Are You Reggae For It Now? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Desmond Dekker and The Aces

"Israelites" was written by Desmond Dekker/Leslie Kong. It was number one for one week on the UK singles chart for Desmond Dekker and The Aces in 1969. It peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 the same year.

Desmond Dekker was born Desmond Adolphus Dacres in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1941. He died of a heart attack in London, England, in 2006 aged 64. His first release "Honour Your Mother And Father" was a hit in Jamaica in 1963. His backing group, The Aces, were brothers Barry, Carl, Clive and Patrick Howard. More hits in Jamaica followed and in 1967 he had his first hit on the UK singles chart when "007 (Shanty Town)" peaked at number 14. He made a permanent move to England in 1969.

This is the link to a Maxell audio cassette tape advert using the song. www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEe0qqPAC6E

Answer: Return Of Django

"Return Of Django" was written by Lee "Scratch" Perry. It peaked at number five on the UK singles chart for The Upsetters in 1969. It did not chart in the US.

The group who recorded the record were originally known as Gladdy's All-Stars led by pianist Gladstone Anderson. They were named The Upsetters for Jamaican reggae producer Lee 'Scratch' Perry who was known as The Upsetter; they also acted as his house band.

When it came time to tour the UK Gladdy's All-Stars were not available and another group called The Hippy Boys did the tour under The Upsetters name. The Hippy Boys then became the house band which later became the nucleus of Bob Marley's backing group, The Wailers.

Answer: Horse Racing

"Long Shot Kick De Bucket" written by Crooks/Agard/Robinson peaked at number 21 on the UK singles chart for The Pioneers in 1969. It did not chart in the US.

The Pioneers from Jamaica were formed in 1962 by brothers Derrick and Sydney Crooks with a friend of theirs, Winston Hewitt. After a string of unsuccessful singles the group disbanded in 1967. Derrick went to work for a mining company, Sydney went to work in a record shop and Winston emigrated to Canada.

Later in 1967 while still working in a record shop Sydney Crooks returned to recording thanks to the record shop owner Joe Gibbs. Crooks was about to record "Give Me Little Loving" when he saw Jackie Robinson hanging around outside the studio and invited him to sing on the recording. After some successful singles they invited Desmond Dekker's half-brother George Agard to join them and become a trio again. They relocated to the UK in 1970.

Answer: Jimmy Clff

"Wonderful World, Beautiful People" was written by Jimmy Cliff. It was a number six hit on the UK singles chart for Jimmy Cliff in 1969. It peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970.

Jimmy Cliff was born James Chambers in St. James, Jamaica in 1948. He had his first Jamaican hit with "Hurricane Hattie" in 1962 aged 14. Later relocating to the UK he had his first UK hit with "Wonderful World, Beautiful People". This was followed by the minor hit "Vietnam" which peaked at number 46 in 1970. Bob Dylan called "Vietnam" the best protest song that he had ever heard.

In 1972 Cliff starred as Ivanhoe "Ivan" Martin in the movie "The Harder They Come", directed by Perry Henzell. A cover version of the Johnny Nash 1972 hit "I Can See Clearly Now" was a number 18 hit for Cliff on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1994. It peaked at number 23 on the UK singles chart the same year. Jimmy Cliff's version had been included in the soundtrack of the 1993 movie "Cool Runnings" starring John Candy. It was the last movie featuring John Candy to be released in his lifetime.

Answer: Elizabethan

"Elizabethan Reggae" was written by Ascherberg/Hopwood/Crewe. It peaked at number 14 on the UK singles chart for Boris Gardner in 1970. It did not chart in the US.

Boris Gardner was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1943. He was in various groups in the '60s such as The Rhythm Aces, The Souvenirs, Carlos Malcolm & the Afro Caribs and Byron Lee & The Dragonaires. When "Elizabethan Reggae" was released in the UK, the first copies were printed with the name of Byron Lee & The Dragonaires as the performers. Byron Lee was in fact the producer of the track.

"Elizabethan Reggae" was based on "Elizabethan Serenade" which was written by composer/arranger Ronald Binge in 1951. He arranged many of Mantovani's most famous pieces and invented the cascading strings effect, which was Mantovani's signature sound.

Answer: Young, Gifted and Black

"Young, Gifted and Black" was written by Nina Simone/Weldon Irvine. It was a number five hit on the UK singles chart for Bob And Marcia in 1970. It did not chart in the US.

Bob (Bob Andy) was born Keith Anderson in Jamaica, in 1944. He had many solo hits in Jamaica in the '60s starting with "I've Got To Go Back Home" in 1966. In the late '70s he concentrated on a career in acting, starring in the movies "Children of Babylon" (1980) and "The Mighty Quinn" (1989). In 2006 he received the Jamaican Order of Distinction. In 2015 he was mugged in St. Andrew, Jamaica and robbed of JA$50,000. His left arm was slashed during the attack.

Marcia was born Marcia Llyneth Griffiths in Jamaica, in 1949. She started her career performing on stage with Byron Lee and the Dragonaires in 1964. She had her first Jamaican success as a solo singer with "Feel Like Jumping" in 1968. Between 1974 and 1981 she was a member of the I Threes, supporting singers for Bob Marley & the Wailers. In 1990 a re-mix of her 1982 recording of "Electric Boogie" reached number 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It made the line dance "Electric Slide" an international dance craze. In 2014 she received the Jamaican Order of Distinction.

Answer: Man

"Monkey Man", written by Frederick Hibbert, peaked at number 47 on the UK singles chart for The Maytels in 1970. It did not chart in the US.

The original Maytals were formed in 1961 by Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, Henry "Raleigh" Gordon and Nathaniel "Jerry" Matthias. Their first records were issued as by The Flames and The Vikings by Island records in the UK. In 1966 The Maytals won the first ever Jamaican Independence Festival Popular Song Competition with the song "Bam Bam". Unfortunately later in the year, "Toots" was sent to jail for 18 months for drug possession.

They were reunited with their former producer Byron Lee in 1971 and he renamed them Toots & the Maytals. Their album "Funky Kingston" peaked at number 164 on the Billboard 200 album chart in 1975. The same year they were invited to join The Who tour of the U. S. A. as the opening act. It was not a successful tour for them and did nothing to bring them any further success in the U. S. A.

Answer: Love Of The Common People

"Love Of The Common People" was written by John Hurley/Ronnie Wilkins. It peaked at number nine on the UK singles chart for Nicky Thomas in 1970. It did not chart in the US.

Nicky Thomas was born Cecil Nicholas Thomas in Portland, Jamaica, in 1949. It is believed but not confirmed that he committed suicide in 1990 aged 41. He had a big hit in Jamaica in 1969 with "Run Mr Nigel Run" written and produced by Derrick Harriott. This song led to Thomas being known as Mr Nigel for a while. The success of "Love Of The Common People" in Europe led to a tour and then relocation to the UK.

His previous 1970 Jamaican number one hit "Have A Little Faith" is reputed to have sold in excess of 50,000 copies in the UK. Despite the sales figures it failed to chart in the UK because it was sold mainly through specialist music shops and not counted by the official chart compilers. He never had another chart entry in the UK. This may have been due to the song "B. B. C." released as the B-Side of "Tell It Like It Is". It was a critique of the treatment of Reggae music by the BBC especially DJ Tony Blackburn.

Answer: Collins

"Monkey Spanner" was written by S. Riley/A. Collins. It peaked at number seven on the UK singles chart for Dave & Ansel Collins in 1971. It did not chart in the US.

Dave & Ansel Collins were Dave Barker born David John Crooks in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1947 and Ansel Collins born Ansell Collins in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1949. They were working for producer Lee "Scratch" Perry in Kingston, Jamaica, in the late 1960s. They got together in 1971 and recorded the single "Double Barrel" which topped the charts in both Jamaica and the UK.

This is the link to a crazy dancing and walking video to this record. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXDP3D1aLZ8

Answer: See Clearly

"I Can See Clearly Now" was a number five hit on the UK singles chart for Johnny Nash in 1972. It was number one for four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 the same year.

Johnny Nash was born John Lester Nash Jr. in Houston, Texas, USA, in 1940. He appeared on Arthur Godfrey's TV and radio shows from 1956 to 1963. He had his first hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957 when "A Very Special Love" peaked at number 23. His only Top Ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 before "I Can See Clearly Now" came in 1968 when "Hold me Tight" peaked at number five. This was his first entry on the UK singles chart where it also peaked at number five.

He went to Jamaica in 1968 and had plans to break the local Rocksteady sound in the U. S. A. There he met The Wailers and signed up members Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer to a recording contract with his own JAD record label. None of their songs were hits. Nash had his last Top Ten hit when "Tears On My Pillow" was number one for one week on the UK singles chart in 1975. It did not chart in the US.