During the Mid 70’s, in downtown Kingston, Jamaica it was a heavy time both
musically and politically speaking. The climate was defining the music and everything
was Dread. The youth were growing their locks and the musical lyrics spoke of what
was happening to the people and the hardships that they had to struggle with on a
day to day basis. Living in the middle of this storm and understanding the problems
that lay ahead was Mr Tapper Zukie. He was one of the voices that was getting heard
outside the ghetto and fast becoming a conduit to the up and coming singers also
struggling to be discovered.
Tapper Zukie (born David Sinclair, Kingston, Jamaica) was establishing himself as
a named star on the DJ Roots circuit by the mid 1970’s and would become a favourite
with the UK punk scene. Another musical genre finding a lot of similarities with their
own struggles and oppressions. But back home in Jamaica, Tapper was also getting
a name for his production talents. A talent that came with a heavy Dread sound to
match it’s Heavy Dread message. Being based in and around the Trench town /
Greenwich Farm district in the heart of downtown Kingston,Tapper’s idea was always
to give something back to the community that raised him. This came twofold, firstly to
build a youth community centre in this area and secondly through his ‘Stars’ record
imprint, to nurture some of Jamaica’s talent and get that music heard on a bigger
worldwide stage. The Stars label would also be an outlet for his own production work
that would see him cutting tunes for many of Reggae’s top singers. A heavy production
style that seemed to fit this time in reggae’s history so well.
We have selected some fine cuts from those exciting times, spanning across some
of the more established singers work with some lesser known talent that might not be
household names but delivered some great Dread tunes. The mighty Prince Alla’s
timeless ‘Gold Diva’, Horace Andy’s ‘Easy Come Easy Go’. Junior Ross another
regular name on the Stars imprint delivers his classic ‘Ruff Ruff Way Ahead’.
The Mighty Diamond’s back up a Tullo T story on the Caribbean theme ‘Morgan the Pirate’.
Cornell Campbell sounds as sweet as ever on his ‘Calling You Girl’ cut. Errol Dunkley’s
almost soulful rendition of the ‘Midnight Cowboy’ theme,another tale of two men's struggle
against oversity if ever there was one. The lesser known acts The Seekers ‘Jah Know You’,
The Vibes Tone ‘Leaders of Black Countries’, all step up to the mark and beside other
‘Stars’ regulars Frankie Jone’s strong ‘Living The Life You Live’ and Ba Wisdom gets two
cuts on this release, ‘Fret Not Yourself’ and ‘Girl I Love You’ showing how versatile the
singer can be. No Tapper related release would be complete without the man himself
dropping two fine cuts. The first his classic ‘1st Street Girl’, secondly a sound clash with
Jah Mikey on ‘Tapper Roots on the Ball’. Putto Black’s ’Dear God’ pulls in another cut
from the stable. We hope you enjoyed the set and agree that the Roots Man Connection
is a fine path to follow......
CD Track Listing
1. GOLD DIVA - PRINCE ALLA
2. JAH KNOW YOU - THE SEEKERS
3. 1st STREET GIRL - TAPPER ZUKIE
4. EASY COME EASY GO - HORACE ANDY
5. FRET NOT YOURSELF - BA WISDOM
6. MIDNIGHT COWBOY - ERROL DUNKLEY
7. RUFF RUFF WAY AHEAD - JUNIOR ROSS
8. MORGAN THE PIRATE - MIGHTY DIAMONDS / TULLO T
9. LIVING THE LIVE YOU LOVE - FRANKIE JONES
10. GIRL I LOVE YOU - BA WISDOM
11. CALLING YOU GIRL - CORNELL CAMPBELL
12. DEAR GOD - PUTTO BLACK
13. LEADERS OF BLACK COUNTRIES - THE VIBES TONE
14. TAPPER ROOTS ON THE BALL - JAH MIKEY
15. NO MORE TO ROAR - MASSIVE DREAD*
•CD Bonus Track
Vinly Track Listing
Side 1
1. GOLD DIVA - PRINCE ALLA
2. JAH KNOW YOU - THE SEEKERS
3. 1st STREET GIRL - TAPPER ZUKIE
4. EASY COME EASY GO - HORACE ANDY
5. FRET NOT YOURSELF - BA WISDOM
6. MIDNIGHT COWBOY - ERROL DUNKLEY
7. RUFF RUFF WAY AHEAD - JUNIOR ROSS
Side 2
1. MORGAN THE PIRATE - MIGHTY DIAMONDS / TULLO T
2. LIVING THE LIVE YOU LOVE - FRANKIE JONES
3. GIRL I LOVE YOU - BA WISDOM
4. CALLING YOU GIRL - CORNELL CAMPBELL
5. DEAR GOD - PUTTO BLACK
6. LEADERS OF BLACK COUNTIRES - THE VIBES TONE
7. TAPPER ROOTS ON THE BALL - JAH MIKEY
Musicians Include:Sly Dunbar, Carlton 'Santa' Davis: Drums
Robbie Shakespeare, George Fullwood: Bass
Earl 'Chinna' Smith: Lead guitar
Ansell Collins, Keith Sterling: Keyboards
Winston Wright: Organ
Bobby Ellis: Trumpet
Tommy McCook: Tenor Saxophone
Vin Gordon: Trombone
Lennox Brown: Alto Saxophone
Zoot ‘Scully’ Simms, Sticky: Percussion
Recorded at: Channel 1
Voiced and Mixed at: King Tubby’s
Produced by: Tapper Zukie
Design by: Voodoo London. Photography: Jah Floyd Archive
Manufactured under Licence from Tapper Zukie.
Made in the UK.