The Jamaicans were a

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

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 ...

group formed in

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 ...

in 1967, consisting of members

Tommy Cowan Tommy Cowan CD (born Thomas Lincoln Cowan, 6 April 1946, Saint Elizabeth, Jamaica) is a producer and singer, initially working in reggae but later concentrating on gospel, who has been involved in the music business since the 1960s.Brooks, Sade ...

, Norris Weir, Derrick Brown and Martin Williams.

Career

The Jamaicans originally started out in 1964 as the Merricoles, consisting of Derrick Brown and childhood friend Norris Weir, joined later by Martin Williams (deceased), Flats Hylton, and I Kong.Black, Roy (2018)
The Music Diaries , Noris Weir And The Jamaicans
", ''

Jamaica Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...

'', 25 November 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018 Then Tommy Cowan joined the group to make them a six-piece band. The group soon changed their name to The Jamaicans, at the behest of Canadian shipping agent Aston McKeachron, to increase the group's international appeal, cutting two singles for Duke Reid at Treasure Isle - "Pocket Full of Money" and "Diana". Kong and Brown left in 1967. They had their first hit in 1967 with "Things You Say You Love".O'Brien Chang, Kevin & Chen, Wayne (1998) ''Reggae Routes'', Temple University Press, , p. 111 They would also take first place in the Island's Festival Song Contest in 1967 with the rocksteady classic "Ba Ba Boom" (by this time without Brown in the group), written by Cowan and Weir about the

Jamaica Independence Festival The Jamaica Independence Festival is a celebration of Jamaica's independence, a status gained in 1962. History The festival was initiated in 1962 by then Minister of Community Development (and later Prime Minister) Edward Seaga, to showcase literar ...

.Leggett, Steve
The Jamaicans Biography
",

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved 2 March 2014Campbell, Howard (2016)
Boom times for the Jamaicans
", ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...

'', 31 July 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016 "Ba Ba Boom" was entered in the 1967 Independence Festival Song Competition (now known as the Popular Song Competition), which had been inaugurated by Festival organizers the previous year, and the Jamaicans took home the win that year with their entry, which became their best-known song. In addition to "Ba Ba Boom", the Jamaicans had another local hit with "Things You Say You Love" and they recorded a

cover 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 ...

of the

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

song "Dedicate My Song to You". Another song written and recorded by the trio, "Black Girl", was later covered by the

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

group

Boney M Boney M. was a German- Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group' ...

. The Jamaicans split up in 1972. Cowan went on to become a successful producer. Weir relocated to the US shortly after the group disbanded in 1972, and became a "travelling singing missionary evangelist". He became an ordained minister in 2010, and recorded ten Gospel albums. He died on 16 November 2018 at his home in

Port St. Lucie, Florida Port St. Lucie is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. It is the most populous municipality in the county with a population of 204,851 at the 2020 census. It is located southeast of Orlando and north of Miami. The Port St. Lu ...

, aged 72. In May 2022, Martin Williams died from an illness he was battling for some time.

Discography

Compilation albums

*''Baba Boom Time'' (1996), Jamaican Gold

Singles

*"Things You Say You Love" (1967), Treasure Isle *"Ba Ba Boom" (1967), Treasure Isle *"Dedicated to You" (1967),

Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...

*"Peace and Love" (1968), Treasure Isle *"Slow and Easy" (196?), Treasure Isle *"Cool Night" (1968), Doctor Bird *"Sing Freedom" (1970), Top Cat *"Love Uprising" (1971), Dynamic Sounds *"I Believe in Music" (1971), Jaguar *"Take Warning" (197?), Jaguar *"Mary" (1971), New Beat *"Are You Sure" (1972), Dynamic Sounds *"My Heart Just Keeps on Breaking" (1974), Dragon *"Bad Man" (2000), Kingston 11 *"Chain Gang" (2012), Supreme

References

External links

* * Jamaican ska groups Jamaican reggae musical groups Rocksteady musical groups Musical groups established in 1967 Musical groups disestablished in 1972 Trojan Records artists {{Caribbean-band-stub