The Maytones (sometimes known as The Mighty Maytones) are a

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 ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

vocal duo who were active between the late 1960s and until 1980.

History

The Maytones formed in the late 1960s, and comprised Vernon Buckley and Gladstone Grant, both of whom lived in

May Pen May Pen is the capital and largest town in the parish of Clarendon in Middlesex County, Jamaica. It is located on the Rio Minho river (Jamaica's longest), and is a major market centre for the Parish. The population was 61,548 at the 2011 cens ...

in Clarendon, which inspired the group's name.Katz, David (2003) "Solid Foundation - an Oral History of Reggae", Bloomsbury, After recording two

rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...

tracks for

Studio One Studio One or Studio 1 may refer to: * Studio One (software), digital audio workstation software, developed by PreSonus * ''Studio One'' (American TV series), a 1948–1958 American television anthology series * ''Studio One'' (Emirati TV progra ...

which were not released, they recorded much of their early material for Alvin Ranglin, having local hits with "Loving Reggae" and "Funny Man", and released a version of Greyhound's "Black and White" (written by

Earl Robinson Earl Hawley Robinson (July 2, 1910 – July 20, 1991) was a composer, arranger and folk music singer-songwriter from Seattle, Washington. Robinson is remembered for his music, including the cantata "Ballad for Americans" and songs such as " Jo ...

and David I. Arkin) in 1970.Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, They had further Jamaican hits with love songs such as "Preaching Love", "If Loving You Was Wrong", and "Brown Girl", before adopting a roots reggae style for tracks such as "Judas", "Babylon a Fall", and "Run Babylon". They had a major success with "Madness", recorded again for Ranglin, which was followed by an album of the same name. The success of The Mighty Diamonds prompted the group and producers Ranglin and

Clement Bushay Clement "Clem" Bushay (born 1955) is a British reggae producer who also ran the ''Bushays'' record label. Biography Hailed the creator of the 'Lovers Rock' genre in the UK, Bushay's productions in the early 1970s were issued by Trojan Records, ...

to promote the duo as The Mighty Maytones. The ''Boat To Zion'' album followed in 1978, although did not meet with the success they had hoped for, and were overlooked by the British

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

s that were signing up much of Jamaica's talent at the time, with their non-Rasta image identified as a factor. They contributed the track "Money Worries" to the Rockers soundtrack in 1979.''Rockers'' soundtrack at Roots Archives
The duo came to an end in 1980 when Buckley moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. They reunited in the 2000s.Peter I (2004) "Madness Upon The Land - The Story of The Maytones", Reggae-vibes.com Vernon issued a solo album, ''Raw'', and has performed and recorded with Bedouin Soundclash.

Albums

* ''Madness'' (1976) Burning Sounds * ''Boat To Zion'' (1978) Burning Sounds * ''One Way'' (1979) GG's * ''The Mighty Maytones Album Showcase'' (197?) Funky Hut * ''Tune In And Rock (Showcase Album)'' Pioneer International * ''Keep The Fire Burning'' (1980) Third World * ''Only Your Picture'' (1984) Vista Sounds * ''Madness 2'' (1995) Pioneer International ;Compilations * ''Best of the Mighty Maytones'' (1983) Burning Sounds * ''Funny Man'' (1990) GG's * ''Brown Girl in the Ring'' (1995) Trojan * ''Lover Man'' (1997) Rhino * ''Loving Reggae'' (2001) Charly * ''Their Greatest Hits'' (2003)

Heartbeat A heartbeat is one cardiac cycle of the heart. Heartbeat, heart beat, heartbeats, and heart beats may refer to: Computing *Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system *Heartbeat, clus ...

References

External links

Vernon Buckley's website

The Maytones at Roots Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maytones, The Jamaican reggae musical groups Trojan Records artists