Reggae Mix Online

In 2008, the month of February was declared, officially, Reggae month in Jamaica, to be observed annually, with not only a series of parties and stage shows but, “…a month where we bring together our academic resources…” the Jamaican Prime Minister told a local paper.

In February, the city of New Orleans, Louisiana celebrates Mardi Gras: the culmination of a variety of festivities beginning in January.

In the spirit of this festive month, I am obliged to enlighten reggae enthusiasts of the little known relationship between the two cultures, formed out of the integration of the music of New Orleans with the early development of Reggae music.

In the late 1800’s, an early style of Jamaican folk music played by musicians fusing African and European musical traditions was called Mento.

During the 1950’s Mento surged in popularity largely due to the birth of Jamaica’s recording industry in 1954, which allowed musicians to record Mento songs of different varieties and styles and made them available on records.

Despite the popularity of Mento locally, it was considered “street music” by local radio station operators, in those days, and so the music was passed over for the more “palatable” American Pop and Jazz music.

American Rhythm ‘n’ Blues records, were heavily imported by “sound system” operators to provided an alternative to the Pop and Jazz tunes that were being played on local radio. These sound systems were mobile entertainment systems and the disc jockeys or “selectors” who played the records were the entertainers.

The popularity of American Rhythm ‘n’ Blues grew, with the availability of inexpensive transistor radios to the Jamaican population. Listeners who were less than happy about the American Pop and Jazz tunes, tuned in to super high-powered AM radio stations broadcasting from New Orleans and Miami, powerful enough to reach Jamaica.

Subsequently, a rhythmical shift in Mento music began and musicians began incorporating the American southern accented Rhythm ‘n’ Blues into Mento music. Bands that played a blend of New Orleans’ Blues and Caribbean music, called “Bluebeat” groups, became popular and, eventually, a new rhythmical up-tempo style of music emerged known as Ska.

Ska enjoyed a brief period of popularity in the later part of the 1950’s an early 60’s then eventually transformed into the next stage of the development of Reggae music called Rocksteady.

Here’s Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records, on the Connection between New Orleans Music and Reggae. This forum took place at Loyola University, New Orleans.