Johnny Clarke was the new life-blood of the Rockers era, becoming one of Jamaica's biggest artists, inspiring his contemporaries and promoting the message of Rasta to the mainstream Jamaican through music with universal appeal. Both with its rootsy, cultural messages and its lovers refrains, the music fortified what is possibly the most crucial era of reggae, bringing "Move out of Babylon," "Roots Natty Congo," "Left With a Broken Heart," "Rock With Me Baby," "Get Up And Fight For Your Rights" to the massive. Johnny became known as the "Hit Machine" in his day, and sometimes as a "Studio Idler" as he spent so much time in the studios, where he often helped season and accent many other artists' hit songs both with vocal and instrumental ideas.
As the vibes began building in the Echoplex, in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, the legendary Scientist came in the house that he literally built, to mix the show. Scientist fashioned the remodel of sound in this subterranean mecca for the weekly Dub Club event promoted to provide irie accommodations for vintage artists and music and even some modern artists, with Sean Paul and Damian Marley making recent passes through to touch the mic to try out new material on the nights when many local artists are given the same opportunity. Scientist recently built some speakers specifically for the promoters just has he has been doing since his early teens in Jamaica. It was then when he mixed several Johnny Clarke albums as he told Reggaeville, "I did around five albums with him for Bunny Lee."
Clarke was named "Artist of the Year" in Jamaica in both 1974 and 1975, the result of his huge popularity as a singer. He helped launch the "Flying Cymbals" style that ushered in the "Rockers" era and truly was the first Rasta superstar in Jamaica. The "flying cymbals" sound is featured on his 1974 hit "None Shall Escape the Judgement" that encapsulated the anguish from the political turmoil which no one was immune from on the island. Johnny first traveled to the US in December, '74 performing the song on New York local television while in for a show at Columbia University. Clarke was one of the first reggae artists to perform on US television.
The "Flying Cymbals" style was presented by Carlton "Santa" Davis whom Johnny collaborated with to produce his rebel-fused, psychedia- tinged music, fertilized by the era's freedom to grow, and spreading like wildflowers. At that time Santa was part of The Aggrovators who were known as Bunny "Striker" Lee's house band. As Santa Davis explains it, Bunny Lee would rent the studio and the musicians would put the music together and he would come back and listen to what they came up with and give his literal stamp of approval. Also part of this evolution was the "Flyers" rhythm guitar sound originated by band mate Tony Chin, and punctuated by the maestro lead guitarist Earl "Chinna" Smith. Tony Chin didn't play on "None Shall Escape the Judgement" but he did play on "Move Out of Babylon" which implored the Rastas to rise above the political violence of the time. Johnny Clarke's songwriting style was a crucial part of the evolution of this messaging to the greater community of music lovers. In an interview with with Peter I he explains the collaborative nature of the Rockers era, "Because we build up a strength and a unification with each other, a togetherness, both with artists and musicians. So when you 'ave them strength, them vibes deh, it's like all you going to get (is) more hits, more hits gonna come out, y'know. Yeah, through the unification and the togetherness of all musicians and artists."
Johnny Clarke is the definition of "Original Rockers" and with him were some of the new generation of Rockers, the San Diego, California-based, Roots Covenant, who clearly study and cherish this music style. They delivered some of the purest rhythms and lush, complex horn fills for Johnny to work with; he was very comfortable with the band, flowing seamlessly from hit to hit. And the mix was working to their advantage as the musicians were as comfortable as could be, nailing the set from start to finish. If you don't have them in your collection, here is a reminder to include: "Move out of Babylon," "Roots Natty Congo," " Left With a Broken Heart," "Rock With Me Baby," "Get Up And Fight For Your Rights," and "Every Knee Shall Bow."
The accuracy, the timing of the horn lines, the tempo of the Roots Covenant rhythm section would make The Aggrovators well-proud. Roots Covenant presented some of their own material to open the show which was quite impressive in its So Cal surfer music type of way but with respect due as it was delivered on higher level. They have put in the time necessary to present this music in a very respectable manner.
And as the show continued past the one hour mark, Johnny soothed the audience, who sensed the end of the evening was near. Assured that he still had more from his catalog to offer he acknowledged both the band's effectiveness and the Dub Club crowd's appreciation for the original Rockers sound saying, "This is a serious thing, no joke thing, cause you are intelligent people." Then he fired up the Black Star Liner and took us into "African Roots" another must.
Where did Johnny Clarke's career take him back in the early '80's? As he told Steven Milne in an interview: "What really happen is that, through the politics again, there was a lot of people going east, west, north and south through politics. They run away from Jamaica. War, y'know. A lot of entertainers they haffe leave. Some come to America, some go to England. Because the entertainers don't want to get involved inna the war. Because like, you're going into some area where it's pure gunmen and all that, so man kind of get fearful beca' we deal with music, a we no deal with gun business. So if me see de youth doing too much of dem thing then me try to stay far from you. So me find myself in England where we cool out for a while. After dat, when I came back to Jamaica, the dancehall scene now came prominent whereas you find man start sing on sound system." As the memorable Dub Club evening came to an end, the most highly-anticipated vintage show of Los Angeles, 2009 came full circle with the cheetah print-clad freedom fighter taking a majestic bow and giving thanks to the large audience. The only regret we had was that his enormous head of locks never tumbled from his gracefully positioned crown.
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