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February 05, 2008
Oh we miss the Israelite!
Desmond Dekker thrilled the world with his ska-laced songs and without a doubt when he died on May 25, 2006 he left a rich legacy of songs that can never be forgotten.
Desmond was the first musician who carried the music from his home Jamaica to the rest of the world. He is considered one of the ancestors of ska. YardFlex take time out to salute the man who made his contribution to the genre.
Desmond Dacres was born in 1942 in Kingston, Jamaica. At the age of 19 he met the influential Leslie Kong and who would have supposed that by now a new legend was born? In 1963, the newly named Dekker released his first single, "Honor Your Father And Mother," which was also issued in the UK courtesy of Chris Blackwell's Island label. During the same period, Dekker teamed up with his backing group, the Aces. Together they enjoyed enormous success in Jamaica during the mid-late 60's with a formidable run of 20 number 1 hits to their credit.
The emergence of rocksready in the latter half of 1966 propelled his James Bond inspired "007 (Shanty Town)" into the UK charts the following year. Also the single presaged Dekker's emergence as an
internationally famous artist. 1969 proved the year of Dekker's greatest worldwide success. "Get up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir, so that every mouth can be fed", was a patois-sung opening line which entranced and confused pop listeners on both sides of the Atlantic. The intriguing "Israelites" was a club hit the previous year and by the spring of 1969 had become the first reggae song to top the UK charts ever!
After an astonishing Top10 hit in the USA Dekker went back to Britain where he settled down in 1969. During the same year he once again hit the UK Charts with "It Mek."
Through his success, buoyed by consistent touring, Dekker remained the most famous reggae artist in the international scene until the early 70's. So it probably doesn't surprise that the hits kept coming for Dekker - once again he topped the charts with the Jimmy Cliff song "You Can Get It If You Really Want." Since Leslie Kong died from a heart failure in 1971, Desmond Dekker decided to join the Cactus Label. "Sing A Little Song" plus the re-release of "Israelites" at the same time put Desmond back in the UK Top 10 in 1975.
The 80's were not a happy time for Desmond: in addition to some very heavily advertised financial problems, his managerial problems were coming to a head. But, however, Desmond kept doing what he knew best: singing.
During a 2-Tone revival in 1993, Desmond then recorded the album "King Of Kings" (Trojan Records) with four original members of the legendary Specials, which continued to sell well.
To sum it up, Desmond Dekker's unmistakable falsetto remains one of Reggae's most memorable and -although his songs got that popular by now that they're used for several TV spots - even the younger generation of the reggae fans appreciates the authentic sound of the artist which definitely belongs to the roots of this movement.