Pama Records is a British record label active during the 1960s and 1970s. Initially focused on
soul music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...
, it became one of the major outlets for
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 ...
in the UK.
History
The label was set up by the Palmer Brothers – Harry, Jeff, and Carl – initially as a soul label, but later concentrating on
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 ...
n music, releasing
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 ...
singles from 1967.
[Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. 229-230] Much of the label's output was licensed from Jamaican producers such as
Clancy Eccles
Clancy Eccles (9 December 1940 in Dean Pen, St. Mary, Jamaica – 30 June 2005 in Spanish Town, Jamaica)Katz was a Jamaican ska and reggae singer, songwriter, arranger, promoter, record producer and talent scout. Known mostly for his early regg ...
,
,
Bunny Lee
Edward O'Sullivan Lee OD (23 August 1941 – 6 October 2020), better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee, was a Jamaican record producer. He was known as a pioneer of the United Kingdom reggae market, licensing his productions to Trojan Records i ...
, and
Lee "Scratch" Perry
Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development o ...
, although they also released music by local talents such as
Junior English
Junior English (born Lindel Beresford English, 1951) is a Jamaican reggae singer who began his career in the early 1960s before relocating to England.
Biography
English was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1951.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin En ...
and
Delroy Washington.
Derrick Morgan
Derrick Morgan (born 27 March 1940)Walters, Basil (2012)A New Day – Songs heralding JA’s Independence", '' Jamaica Observer'', 3 June 2012, retrieved 3 June 2012 is a Jamaican musical artist who was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. He worke ...
became one of Pama's biggest stars, having a UK chart hit with "
Moon Hop
"Moon Hop" is a 1969 single by Derrick Morgan. Backed with the Reggaeites' "Harris Wheel", it reached #49 on the UK Singles Chart. The British Afro-Caribbean community, British Afro-Caribbean ska and reggae band Symarip covered "Moon Hop" as "Skin ...
". Pama's biggest hit came with
Max Romeo
Max Romeo (born Maxwell Livingston Smith; 22 November 1944)["Respect to th ...](_blank)
's "Wet Dream", which reached #10 in the UK singles chart (despite lack of airplay, in part due to its risqué lyric), and sold over 250,000 copies.
The rivalry between Pama and their main UK reggae competitor,
Trojan Records
Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name ''Trojan'' comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck t ...
, was clear, with Trojan's ''Tighten Up'' series of compilations and Pama's similarly titled ''Straighten Up'' series going head to head. The rivalry had been fuelled by Bunny Lee's earlier licensing of Derrick Morgan's "Seven Letters" to both Pama and Trojan.
Pama introduced a number of subsidiary labels, often associated with individual producers, including Pama Supreme, Supreme,
Crab
Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...
, Bullet, Gas, Nu Beat/New Beat (
Laurel Aitken
Lorenzo "Laurel" Aitken (22 April 1927 – 17 July 2005) was an influential Caribbean singer and one of the pioneers of Jamaican ska music. He is often referred to as the "Godfather of Ska".
Career
Born in Cuba of mixed Cuban and Jamaican desc ...
), Success (
Rupie Edwards
Rupert Lloyd Edwards (born 4 July 1945) is a Jamaican reggae singer and record producer.
Biography
Rupie Edwards was born in Goshen, in Saint Ann Parish.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 103–105 The fam ...
), Camel, Escort, Unity (Bunny Lee), and Punch (Lee "Scratch" Perry).
[Larkin, Colin:"The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", 1998, Virgin Books, ]
In addition to the many reggae releases, the label also released a few non-reggae albums, including ''Butlins Red Coat Review'', and an album commemorating the
investiture of the Prince of Wales.
The Pama label lasted until the mid-1970s, at which point Carl Palmer was the driving force, and concentrated on establishing a UK distribution network for reggae, later resurfacing as
Jet Star, one of the largest distributors of reggae music. Pama Records is now owned by Phoenix Music International who continue to distribute the Pama label digitally.
References
{{Authority control
British record labels
Ska record labels
Reggae record labels