Album Tracks:
01. Track One 02. Track Two 03. Track Three 04. Track Four 05. Track Five 06. Track Six 07. Track Seven 08. Track Eight 09. Track Nine 10. Track Ten 11. Track Eleven 12. Track Twelve 13. Track Thirteen 14. Track Fourteen
Biography:
More than a band, the Skatalites were and are an institution, an aggregation of top-notch musicians who didn`t merely define the sound of Jamaica, they were the sound of Jamaica across the `50s and `60s. Although the group existed in its original incarnation for less than 18 months, members brought their signature styles to hundreds upon hundreds of the island`s releases. The Skatalites officially lined up as guitarist Jerome "Jah Jerry" Hinds, bassist Lloyd Brevett, teenaged pianist Donat Roy "Jackie" Mittoo, drummer Lloyd Knibbs, trumpeter Johnnie "Dizzie" Moore, Cuban-born tenor saxophonist Tommy McCook, alto saxophonists Lester Sterling and Cuban born Roland Alphonso, and trombonist Don Drummond. Moore, McCook, Sterling, and Drummond were all alumni of the Alpha Cottage School for Boys, an educational institution for troubled and troublesome boys in Kingston, run by the Catholic diocese. Besides the regular lashings of studies, the school was renowned for its music program, and over the years turned hundreds of wayward boys into performers of note. All four ended up playing the hotel circuit, churning out R&B and jazz covers for the tourists.
Previous to the late `50s, this was Jamaica`s only real music industry outside the mento scene, and as there were no local record labels, resorts were the only way for musicians to seriou ...
