The Slickers 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 ...

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 ...

and

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 A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Slickers centred on Derrick Crooks, one of the founding members of The Pioneers along with his brother Sydney. In the mid-1960s, The Slickers consisted of the Crooks brothers and Winston Bailey.Moskowitz, David V. (2006), ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , pp. 271-2. Derrick was the only constant member,Larkin, Colin (1998), ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p. 274. with Abraham Green joining the Crooks brothers at the time "Johnny Too Bad" was recorded. The Slickers have often been wrongly assumed to simply be an alias for The Pioneers due to their similar vocal stylings. The Slickers toured the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on the back of the success of "Johnny Too Bad", and continued until 1979, when they recorded the ''Breakthrough'' album, before splitting up. The song "Johnny Too Bad" was written by Trevor "Batman" Wilson, Winston Bailey, Roy Beckford and Derrick Crooks, all at some time members of The Slickers. The song featured on the soundtrack for the 1972

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...

film, ''

The Harder They Come ''The Harder They Come'' is a 1972 Jamaican crime film directed by Perry Henzell and co-written by Trevor D. Rhone, and starring Jimmy Cliff. The film is most famous for its reggae soundtrack that is said to have "brought reggae to the world". ...

'', and later

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

reggae group

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

, the American reggae punk band Sublime, American power pop band The Silencers (1980,

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

), and blues artist

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

covered it with additional lyrics on his 1980 album ''

Grace and Danger ''Grace and Danger'' is the eighth studio album by John Martyn, released on October 13, 1980 by Island Records. Background The album was written and recorded while John Martyn was in the process of divorcing his wife Beverley, and the songs str ...

''. The song was also part of bluegrass artist

Peter Rowan Peter Rowan (born July 4, 1942) is an American bluegrass musician and composer. Rowan plays guitar and mandolin, yodels and sings. Biography Rowan was born in Wayland, Massachusetts to a musical family. From an early age, he had an interes ...

's live repertoire during much of the mid-1980s.

Albums

*''Many Rivers to Cross'' (1976), Klik *''Breakthrough'' (1979), Tad's

References

External links

* Jamaican reggae musical groups Rocksteady musical groups Trojan Records artists {{Caribbean-band-stub