Roots Archives Forum

Greetings!
I would like to buy some books about Reggae Music and would like information on what books to go for and what books or to avoid. Thanx.

Hi Marcus,
for a start I think the following are some 'must-haves' :

Steve Barrow & Peter Dalton
The Rough Guide to Reggae

Colin Larkin (Ed.)
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae

Lloyd Bradley
Bass Culture

David Katz
Solid Foundation - an oral history of Reggae

David Katz
People Funny Boy - the genius of Lee Perry

Chris Salewicz
Rude Boy

Chris Salewicz & Adrian Boot
Reggae Explosion - the story of jamaican music

Greetings.

Bellyman, thank you for the guidance and positive vibes!

Bellyman's first recommendation is also at the top of my list. Start with:

Steve Barrow & Peter Dalton
The Rough Guide to Reggae

The accompanying CD set, "Tougher than Tough: The Story of Jamaican music," is out of print, I think, but is the best compilation out there. Steve Barrow wrote the extensive liner notes, song-by-song.

Steve Barrow & Peter Dalton's "The Rough Guide to 100 Essential Reggae Cd's" is a helpful pointer on what to go for. File under must have!

These have been mentioned, but I will reiterate as I've found them all very good. And in this order:

#1 on my list: Bass Culture - When Reggae Was King (Lloyd Bradley)
#2 Solid Foundation - An Oral History Of Reggae (David Katz)
#3 People Funny Boy - The Genius Of Lee Scratch Perry (David Katz)
#4 Reggae - The Rough Guide (Steve Barrow & Peter Dalton)

I would like to add the following videos as well:

"Roots Rock Reggae - Inside the Jamaican Music Scene" (1977)

"The Harder They Come" (1972)

"The Studio One Story" (2002)

"Countryman" (1982)

"Rockers" (1978)

i need a fine, factual book on dennis brown..and one about augustus pablo too

Well, Penny Reels book on Dennis Brown is nothing less than fantastic! It's called »Deep Down With Dennis Brown«. Penny Reel is truly a great journalist/author - one of the most important in reggae journalism - and the book is informative and factual.

The book covers Dennis Browns career up to late 70's. It costs only £12 if you order it directly from Penny himself. You can contact him by mail (drakebros@hotmail.com).

When it comes to Augustus Pablo I know there's a book by Lol-Bell Brown (creator of the BSL magazine) including a complete(?) discography of Augustus Pablos music and a lengthy interview. I haven't found the book yet though so I can't really give any reviews of it. But it ought to be good.

Please check this list of reggae literature on reggapedia. And if you can contribute then do so please.

The link
http://reggaelicious.pbwiki.com/Reggae+Literature

King Jammy's by Beth Lesser. Best book about dancehall ever