The Revolutionaries (sometimes known as "Revolutionaires") was a Jamaican

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 ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

Career

Set up in 1975 as the

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

of the

Channel One Studios Channel One is a recording studio in Maxfield Avenue, West Kingston, Jamaica.Campbell, Howard (2014)Making magic at Channel One, ''Jamaica Observer'', 17 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014 The studio was built by the Hoo Kim brothers in 1972, and ...

owned by

Joseph Hoo Kim Joseph "Jo Jo" Hoo Kim (10 December 1942 – 20 September 2018) was a Jamaican reggae record producer best known for his productions in the 1970s at his Channel One Studios. Career Born to parents of Chinese heritage, Joseph Hoo Kim grew up in ...

, The Revolutionaries with Sly Dunbar on

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s and

Bertram "Ranchie" McLean Bertram McLean (c.1948 – 14 November 2012), also known by his nickname "Ranchie", was a Jamaican musician active between the 1970s and the 1990s, who recorded with many of Jamaica's biggest stars. Biography McLean began working as a session m ...

on bass, created the new " rockers" style that would change the whole

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 sound (from

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 ...

to rockers, and be imitated in all other productions). Beside Sly, many musicians played in the band:

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, JoJo Hookim, Bertram McLean, and Radcliffe "Dougie" Bryan on

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 ...

Ossie Hibbert Oswald "Ossie" Hibbert (16 January 1951 – 1 July 2012) was a Jamaican organist, keyboard player and record producer. Biography Hibbert began to be active in Jamaican music in the mid-1970s, working as a keyboard player as part of The Professi ...

, Errol "Tarzan" Nelson, Robert Lyn or

Ansel Collins Ansel Collins is a Jamaican musician, composer, singer, songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Dave Barker as Dave and Ansel Collins. Biography Born 1949 in Kingston, Jamaica,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 ...

Uziah "Sticky" Thompson Uzziah "Sticky" Thompson (1 August 1936 – 25 August 2014) was a Jamaican percussionist, vocalist and deejay active from the late 1950s. He worked with some of the best known performers of Jamaican music and played on hundreds of albums. Biog ...

, Noel "Scully" Simms on

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

Tommy McCook Tommy McCook (3 March 1927 – 5 May 1998) was a Jamaican saxophonist. A founding member of The Skatalites, he also directed The Supersonics for Duke Reid, and backed many sessions for Bunny Lee or with The Revolutionaries at Channel One S ...

Herman Marquis Herman Marquis is a Jamaican saxophone musician who has played with many reggae artists including Burning Spear. He recorded for Arthur "Duke" Reid in the 1960s and was a member of The Revolutionaries and The Upsetters in the 1970s.Barrow, Steve ...

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

Bobby Ellis Bobby Ellis OD (2 July 1932 – 18 October 2016) was a Jamaican trumpet player. He worked with many reggae artists including Peter Tosh, Burning Spear and The Revolutionaries. Biography Born in Kingston on 2 October 1932, Bobby Ellis attended ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

and

Vin Gordon Vin Gordon (a.k.a. Trommie, Don D. Junior or Don Drummond Jr) (born 4 August 1949) is a Jamaican trombone player. Biography Gordon grew up in Jones Town, Kingston, Jamaica as one of eight children. He went to Kingston's Catholic Alpha Boys S ...

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

. In 1976, they recorded a track named after

Kunta Kinte Kunta Kinte ( – ; ) is a character in the 1976 novel '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family'' by American author Alex Haley. Kunta Kinte was based on one of Haley's ancestors, a Gambian man who was born around 1750, enslaved, and taken to ...

. This would become one of

music's most recognisable

riddim Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae and dancehall, it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the ...

s which for many years was only played by selected

sound systems In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

dubplate A dubplate is an acetate disc usually of 10 inches diameter, traditionally used by Recording studio, studios to test recordings prior to Audio mastering, mastering for the subsequent pressing of a vinyl record, but pioneered by reggae Reggae sound ...

. The band played on numerous dub albums and recorded as a

backing band A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such ...

for artists like

B.B. Seaton Harris Lloyd "B.B." Seaton (born 3 September 1944), also known as "Bibby", is a Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter, and record producer who was a member of The Gaylads, The Astronauts, Conscious Minds, and The Messengers (along with Ken Boothe, ...

Black Uhuru Black Uhuru is a Jamaican reggae group formed in 1972, initially as Uhuru ( Swahili for 'freedom'). The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years, with Derrick "Duckie" Simpson as the mainstay. They had their most successful per ...

Culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

Prince Alla Keith Blake (born 10 May 1950), better known as Prince Alla (sometimes Prince Allah or Ras Allah) is a Jamaican roots reggae singer whose career began in the 1960s, and has continued with a string of releases into the 2000s. Biography Born in ...

Leroy Smart Leroy Smart (born 1952), is a reggae singer-songwriter and record producer from Kingston, Jamaica. Biography Smart was born in 1952 and orphaned at the age of two. He was raised at Maxfield Park Children's Home and educated at Alpha Boys Scho ...

Gregory Isaacs Gregory Anthony Isaacs OD (15 July 1951 – 25 October 2010)Thompson, p. 127. was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in ''The New York Times'', described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae".Miles, Milo (1992),RECORDI ...

, John Holt,

The Heptones The Heptones are a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae vocal trio most active in the 1960s and early 1970s. They were one of the more significant trios of that era, and played a major role in the gradual transition between ska and rocksteady into ...

Mighty Diamonds The Mighty Diamonds were a Jamaican harmony trio, recording roots reggae with a strong Rastafarian influence. The group was formed in 1969 and were best known for their 1976 debut album, ''Right Time'', produced by Joseph Hoo Kim, and the 1979 ...

I-Roy Roy Samuel Reid (28 June 1942 – 27 November 1999), better known as I-Roy, was a Jamaican deejay who had a very prolific career during the 1970s. Biography Born in 1944 in Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, Reid graduated from Dinthill Technical C ...

Tapper Zukie Tapper Zukie (or Tappa Zukie) (born David Sinclair, 1955, Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae deejay and producer.Greene, Jo-AnnTapper Zukie Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2011-02-15 Biography Tapper was the nickname given to him by his grandmoth ...

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

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 Du ...

Errol Scorcher Errol Scorcher (born Errol Archer, 1956 – 19 January 2012Errol S ...

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

among others.

Discography

The Revolutionaries

* ''Revival Dub Roots Now'' - 1976 - Well Charge * ''Revolutionary Sounds'' - 1976 - Channel One/Well Charge * ''Sounds Vol 2'' - 1979 - Ballistic * ''Vital Dub Well Charged'' - 1976 - Virgin * ''Dread At The Controls'' - 1978 - Hawkeye * ''Dub Expression'' - 1978 - High Note * ''Earthquake Dub'' - 1978 - Joe Gibbs * ''Jonkanoo Dub'' - 1978 - Cha Cha * ''Reaction In Dub'' - 1978 - Cha Cha * ''Sentimental Dub'' - 1978 - Germain * ''Top Ranking Dub'' - 1978 - Rootsman * ''Burning Dub'' - 1979 - Burning Vibrations * ''Dub Out Her Blouse & Skirt'' - 1979 - Germain * ''Dutch Man Dub'' - 1979 - Burning Vibrations * ''Goldmine Dub'' - 1979 - Greensleeves * ''Outlaw Dub'' - 1979 - Trojan * ''Dawn Of Creation'' - Sagittarius * ''Dub Plate Specials At Channel One'' - Jamaican Recordings * ''Green Bay Dub'' - 1979 - Burning Vibrations * ''Medley Dub'' - High Note * ''Phase One Dubwise Vol 1 & 2'' - Sprint * ''Satta Dub Strictly Roots'' - Well Charge * ''Dial M For Murder In Dub Style'' - 1980 - Express * ''I Came, I Saw, I Conquered'' - 1980 - Channel One

Compilations

* ''Channel One - Maxfield Avenue Breakdown - Dub & Instrumentals - 1974-1979'' - Pressure Sounds (2000) * ''Revival - 1973-1976'' - Cha Cha (1982) * ''Roots Man Dub'' - 1979 - GG's * ''Channel One Revisited Dub'' - Top Beat (1995) * ''Macca Rootsman Dub'' - Jamaican Gold (1994) * ''

The Rough Guide to Dub ''The Rough Guide to Dub'' is a world music compilation album originally released in 2005. Part of the World Music Network Rough Guides series, the release covers the roots of dub music, focusing on the period 1973-1980. Curation was performed ...

'' -

World Music Network World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music. The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" competit ...

(2005)

With
The Aggrovators The Aggrovators were a dub/reggae backing band in the 1970s and 1980s, and one of the main session bands of producer Bunny Lee. The line-up varied, with Lee using the name for whichever set of musicians he was using at any time.Larkin, Colin ...

* ''Agrovators Meets The Revolutioners At Channel One Studios'' - 1977 - Third World * ''Rockers Almighty Dub (Dubwise, Rockers, Bass & Drums)'' - 1979 - Clocktower * ''Agrovators Meet Revolutionaries Part II'' - Micron

Others

* ''Kunta Kinte'' - 1976 - Channel One * ''Guerilla Dub'' - 1978 - Burning Sounds * ''The Revolutionaries & We The People Band'' - Revolutionary Dub - 1976 - Trenchtown * ''Bobby Ellis And The Professionals Meet The Revolutionaries'' - Black Unity - 1977 - Third World * ''Derrick Harriott & The Revolutionaries'' - Reggae Chart Busters Seventies Style - 1977 - Crystal * ''Sly & The Revolutionaries'' - Don't Underestimate The Force, The Force Is Within You - 1977 - J&L * ''Sly & The Revolutionaries - Go Deh Wid Riddim'' - 1977 - Crystal * ''Sly & The Revolutionaries With Jah Thomas - Black Ash Dub'' - 1980 - Trojan * ''Errol Scorcher & The Revolutionaries - Rasta Fire (A Channel One Experience)'' - 1978 - Ballistic * ''Ossie Hibbert & The Revolutionaries - Satisfaction In Dub'' - 1978 - Live & Love * ''Pancho Alphonso & The Revolutionaries - Never Get To Zion'' - 1978 - Trojan

References

External links

Roots ArchivesDiscography at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Revolutionaries, The 1975 establishments in Jamaica 1980s disestablishments in Jamaica Jamaican reggae musical groups Jamaican backing bands Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups disestablished in the 1980s Greensleeves Records artists Trojan Records artists