Author Archives: Collectors Korner Now

VRCA

Your Donation to the VRCA Memorial Weekend is Appreciated! Your donation will benefit various VRCA charities and scholarships. A minimum donation of $30 entitles you to receive the Souvenir Book (Special Limited Edition).  Please provide your address for mailing in the notes section of your payment donation type, or send information via email to VinylRCA@gmail.com. Various ways to Donate to VRCA:    PayPal.  PayPal account not needed.  Click on PayPal logo or use QR Code graphic to donate. Zelle.  Payment to: VinylRCA@gmail.com Cash App.  Payment to: Continue reading →

Merritone At 70: ‘Things Of Quality Have No Fear Of Time’

Merritone Disco is in celebration mode, having reached the biblical milestone of three score and ten, and for them, their mantra accurately sums up their modus operandi: ‘Things of quality have no fear of time.’ Or, as owner Monte Blake puts it, while exhibiting the cheekiness and bravado that is essential to any soundman worth his salt, “Great sound systems come, and great sound systems go. They are now resting in silence, and Merritone is still here.” Notably, the 70-year-old Merritone has the distinction of being Continue reading →

Wynton Marsalis Facebook post on his father’s (Ellis Marsalis) passing

Facebook Post by Wynton Marsalis on the death of his father Ellis Marsalis My daddy passed away last night. We now join the worldwide family who are mourning grandfathers and grandmothers, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers— kinfolk, friends, neighbors, colleagues, acquaintances and others. What can one possibly say about loss in a time when there are many people losing folks that mean so much to them? One of my friends lost both her mother AND father just last week. We all grieve and experience Continue reading →

Bill Withers, Hall of Fame Soul Singer dead at 81

Grammy-winning mellifluous vocalist behind “Lean on Me,” “Lovely Day,” and “Ain’t No Sunshine” succumbs to heart complications By ANDY GREENE Bill Withers, the soul legend who penned timeless songs like “Lean on Me,” “Lovely Day,” and “Ain’t No Sunshine,” died Monday from heart complications in Los Angeles. He was 81. “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved, devoted husband and father,” his family said in a statement. “A solitary man with a heart driven to connect to the world at large, with his poetry Continue reading →

Reggae Singer and Song Writer Bob Andy Dies at 75

Bob Andy, the reggae vocalist who performed a hit version of Young, Gifted and Black as part of the duo Bob and Marcia, has died aged 75 after a short illness. His death was confirmed by his collaborator on that song, Marcia Griffiths, who told the Jamaica Observer he died at 8am on Friday 27 March. Bob & Marcia reached No 5 in the UK in 1970 with Young, Gifted and Black, an uptempo recording of the Nina Simone original. They also reached No 11 Continue reading →

9/22/2019 Junior and Georgie

ARTISTS TITLES   COMMENTS   JUNIOR   DEAN FRAZIER IN MY TIME   JOHNNY TAYLOR PLAY SOMETHIN’ PRETTY   LOU RAWLS I GO CRAZY   LAKESIDE IF I DID’NT HAVE YOU   WATERS I JUST WANT TO BE THE ONE IN YOUR LIFE BREAK DEBBIE GORDON I’M STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU * LEGEND RAINY NIGHT IN GEORGIA   GRADY TATE FREEDOM FOR THE STALLION   GERALD ALSTON SEND FOR ME * CISSY HOUSTON BE MY BABY   KATIE WEBSTER NEVER LET ME GO     Continue reading →

9/15/2019 Clayton and Greg

ARTISTS TITLES   COMMENTS   CLAYTON   BERT KEYES PEACE OF MIND   CHARLIE MCKOY COLD COLD WORLD   FREDDY ANISFIELD PRINCESS OF THE PALACE OF ICE   THE DELLS DOES ANYBODY KNOW I’M HERE   IVA ZANNICHI SENZA CATENE (UNCHAINED MELODY)   THE CONCEPTS BLUE SEAS   STEVE ROSSI MR JONES I LOVE YOUR DAUGHTER   BOB CONRAD LOVE YOU   JOHNNY NASH OL MAN RIVER   JOHNNY NASH KISSES   SARAH VAUGHAN THE ENCHANTED WALL * RANDY LEE YOUNG DAYS   AL MACARTHUR HIS Continue reading →

Prince Buster Obituary

It was boxing ability as much as musical talent that helped Prince Buster become a key figure in the birth of Jamaican ska music. During the mid-1950s Buster, who has died aged 78, sang in a number of small-time bands in the island’s capital, Kingston. But he also had a promising career as a street fighting boxer, and it was his reputation as a quick-witted and assertive gang leader that brought him to the attention of the legendary Clement “Coxsone” Dodd, operator of the famous Continue reading →

Felix Bennett Has Passed Away

Felix “Deadly Headley” Bennett, a prolific saxophonist who played on Bob Marley’s first song, died on Sunday at age 85. His daughter, Carol Bennett, said he passed away at home in Rollington Town, East Kingston. He had suffered from hypertension for years and was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Born in Central Kingston, Bennett learned music at the Alpha Boys School. Leaving after 12 years at age 16, he played in several bands and was an established session musician by the early 1960s. He was Continue reading →

The Music Diaries: Early Jamaican Record Producers Played Vital Role

Whenever the title ‘Record Producer’ is mentioned in early Jamaican music, the names that comes most readily to mind are Clement Dodd of Studio 1, Duke Reid of Treasure Isle Studios, Leslie Kong and his Beverley’s records label, Prince Buster and his ‘Voice of the people’ label, Bunny Lee who distributed his productions on ‘Striker’ and other labels, and Sonia Pottinger, the only female in that business at the time. She distributed her productions mainly under the ‘Gay Feet’, ‘Hi-Note’, ‘Tip Top’ and ‘Glory’ labels. Continue reading →