LAUREL AITKEN & THE SKATALITES - THE ORIGINAL COOL JAMAICAN SKA Vinyl LP
In 1964 the world was rocking to the sound of Ska: Millie's 'My Boy Lollipop' was rocking the charts and every major in Britain and U.S. were keen to jump on the bandwagon. In such an atmosphere, Decca Records in London approached leading West Indian music independent, Rio, to license some of the company's latest singles for a new album highlighting the new, exciting sound from Jamaica. The result was essentially a collection of Laurel Aitken tracks, along with a few others by the singer's brother, Bobby, and unknowns, Vic Brown and Alan Martin. Released in the U.S. on London as Original Cool Jamaican Ska, the LP promptly became a collector's item both sides of the Atlantic. Now, shorn of the tracks by other artists and augmented by 20 rocking Ska tracks from the Rio, Ska Beat, Island and Columbia catalogs, this seminal LP is available for even less than the cost of an original single! 29 tracks. Pressure Drop. 2009.