Sound Travels got into the early reggae sound on Thursday and Friday. Known as rocksteady, this precursor to the sound that would come to be known as reggae is a great place to start understanding the roots of a style of music that now has no borders and is made by people all over the world.
The songs I played were both off of an impressive compilation I recently found simply titled Jamaican Beat, a selection of songs culed from producer Duke Reid's catalogue. Really, there are a ton of compilations that gather nusic like this together, and you could get any of the number that are out there. Jamaican Beat however, is a thorough and thoroughly excellent one and that is important. Check the songs I played and decide for yourself...