Follow on TwitterLISTEN: Reggae Great Delroy Wilson Sings ‘This Life Makes Me Wonder’
In 1961, a thirteen year old Delroy Wilson began his music career in Kingston, Jamaica, recording ska hits penned by Lee “scratch” Perry, Coxsone Dodd, amongst others. His music evolved with the sounds of 60′s Jamaica from ska to rocksteady and eventually to reggae. By the late-60s/early-70s he was one of the most influential reggae recording stars on the island.
He first toured the U.K. in 1970, where British reggae label Trojan Records had him record a number of songs — a move that would help him to expand his European footprint.
By the mid-70s many British punks, including The Clash’s Joe Strummer, counted themselves as Delroy Wilson fans. Strummer, at the time, attended a reggae concert at the Hammersmith Palais to see Wilson and fellow Kingston musicians Dillinger and Leroy Smart perform. Expecting a rebellious ‘roots reggae’ performance, Strummer felt disappointed by their sets, claiming them to be “all very Vegas.”
British film director and musician Don Letts, who attended the show with Strummer, reflected on the evening: “I think that show was an eye opener for [Strummer], realizing that all these people were trying to get out of the ghetto roots life.”
The event inspired Strummer to pen the lyrics for one of The Clash’s biggest hits: “White Man In Hammersmith Palais.” In it you can hear Strummer shout out “Delroy Wilson, your cool operator.”
Wilson died at the age of 46 on March 6, 1995 of cirrhosis of the liver. He is often noted for his soulful vocals and melancholy lyrics. Of his many great songs, one of my personal favorites is his 1968 recording, “This Life Makes Me Wonder.” The lyrics are simple, yet strangely haunting, and the music is just so damned melodic:
This life makes me wonder
how to live another day to come
This life makes me wonder
how to live another day to comeI feel the strong of the hand of one that I was depending on
It takes a friend… to be a friend
It takes a friend… to stop a friend
ENJOY:
Delroy Wilson’s greatest hits album, Once Upon A Time, which features this song, can be downloaded here:
R.I.P. Mick Karn – Bass Player of Japan (July 24, 1958 – Jan. 4, 2011)
I was sad to hear that Mick Karn, artist and bass player of the band, Japan, lost his battle with cancer yesterday.
Fronted by lead singer David Sylvian, Japan formed in 1974 in South London, and had a distinctive sound vaguely reminiscent of Bowie or Roxy Music. Karn played a fretless bass guitar, and his unique style of playing helped to define Japan’s sound.
They were a major influence on many of the new-wave Romantic bands that would sprout up in the early 80s. Yesterday, Duran Duran’s bass player John Taylor blogged about the first time he and Nick Rhodes saw Japan perform live and the impact Karn’s work and style had on him. Taylor said of Karn: “[he is] one of the great visual and sound stylists of the late-70s/early-80s.” Japan has long been noted as one of Duran Duran’s major influences.
After Japan’s demise in 1982, Karn and Bauhaus singer Peter Murphy formed Dali’s Car, producing just one album together, The Waking Hour.
In 1991, Japan reconvened with all four original members (Sylvian, Karn, Steve Jansen, & Richard Barbieri) but under a different moniker, Rain Tree Crow. What resulted was something of an experimental, improvisational album, more in keeping with David Sylvian’s solo projects than anything Japan had previously created together.
Never having made a huge splash on this side of the Atlantic, many Americans are unfamiliar with Japan’s amazing song catalog, including the tracks: Methods of Dance, Still Life in Mobile Homes, Quiet Life, Visions of China, Ghosts, Nightporter, Life in Tokyo, etc.
Here’s Japan in 1979 performing ‘Quiet Life’:
Mick Karn is survived by his wife Kyoko, and his son Metis. You can post your condolences and tributes to his facebook page.
An Emotional Paul McCartney Plays ‘My Love’ For Linda On Anniversary Of Her Passing
Here’s a touching video of Paul performing the love song he wrote for Linda, ‘My Love,’ at the Coachella Music Festival on April 17, 2009, the anniversary of her passing. What an amazing song, and such an emotional heartfelt moment for someone to have caught on video.
Watch:
The single “My Love” by Paul McCartney & Wings, or the full length greatest hits album, Wingspan, can be downloaded here: 
Watch: Roxy Music “Same Old Scene”
Here’s one of my all-time favorites. Each time I hear that intro, it’s like an instant flashback into a different world — namely, my youth. I was fortunate enough to have seen Bryan Ferry play live around 1989-1990 with my brother — a show I’ll never forget. Fantastic! From the album Flesh and Blood, here’s [...]
FREE 12-Song Download: Carbon/Silicon (Ex-Clash Mick Jones) New LP, ‘Carbon Bubble’
Great news for all impoverished music lovers out there! Carbon/Silicon, featuring — one of my all-time favorite songwriters — Mick Jones (formerly of The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite) and Tony James (formerly of Generation X), have just released their new 12-Song LP entitled The Carbon Bubble. It is available at the Carbon/Silicon site as [...]
Watch: Curtis Mayfield Performs ‘Move On Up’ Live @ The Hague, 1987
‘Move On Up’ is one of the best songs ever written. Curtis Mayfield was the master of socially-aware, inspirational music, and his live performances were as tight and emotional as his studio recordings. His music was and still is loved and covered by artists from all over the world. Here he was in 1987 playing [...]
Watch: Iggy Pop Does “The Passenger” Live in 1977
Iggy Pop’s contribution to punk is sometimes discounted in the annals of music history, but just for the record: Iggy Pop was MOST DEFINITELY the first punk, at least in the way the music and style of the genre was defined in the 1970s. Generally, that honor gets bestowed upon bands like The Ramones, The [...]
Watch: From 1980 — Boomtown Rats Perform Hit ‘Banana Republic’
Here’s a fabulous song by Bob Geldof’s old band — from Dublin, Ireland — The Boomtown Rats. For those unfamiliar with this track, it’s got a great reggae-infused melody that will leave you humming it over and over again, all day and night. Songs like these make me miss the 80s something terrible: Enjoy!: The [...]
People Who Died: Jim Carroll (August 1, 1949 – September 11, 2009)
Alex Williams of the New York Times did a nice writeup on the life and final years of the great downtown writer, poet, and musician, Jim Carroll: He (Carroll) was trying to finish his first novel, tentatively titled “The Petting Zoo,” an ambitious book about an art-world prodigy of the 1980s, Billy Wolfram, who is [...]
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