How did you discover Reggae?

[melonhead]

i started playing bass, and someone said..."if you're learning bass you should learn some reggae songs, the bass is amazing!" so i got into the wailers,burning spear, and then lee perry...but DUB is what completely got me! i heard a king tubbys dub and my jaw about hit the floor. DUB is the most powerful!
peace

[Santa Claus]

Your story seems to be completly the same as mine! The first reggae artist i got was Mikey Dread because he was on Sandinista. Then i got Junior Murvin because the Clash had covered his 'Police and theives' and then Lee Perry because he produced their 'complete control' single and my reggae collection grew from then on.

Sandinista got me into all types of music other than just rock.

[saxplayer]

i went to jamaica in 1968 and was exposed to the musics then. i picked up sax in 1979 and i am in two reggae bands now. between 1985 and 2006 i have been to 12 sunsplash festivals in jamaica and this next trip i will attend rebel salute in jamaica jan 16 2010. been loving the ride all along....

[Marky Dread]

had to find it all by myself, in bits and pieces until boston got the wonderful heartbeat records! then all the local shops had lp's by mikey dread, sugar minott, etc... the shopkeepers would then say "you like THIS? well then, try THIS..."
we also got a GREAT radio program called "rockers" on a local college station and i was HOOKED.

[alonsoreggae]

There are some amazing stories in this thread. Thanks to everyone that posted.

For me it was a steady connection with my will to play the guitar and the evolution of music. I remeber the Marley poster of him smoking a spliff roach on top of my bed when I was only 13, but that wasn't it. After my punk rock years, it came the latin influence. To the surprise of some, latin rock has a very clear influence of reggae. I started an alternative latin rock band that didn't go for too long, but with some of the people in that band, reggae started to burst out. A friend (and bandmate) introduced me to Burning Spear, A. Pablo, Dennis Brown, Gladiators, early Wailers, etc. From there on I just dug deeper inside the roots movement and now I'm addicted.

[echochamberbaby]

i got into reggae through two non-reggae lps:The Streets first lp "Original Pirate Material" has a track called "Lets Push Things Forward" and Gorillas released a dub version of their lp called "Spacemonkeys" featuring people like U-Brown. This was the doorway into reggae for me.From then on I collected fanatically anything I could find and Im still lost in reggae music...to this day.

[Rootsmanskanking]

my farther would play the wailers "burnin" "natty dread" and exodus, before i discovered the beauty of dub and deejay style i listened to alot of wailers from the age of 8. i discovered deejay style by listening to yellowman's "mr yelloweman" Lost me love, best song on the album, sends chills down my spine.

[man from zion]

It's started in my childhood when i was about 5 and my mother used to listen to wailers on vynil,it was kind of positive vibration in our house. when i started to smoke ganja i was all over reggae even i had never seen true rasta in real life,thing like Dub made me feel music in other way ya know , i called it jah music or irie,because made me feel like no other music can do..it has more power than other music,it has something that made me listen more and more,searching for best ganja songs ,that if u smoke u must listen do this and that is the best, mon.my list:Lee Perry, Prince far I,Hoursemouth,Dub Syndicate,Rhythm and Sound, Ganja beats,Big Youth,Jacob Miller,Culture,I-Roy,Barrington Levy and many more...sensimillia,the great great collie herb that called marijuana,this herb was made by Jah Jah...

[Vlad]

time to revive this one generosity: share your stories!

[Marky Dread]

i RE-discovered reggae through the late (and much lamented loss of) Blood And Fire label. My friend Jim got married and did his honeymoon in the UK. He had a get together when they got home. During the party, Jim was spinning all these AMAZING records he had bought in Manchester - King Tubby, Scientist, "If Deejay Was Your Trade"... i was spellbound again! i have never looked back, and have over 200 reggae cd's in my collection...