''King David's Melody'' is a reggae

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

Augustus Pablo Horace Swaby (21 June 1953 – 18 May 1999),Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 200-202 known as Augustus Pablo, was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer and a multi-instrumentalist, active f ...

, originally released in 1983 on his Rockers record label. It is a collection of singles recorded between 1975 and 1982 for both the Rockers and Message record labels. It features

Robbie Shakespeare Robert Warren Dale Shakespeare (27 September 1953 – 8 December 2021) was a Jamaican bass guitarist and record producer, best known as half of the reggae rhythm section and production duo Sly and Robbie, with drummer Sly Dunbar. Regarded as ...

on bass guitar,

Earl "Chinna" Smith Earl "Chinna" Smith (born 6 August 1955), a.k.a. Earl Flute and Melchezidek the High Priest,Johnson, Richard (2013)The Melchizedek way, ''Jamaica Observer'', 6 October 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013 is a Jamaican guitarist active since the late ...

on guitar and Horsemouth Wallace on drums. Pablo produced the album and played melodica,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in the ...

and string synthesizer. The songs were both recorded and mixed at Harry J and King Tubby's Studios in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. Much like the previous album,

Earth's Rightful Ruler ''Earth Rightful Ruler'' (sometimes also sold as ''Earth's Rightful Ruler'' or ''Earth Rightful Ruler: Emperor Haile Selassie I'') is a reggae studio album by Augustus Pablo, originally released in 1982 on Message Records. It features vocals fr ...

, the title of this album is in reference to Haile Selassie I, the former

Emperor of Ethiopia The emperor of Ethiopia ( gez, ንጉሠ ነገሥት, nəgusä nägäst, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse ( am, ዐፄ, "emperor"), was the hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century ...

and a figure who many Rastafarians believe was a descendant of

King David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, the ancient King of Israel. A 2006 release by

Shanachie Records Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey-based record label, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word ''seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distribu ...

featured three added bonus tracks.

Track listing

;Side one # "King David's Melody" # "Zion High" # "Mr Bassie" # "Rastafari Tradition" # "West Abyssinia" # "Israel in Harmony" ;Side two # "Rockers Mood" # "Sufferers Trod" # "Revelation Time" # "Selfish Youths" # "Corner Stone Dub" # "Kent Road" ;Bonus tracks featured on 2006 Shanachie release # "Hot Milk (Extended Version)" # "Freedom Step" # "Jah Strength Ital Step"

Personnel

–

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, melodica,

and string synthesizer. * Albert Malawi, Anthony "Benbow" Creary, Horsemouth Wallace –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Leroy Sibbles,

, Junior Dan, Michael Taylor, Bunny Jeffery, Fazal Prendergast –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Fazal Prendergast,

, Clive Jeffery –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Teo Benjamin – percussion * Sylvan Morris and the Professor – Mixing Engineer

References

External links

{{Authority control Augustus Pablo albums 1983 compilation albums Shanachie Records albums