deeply shaped and influenced by the personal experience of Jamaica. Not just the music and the records, but equally by the people and the land. Geography was kind enough to make the experience affordable on even a young man's modest budget and thirty years later the awe and reverence that we share for what that experience has meant to us on a personal level is hard to put into words. There are not many things that we can give back to Jamaica more important than the respect due.
I only buy CD’s; would I use a singles discography?
Many vintage titles are most readily found today on reissue CDs and this is the way that many if not most collectors will encounter or access these titles. That does not diminish the value or the utility for the serious researcher who needs or wants to know where any particular title fits into the big picture and what else was taking place at that time. JA45.com is useful in tracking specific titles, regardless of the source, and often fills in key details not found in the CD annotation. By placing the titles into their proper context, we get a more accurate picture of the real history of any specific title or group of titles.
Is JA45.com the first Reggae Discography?
The distinction for the first published reggae discography really belongs to Roger Dalke in England, who began documenting UK labels in a series of booklets starting in 1978 – years before most collectors could really appreciate the value of such work. Roger’s pioneering efforts to index UK releases was one of the first models for discographers to follow.
Discographic detail for the UK labels was valuable to early collectors but for those with Jamaican pressings much more was needed. In 1997, Charley Morgan first published "Coxson’s Music, A Discography" – the first serious discography of Jamaica’s most prolific producer, Clement S. Dodd’s Studio One group of labels. Over two editions and working with a modest list of contributors, that book documented Jamaica’s largest label with an intelligent, logical approach that provided real utility to collectors of Jamaican records. JA45.com picks up the task from there and builds on that foundation.
How Is JA45.com different from other similar works?
JA45.com has benefited enormously from help by expert sources all over the world who contributed data that we continue to edit and compile for publication. As editors, we handle the important task of sorting out and deciding how disparate and sometimes even conflicting data is best presented with accuracy and with coherency. Our efforts focus on confirming the data received, matching Jamaican releases with their UK or US counterpart and trying to resolve many open questions that remain. One goal is to unmask artist credits and bring clarity to altered title credits that distinguish one release of a tune from alternate pressings of the same title released elsewhere. JA45.com uses a PC spreadsheet display format that allows for side-by-side views, alternate sort options and perspectives that give users a level of utility, convenience and accuracy not possible in a text format.
Who are these so-called "experts," anyway?
Version 1: David Ostrowe, Keith Scott, Matt Dinsmore, Rob Chapman, Martin Engel, Pete Fontana, Marc Griffiths, Allen Kaatz, Marcus Vogel, Roger Dalke, Peter Dalton, Greg Lawson, Charley Morgan, Richard Noblett, David Katz, Arnaud Tarabout, John Knott, André Van Desande.
Version 2: Steve Lindley, Gary Colyer, Mike Murphy, Fred Jakobin, Dan
Neeley, Nicolas Potier, Olivier Albot, Ken Bilby, Ted Singer, Henrik Andersen,
Michael De Koningh, Brad Klein, Paul Coote, Hans Geboers, Steven Termeer,
Jeremy Collingwood, Phil Etgart, Mike Murphy, Kaz, Robert Nelson, Larry
Hacken, Marc Grobman, John Knott, Philippe Collet, Russ D, Danroy Wilson,
Mark Gorney, Jr., Clive Chin, Laurent Pfeiffer.
Who are the editors?
Michael Turner has been writing about Jamaican music in The Beat magazine for over a decade; in recent years he authored the "Reggae Obsession" column in that publication where he explores little known and untold stories from Jamaican music history. While living in Louisiana, Michael hosted the program "Jump Jamaica Way," at WWOZ-FM – the New Orleans's Jazz & Heritage radio station. About ten years ago, Mike began to compile a database of Jamaican singles. He estimates conservatively that well over two thousand hours were logged just compiling and cross-referencing the original database that evolved later into JA45.com. At some stage in the process he realized that the database reveals the real story of Jamaica’s musical history better than any prose. When not obsessing about music, Mike is an emergency room physician.
Robert Schoenfeld is a cofounder and managing director of Nighthawk Records, one of the first US based indie labels to make a serious commitment to reggae. Robert made his first visit to Jamaica in 1974 and immediately began scouring record shops in Montego Bay. By 1979, he felt comfortable enough with the culture and patois to begin a professional relationship with several important Jamaican artists who later formed the basis of the Nighthawk Records reggae catalog. In 1981, the label began a series of recording sessions in Kingston working closely with Sylvan Morris and the Roots Radics at the Harry J Studio, and with Mervin Williams at Aquaruius Studio. That work resulted in a series of critically acclaimed albums produced for the Itals, the Gladiators, Culture, Justin Hinds, Winston Jarrett and other artists. Robert and the Nighthawk label continue to work with many of those same artists to the present day, sustaining the label’s commitment to the roots of traditional Jamaican music.