Rockin' Steady:
The Best Of Desmond Dekker
Rhino R2 70271, March 1992
CD and Cassette
Billboard
June 10, 2006
'KING OF SKA' DIES AT 64
By WES ORSHOSKI
With the passing of Desmond Dekker, Jamaica lost its first international crossover star and one of its most beloved and influential voices.
Dekker died May 24 of a heart attack at his home in Surrey, England. He was 64. The acknowledged king of ska—the jumpy, horn-driven, mid-'60s precursor to reggae—Dekker introduced the world to the island's music and culture.
He is best-known for his single "Israelites," which in May 1969 reached No. 9 on Billboard's pop singles chart. It also was a top five smash in Britain.
Laced with biblical imagery and fading out at just 2:35, "Israelites" spoke of hunger and frustration in Dekker's economically depressed homeland. The song paved the way for the international successes of fellow Jamaicans Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley, while especially charming listeners in Europe, where Dekker would live and make the bulk of his earnings for the rest of his life. The song even caught the attention of Paul McCartney, who name-dropped Dekker in the Beatles' reggae moment, "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da."
Born Desmond Adolphus Dacres in the parish of St. Andrew's in 1941, Dekker moved to the capital city of Kingston as a young boy. Inspired by the likes of Jackie Wilson and Nat "King" Cole, Dekker dreamed of a singing career while working as a welder alongside the young Marley.
After being repeatedly brushed off, he demanded an audition with noted producer Leslie Kong, sparking a magical, eight-year run with the Beverly label. The hit-filled streak ended with Kong's death in 1971, but not before Dekker had become a superstar in Jamaica and an exotic hero for young people in western Europe.
"His voice was like that of a male, but also of a female," pioneering Jamaican singer/producer Lee "Scratch" Perry remembers. "It was different, a lovely vibration. He was a special star: He had a different story to tell, and his voice fit that story."
Dekker was one of the first Jamaicans to achieve success in patois, the country's native dialect, with songs like "007 (Shanty Town)."
"It endeared him to the local audience and made Jamaicans very proud," reggae historian Roger Steffens says. "He wasn't diluting their music for an international market. It was the real thing."
Dekker was a major influence on the British ska bands that emerged in the late '70s on the Two Tone label. He was rediscovered again in the '90s, with the third-wave ska scenes in New York and Southern California.
He never really left the road, where he was greeted by generation after generation, and where his vocals were sung word-for-word by audiences filled with teenagers and twentysomethings.
Reggae bassist/producer Robbie Shakespeare says, "He was a master singer, one of the golden voices of Jamaica."
Billboard
April 11, 1992
Vital Reissues
DESMOND DEKKER
Rockin' Steady: The Best Of Desmond Dekker
Compilation Producer: Harry Young
Rhino 70271
Dekker, a pioneering force in Jamaican ska, rock steady, and reggae during the '60s, is heard to superb advantage on this 20-track reissue of long-unavailable material. The Leslie Kong-produced numbers here show why Dekker became reggae's first international star; cuts here include his mammoth worldwide smash "Israelites," the classic "Harder They Come" soundtrack hit "007 (Shanty Town," its sequel "Rude Boy Train," and a sweet cover of Jimmy Cliff's "You Can Get It If You Really Want." Crucial listening for reggae fans.
Village Voice September 28, 1993
Robert Christgau
Consumer Guide
A Minus
Village Voice
Rock & Roll Quarterly
Fall 1993
Chicago Tribune March 27, 1992
Chicago Tribune
July 9, 1992
(3 1/2 Stars)
Those who only know this sweet-voiced singer from his 1969 hit "Israelites" or "007 (Shanty Town)," which appeared on the soundtrack to "The Harder They Come," are in for a surprise from this first major U.S. Dekker compilation. All 20 tracks (many of which appeared only as Jamaican singles or import LP tracks before) were produced by Jamaica's legendary Leslie Kong. All but one (an all-too-faithful cover of Cliff's "You Can Get It If You Really want") were written or co-written (with Kong) by Dekker. He was an important transitional figure in Jamaican music who bridged the ska to reggae eras and heralded the change to more socially conscious lyrics in Jamaican music with such ska homilies as "Honour Your Father And Mother" (his first single and the leadoff track here), "Keep A Cool Head" and "Unity." All this would just be fodder for the history books, though, if Dekker's music weren't so infectious. The rolling bass and haunting refrain of "Fu Manchu" and the bouncy riff in "Intensified Festival 68" are as insistent and catchy as that international multimillion seller, "Israelites" (which also appears here).
~ Chris Heim
CMJ New Music Report May 8, 1992
Twin Cities Reader March 25, 1992
CD Review September 1992 (4 Stars)
The Absolute Sound #80, June 1992
Record Collector #155, July 1992
The Beat Volume 11, #4, 1992
The Beat Volume 11, #6 1992 (Cover Story)
Reggae Report Volume 10, #7
Reflex #27
Details September 1992
Option May-June 1992
Spin July 1992
Request July 1992
Goldmine April 3, 1992
Goldmine September 18, 1992
Goldmine August 21, 1992 (Stiff)
Jazziz June-July 1992
Folk Roots January-February 1993
St Louis Post-Dispatch September 18, 1992
Entered CMJ New World Music Chart
May 1, 1992 @ #12
May 8, 1992 #6
May 15, 1992 #4
May 22, 1992 #5
May 29, 1992 #2 (Peak)
June 5, 1992 #15
June 12, 1992 #12
June 19, 1992 #11
June 26, 1992 #10
July 3, 1992 #8
July 10, 1992 ( - )
Desmond Dekker US Tour
July 16, 1969: Blue Village, Wesmont, IL
(-) Sports Arena, Northbrook, IL
July 25-26, 1969: The Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL
NME May 31 1969:
4 week US tour, Dekker to NY on June 30.
NME June 28, 1969:
Dekker has cancelled his tour of America in order to promote his new record "It Mek" in Britain. Dekker's 'Israelites' album is now scheduled for August 22 release on Pyramid. Dekker still plans to return to Jamaica between August 1-21 to take part in the country's Independence celebrations.
Reggae Routes; The Story Of Jamaican Music
by Kevin O'Brien Chang and Wayne Chen (1998):
pages 102 & 122
heavily "influenced" by
the 1992 liner notes for
Rockin' Steady: The Best Of Desmond Dekker
(CD shown on page 122 & liner notes cited on page 241).
Thanks (?) Mates
Other Desmond Dekker CDs:
ACTION REPLAY CDAR 1002 Best Of & Rest Of Desmond Dekker (UK)
CASTLE MACCD 233 The Best Of DD; The Israelites (20 Tracks) UK
CLASSIC REGGAE/CHARLY 1078 Israelites (20 Tracks) UK
DOJO CD 77 Black & Dekker/Compass Point (UK)
DRIVE ARCHIVE DE2-41016 Shanty Town Original (13 Tracks) US
EVERGREEN 2690552 Greatest Hits (10 Tracks)
FAT BOY FATCD 147 Israelites (20 Tracks)
FLASH/Pilz 8352-2 Israelites (14 Tracks)
GOLD 084 Desmond Dekker Gold (11 Tracks)
KWEST 5169 (Disky) DD: 14 Golden Reggae Hits (Holland)
LAGOON LG2-1105 DD & The Aces: Action! (16 Tracks) (France)
LASERLIGHT (Germany) 12 361 Desmond Dekker: Israelites (16 Tracks)
MANGO Scandal Ska (w/ DD: Honour Your Mother...) US
MUSIC CLUB MCCD 115 Best Of Desmond Dekker (UK)
OLD GOLD CD Single OG 6133 Israelites/You Can Get It/007 (UK)
REPERTOIRE RR-4223 Compass Point (Germany)
STARS/Pilz FM 8352-2 DD: Best Of (20 Tracks) (Same Cover as FLASH)
STIFF CD 07 Compass Point (UK)
STREETLIFE 2462515 DD: Israelites / 20 Greatest Hits
THAT'S SOUL TS 010 Israelites And More Reggae Hits (10 Tracks)
TRING/CLASSIC ARTISTS JHD 112 The Israelites (UK)
TROJAN CDTRL 324 King Of Kings
(DD & The Specials) UK
TROJAN CDTRL 301 DD & The Aces: Music Like Dirt
TROJAN CDTRL 292 DD: King Of Ska
TROJAN CDTRL 226 DD & The Aces: Original Reggae Hitsound
TROJAN CDTRD 404 DD Officially Live & Rare (2 CD Set)
SOUND SOL 2662512 Israelites (Canada)
P-Vine / Dekker CDs (Japan)
BMG Ariola 884051 Best Of Desmond Dekker (Germany)
Castle CMC-3031 D. Dekker/Castle Masters Collection (Germany)
IRS 994-115 Desmond Dekker & the Aces (Germany)
TIS 8122702712 Rockin Steady: The Best of DD (Germany) = US Rhino?
Rhino RNCD 70271 Rockin Steady: The Best of DD (France) = US Rhino?
OBJECT ENTERPRISES ORO 168
ARIS label CDs (Germany)
Media 7 KWest 5169 Fourteen Golden Reggae Hits (France)
MCI WM-212115 Crucial Cuts - The Best of Desmond Dekker (France)- same as UK Music Club?
THE PIONEERS
George Dekker (George Agard) b. Oct 17, 1946, Jamaica
Mother: Mary Agard; Father: R. Dacres
Sydney (Loddy) Crooks b. Feb 24, 1945, Westmoreland, Jamaica
Loren Jackie Robinson b. July 21, 1951, Kingston, Jamaica
Best of The Pioneers
Long Shot Kick De Bucket
CDTRL 34 © 1997
Rockin' Steady: Terry Stafford 'Suspicion' Home Page
The Best Of Desmond Dekker
Rhino R2 70271, March 1992
CD and Cassette