The Chantells were 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 ...

group from the latter half of the 1970s. Samuel Bramwell, Tommy Thomas and Lloyd Forrester started to record as a vocal

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

trio in 1975, for the

producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Duke Reid Arthur "Duke" Reid CD (21 July 1915 – 1 January 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner. He ran one of the most popular sound systems of the 1950s called Reid's Sound System, whilst Duke himself was known as The Troja ...

and

Clive Hunt Clive Hunt (born 31 May 1952) is a Jamaican reggae multi-instrumentist, arranger, composer and producer. Biography Hunt was born in Linstead, St. Catherine, Jamaica. He learned the trumpet while at Stony Hill Approved school, and joined the ...

. Their collaboration with Roy Francis on his

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 ...

, Phase One, was the strongest part of their short career. The success of such singles such as "True Born African" or "Children of Jah", and their sole

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''Waiting in the Park'' (featuring Jah Berry and

U Brown Huford Brown (born 8 June 1956, Kingston, Jamaica), better known by the stage name U Brown, is a reggae deejay who released eleven albums between 1976 and 1984. Biography Brown grew up in Bond Street in Kingston, living two doors away from Duk ...

) in 1978, made them one of the most promising soulful bands of this rockers reggae period. The Chantells were usually backed on their records by

The Revolutionaries The Revolutionaries (sometimes known as "Revolutionaires") was a Jamaican reggae band. Career Set up in 1975 as the house band of the Channel One Studios owned by Joseph Hoo Kim, The Revolutionaries with Sly Dunbar on drums and Bertram "Ranchi ...

or by Lloyd Parks and his band Skin, Flesh and Bones, with King Tubby and

Scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

engineering and producing. Toaster U Brown also featured on their release, ''Children of Jah.'' The single ''How Can I Get Over'', released by

Sonia Pottinger Sonia Eloise Pottinger OD ( Durrant; 21 June 1931 – 3 November 2010)Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 316 Duke Reid, appearing on his renowned ''Treasure Isle'' label. By 1974, Sonia Pottinger had bought Duke Reid's studio and the rights to the releases on his label. The track was later released on a

Heartbeat Records Heartbeat Records is an independent record label based in Burlington, Massachusetts. The label specializes in Jamaican music. Founded by reggae music enthusiasts Bill Nowlin and Duncan Brown, the label's first release was a vinyl LP reissue of L ...

compilation entitled ''The Reggae Train : More Great Hits from the High Note Label''. Vocalist Sam Bramwell made a number of powerful solo recordings for producer and label owner, Donovan Germain. One of Germain label's most well-known records on the sound system circuit in UK, especially on

Jah Shaka Jah Shaka, also known as the Zulu Warrior is a Jamaican reggae/dub sound system operator who has been operating a South East London-based, roots reggae Jamaican sound system since the early 1970s. His name is an amalgamation of the Rastafarian t ...

sound, was Sam Bramwell's ''It aggo Dread Inna Babylon'', which Bramwell recorded with

. ''Effort in Yourself'' and ''Ruling Time'' have also proved to be a firm favourite from that time to the present time with the roots sound systems worldwide. The group disbanded in 1979. A number of highly regarded compilations of their work have been released in recent years, solidifying their reputation as

roots reggae Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the honoring of God, called Jah ...

and dub artists of innovation, originality and creativity : the most notable is ''The Chantells & Friends – Children of Jah 1977-1979'', released by Blood and Fire in 1999, with extensive and well-researched sleeve notes from reggae historian, archivist and collector,

Steve Barrow Steve Barrow (born 29 September 1945) is a British reggae historian,scholar,archivist, writer and producer.

. In 2002 ''Motion Records'' released ''The Sound of Phase One'', also focusing on Chantells rarities. The Chantells also featured on Motion Records '' King Tubby and Friends.''

References

Jamaican reggae musical groups {{Caribbean-band-stub

See also

References