Trojan Records Official, May 9, 2014 #RockSteady #Reggae #Israelites
Official audio for Desmond Dekker & The Aces -
"Israelites", released in 1968 on Trojan Records.
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series on Jamaican singer/composer Desmond Dekker's 1968 hit song* "Israelites".
This post showcases the YouTube official audio video of Jamaican singer Desmond Dekker's 1968 hit record "Israelites". This pancocojams post also presents some comments from the discussion thread for that video. .
That pancocojams post also presents information about Desmond Dekker as well as information about his hit song "Israelites".
The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
Thanks to Desmond Dekker for his musical legacy. Thanks to The Aces for their musical legacy. Thanks to all those who were associated with this song. Thanks to hare quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
-snip-
*There continues to be considerable debate about whether Desmond Dekker's song "Israelites" is Ska, Reggae, or Rock Steady. Some of the commenters below state their position on this subject. There are also comments about this subject in Part I of this pancocojams series.
****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD FOR THE YOUTUBE EXAMPLE THAT IS GIVEN ABOVE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxtfdH3-TQ4
These comments are given in relative chronological order except for replies. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
1. DEZMO NYC
"da BOMB!!!"
****
2019
2. Donald Morrow
"When I first heard this song on the radio, I thought I was
hearing a very good foreign language record and lumped it together in my
musical understanding with "Sukiyaki" and "Volare." Boy was I wrong when further listening
revealed English with a very heavy Jamaican accent. I bought it when it first came out in the
states and played it alone in my room a lot.
Little did I know, I was buying a record that would make history even
now in light of the success of Bob Marley and the Wailers. Little did I know that I would be playing it
today as if I just bought it new way back then.
Little did I know that I would trace my love of Reggae music not to Bob
Marley, but to Desmond Dekker and this masterpiece. Tomorrow, I will play this again, unlock more
of its secrets and enjoy every minute of it."
**
Reply
3. David Smith, 2020
"+Donald Morrow This
was the first Reggae song I ever heard, when it came out. I did not realize it
was from an entire genre of music. Years later, I saw Toots and the Maytals,
the same week Bob's Rastaman Vibration came out. I was in Love, like I had not
been since James Brown played in my 4th grade pre Integration all white
elementary school auditorium, in Augusta Ga. Love at first hearing."
Reply
4. Seb King, 2020
"+
Reply
5. Donald Morrow, 2020
"
**
Reply
6. Seb King, 2020
"@Donald Morrow Fair enough then. Again, sorry if it came off
as rude."
Reply
7. alkh3myst, 2020
"
8. Jorge Salazar
"Amazing song! Dekker introduced the ska and reggae music to UK, even before that Bob Marley."
9. pat quecke
"It was perfect when they played this song at the end of the movie drugstore cowboy."
**
10. Loobyloo
"So many memories of living in London! I was 13 when this came out and they would blast it at the fairgrounds in Clapton. Nostalgic as I age."
****
2020
11, Jd Ck
"I loved this song when it came out. I
was 10, living next to the sea and this tune seemed to be everywhere.......the
tourists always had radios with them on the beach in those days (UK)"
12,
"I loved watching the cheerleaders
practice their drill to the beat of this song in high school. It was so cool!!"
13.
"The 269th UK #1.
Before Bob Marley was widely known in the UK, this number
became the first reggae song to reach the chart summit. Goodness-knows-how-many
years later, it's still better than the imitation "music" that
dominates today's charts, and a lasting classic."
**
14. Steve Armstrong
"Actually, "Israelites" is in the ska genre, which
was a precursor to reggae."
**
15. Casey Cahill
"It really is brilliant.
I heard it for the first time during a movie "Drugstore
Cowboy." It's so unique, and stays
in your head! Great, great song from
extraordinary people - Jamaicans."
**
16. Edwin kiarie
"The flash Season 2 Episode 19 brought me
here! :P"
**
17. Dan Renwick
"Totally Righteous.
The original eh.
Huge hit here in Toronto, way back in
the day. Not until the 70's did we get more."
**
18. Alan Fox
"I heard it on an episode of the flash right at the beginning tonight"
19. william Cooper
"Anyone else come here from the book 'Skinheads'?"
****
20, Jatsi
"Such a wonderful song!
My first contact with ska was the Specials' "Ghost
Town" and after hearing that, I was hooked. :)
I think this song is both ska and reggae and it works very
well.
Thank you, mr. Dekker! :)"
**
21. Baflar
"Unfortunately, this is NOT the sound of
the original single that famously reached No.1 in the UK charts. The original was on the Pyramid label [PYR
6058 A]: the version here appears to be the original take but with an added
echo, which spoils the 'close' intensity of Desmond Dekker's voice. It seems that rights to the song were
acquired by Trojan at some point."
**
22. Mikey BBB
"Possibly one of the best intros to a
song ever, pleasingly the rest of it is ace. The best tune to wake up to"
**
23. phil giles
"1st real reggae song on the UK main
stream radio. still magic"
****
2022
24. PetertheChanter
"Thinking about the great Windrush generation."
**
25. Chris Hind
"Big tuune!"
**
26. skiny81
"A skins anthems ! D. Dekkers is "the rude boy ska" ✊"
27.
"This song perfectly illustrates the transformation of ska into reggae. And still fresh after 49! years"
**
Reply
28. chuckemeade, 2024
"This is actually a Rocksteady tune Reggae came after Rocksteady. The backing band is Lyn Taitt and The Jets."
**
29. And Rob
"It was so cool for the time, there was nothing on the
airways like it at the time. Super cool then, and now! 😍"
30. Millie Lillyton
"Hello fellow Jamaicans"
**
31. Kyle Butler
"Marc (TV series) brought me here!"
**
32. smart451cab
"This was one of the first 45s I bought. Might have been THE first, can't say for
certain though. I'd have been 14-years
old and was buying my first music with my own money. I don't remember what 45s cost back then, but
I made my spending money mainly from collecting & selling deposit soda
bottles. Back then, in my town, about
the only place to buy records was at Sears.
Lyrics and interpretation can be found here:
https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858619305/ "
**
33.
"arguably the song that put reggae on the international map"
**
34. TOM WAGNER
"Heard this song as a 6 year old in the late 60s and it stuck in my mind and
then heard it again on a BBC news cast about the history of Trojan record
company...glad I found it!"
****
2024
"Lovely song; it took me right back to the days of my childhood when my mom and her brothers used to play sweet reggae records with songs like Israelites. I practically grew up on these kind of songs! Love em to pieces I did back then, and still do."
**
36. Innoje Anas
"Conscious vibe. Jah bless the artiste"
**
37.
"Loved this song for years. Jumped straight out of my seat when it started bumping on episode 3 of Watchmen!"
**
38. John Desalvo
"This is SKA..in the transitional phase to Rocksteady. While Mento was a "main ingredient" mixed in with American Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, and a touch of early rock and Roll. Mento in its PURE Calypso form was considered passe at this point...Tourist area bars exceptions."
**
39. Marsh Duncanson
"I would like to see the official correct
lyrics. I have seen various inconsistent versions."
**
Reply
40. Marsh Duncanson
"I'd also like to know what the devil
they mean!"
**
Reply
41. Annmarie busu
"Marsh Duncanson it’s posted in various comments pretty correctly. He wakes up every morning working hard to feed himself, woman and kids. The stress of the poor Israelite ie black people. He talks about not wanting to end up like Bonnie and Clyde ( I think he wants a honest living and not hunted down and killed) and how poor he is and his relationship struggles. 😄"
**
42. Claudia Allen
"Watchmen thanks for using my country song 🇯🇲🥰"
**
43. Joao LEAL JR
"Also from Watchmen, but thia song
remembers me the black jews rescue from Uganda by israeli special forces"
**
44. ana paula Cameron
"I heard this melody in a UK margarine ad in the 90s and was immediately
hooked, ( Oh, oh, oh, Vitalite) but it took me ages to find out the name of the
song so I could go to Tower Records and get a copy."
**
45. gil.gosseyn
"The first reggae song I ever heard, and
STILL one of the best. I first heard it
when I was 16, in late '68 or early '69, on Atlanta's first Progressive radio
station, WPLO-FM."
**
46. Harry S. Anchan
"1969 all over again! I LOVE it! Released
on June 3, 1969 reaching #9 on June 28."
**
47. @colingehrman7078
"Still listening at 66 danced to this
when a was 11 😊 great days 😅😅"
**
48, @ru9204
"Oooh ohhh my ears are alight! What a great song 👌"
**
49. @nakisharogers4555
"Look how some of our WOKE people was giving us clues before
we were Born!!!"
**
50. @philipdennis-rh7uj
"The struggle is real"
**
51. @christine899
"I remember this song was used in an advert for a sunflower
margarin, way back , always loved this song so cheerful and made you want to
dance."
**
52. @irwinashby-im9ft
"Ya all remember this.
London town. Watch dem white girls n boys dance. Lawwdd joyous me tell ya. Memories by the score."
**
53. @SotR59
"I've loved this song since it came out when I was a little
kid. Never had any idea what he was saying and "Israelites" never
even crossed my mind. I'm sure I thought something over the years but it's been
a long time since I heard it till just now and as soon as I saw the title
whatever I might have thought went out of my memory."
**
54. @algiemcneal2014
"I like this song, the music is so catchy 😊"
**
55. @markdurrant4174
"A fantastic song,reminds me of the days
of working in Brixton when you heard old school ska,and this was a absolute
classic 👌"
56.
"This reminds me f all night dancing at The E Partido in
Lewisham London in the mid 60's. What a time to alive!"
**
57. @2tone753
"German from Berlin, 62 Years old,
non-racist Skinhead since 1979. This is our music, not the plagiarism."
**
58. @danilaird
"Spirit of 69 SKinheads! This is our music!!! Skins unite
worldwide! Rudeboys and Skins!! Oi! Rocksteady, 2 Tone, Oi! music"
**
59. @paulkenneally789
"Desmond Dekker did more improve race relations in Britain
than anyone at the time or any of today’s shabby politicians."
**
60. @lesleycarney8868
"I can't drive anywhere without my Trojan discs playing here
in Southern Spain. The best thing about being a teenager in the 70's in the UK
was the music."
**
61.@delroyday8925
"I find this song to be as fascinating as when it was
released in 1968. I was ten years old then, and I'm still listening to it, to
this day. October 2, 2023.❤"
62.
"This song was played a great deal out of an AM station out
of Charleston SC. I would get excited when my parents would drive south towards
the signal. Knew I would hear this."
**
63. @delroyday8925
"I am still listening to this classic song ❤"
**
64. @jonathanvernot762
"Ska-lite
Is a de-lite"
**
65.@TheSleightDoctor
2 months ago
This song had a profound effect on me
as a teenager. It's message still stands today.
**
66.@lindacarroll-so6sr
2 months ago
2024 here! First ska song I ever heard
at age five! Fast forward to the English Beat, The Selector, Madness, The Specials! That beat never gets
old. 😀🎵
**
Reply
67. @patriciasmith1128
2 months ago
Me too, 2024. Ska was an experience of a naive little white
girl in Toronto, Canada, part of the British Commonwealth. in the 1960s. More
Ska! More Reggae! More Rock Steady!
**
Reply
68.@lindacarroll-so6sr
"@patriciasmith1128 Ska was great for another little white girl
(me!) growing up in a small town in northeast USA. When the DJ started playing
all the ska songs, you couldn't get my friends or me off the dance floor.
Sometimes lasted for an hour! Great times and memories. Glad you had fun,too!
Rankin full stop goes on!"
**
69.@joancayenne9293
"I had loved it, but didn't
understand what it was all about, when it was banned I wondered why
until between 2017/2018 I learnt that the negroes were the Israelites. They didn't want us to know."
**
70. @stephenhess9680
"Fun song from my 13th year. Used to sing it with my boyhood
buds. Of course we got most of the words wrong 😂"
**
71.@ameliyaholiviyah6189
"😮Just realised this day
what this song is about. They made it an advert for a drink. un-learn and
re-learn. ❤"
**
72.@rudymartinez6242
"The first time I heard this was on Bob McCallister’s
WONDERAMA show. My older cousins called LA radio stations to play it and were
told, “Oh, thats an old song, it never charted”, but I guess a lot more
Wonderama fans called in because within a month, it was a big hit, a few years
after it was released. I’m going to have the DJ play this on our 45th Wedding
Anniversary. Great song!!!!"
**
73.@lawrencenjawe9875
"This all-time Reggae Classic gave me the shivers everytime I
spun the record on my turntable back in the days...No doubt one of the defining
tracks in the development of Jamaican music as much as the Wailers' Get up
Stand Up and the Abyssinians' Satta Massagana.."
**
74.@scottburton9701
"The first reggae song to crack the U.S.charts-Reached the
top 10 in the spring of 1969."
Reply
75.
"Always loved this song."
Reply
76.
"Thank you for the education family"
Reply
77.
"Yes! Reached #9 on
the Billboard Top 40 and was the first reggae song to get lots of airplay on
mainstream pop radio here in the States"
Reply
78.
"This isn't reggae though.
This is ska. This is good
ska. This is reggae's daddy."
**
79.@stevengrundy4720
"2024 and eternal
RASTAFERI❤"
**
80. @derekstynes9631
"Beloved Anthem of the Rude Boys and
Real Skinheads everywhere !"
****
This concludes Part II of this two part pancocojams series.
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