Bunny Lee - Jamaican Rockers 1975-1979

The Rockers Sound (aka Steppas) grew out of the Mid-70’s and was created during sessions with The Revolutionaires band at Channel 1 Studios. Drummer Sly Dunbar came up with a new ‘Militant’ style double drumming style on the snare drum that seemed to add some credence to the political / Rasta based lyrics that were so prominent around this time. As always in Reggae music the things that were happening on the streets and in the lives of the people of Kingston, Jamaica reflected in the music made at that time. While the town was under heavy manners and gunshot could be heard day and night a new film was being made by producer/director Theodorus Bafaloukos. To build on the global success of Perry Henzell’s ‘The Harder They Come’, it would be named appropriately ‘Rockers’. Producer Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee was at the forefront of the ‘Rockers’ sound and got many of his artists to cut Rocker style tracks. Horace Andy’s ‘Money Money’ to Cornel Campbell’s advisory ‘Control Your Daughters’ and ‘No Man’s Land’. Hit after hit came with Johnny Clarke’s ‘Rockers Time Now’, ‘(Just Call Me) African Roots’, and ‘ Peace And Love In The Ghetto’. Tommy McCook’s and Bobby Ellis’s timeless ‘Smiling Rockers’ and I Roy’s ‘The Godfather’ all fell under the ‘Rockers’ spell. Even the crown Prince of Reggae himself Dennis Brown came to the Bunny Lee camp with his version ‘Children of Isreal’. So for this compilation we have pulled together some of the best cuts from this period when producer Bunny Lee was on top of his game and the sound in town to get on board with was ‘Rockers’. So sit back and enjoy another period in reggae’s history that still sounds as good today as when it was created whey back when. Everything… ROCKERS…