Tag: 1987

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Jaco Pastorius 9/1987

Jaco PastoriusSeptember 21, 1987 – John Francis Anthony Pastorius III aka Jaco Pastorius changed the way the bass was played. Born in Pennsylvania on December 1, 1951, Jaco’s family moved south and he grew up in Fort Lauderdale, where he first took on the drums. Being a direct descendant of poet Francis Daniel Pastorius, who drafted the first  protest against slavery in the US in 1688!, artistry ran in the family. His dad was a big band leader and singer.

During his formative years drums, like his dad, but a football injury made him move to bass. Upright bass at first but after his bass cracked because of the ocean front humidity in Florida he bought an electric bass. Continue reading Jaco Pastorius 9/1987

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Peter Tosh 9/1987

peter toshSeptember 11, 1987 – Winston Hubert McIntosh better known as Peter Tosh/Stepping Razor was a Jamaican guitarist and singer in the original Wailers of Bob Marley & the Wailers fame.  Born in Petersfield on October 19th 1944, he became a pioneer reggae musician, as the original guitarist for The Wailers and he is actaully considered as one of the originators of the choppy, syncopated reggae guitar style, and as trailblazer for the Rastafari movement and the fight to legalize cannabis.

He was a target for the police and underwent many beatings. In the early 60s Winston met Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer through his vocal teacher, Joe Higgs. Continue reading Peter Tosh 9/1987

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John Hammond 7/1987

July 10, 1987 – John Hammond ll was born on December 15th 1910 in New York.

Not persé a rock and roller he was an important record producer, musician and music critic from the 1930s to the early 1980s, including the early years of Rock and Roll. A heir to both the Vanderbilt and Sloane fortunes, he grew up in a Manhattan mansion, where he listened to music with the black servants in the basement. He attended St. Bernard’s, Hotchkiss and Yale, but dropped out to be a disc jockey and live in Greenwich Village.

He funded the recording of pianist Garland Wilson in 1931, marking the beginning of a long string of artistic successes as record producer and eventually became one of the most influential figures of 20th century music sparking the careers of Benny Goodman, Charlie Christian, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Babatunde Olatunji, Asha Puthli, Pete Seeger, Teddy Wilson, Big Joe Turner, Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Bob Dylan, Freddie Green, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Arthur Russell and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

He is also largely responsible for the revival of delta blues artist Robert Johnson’s music. John received a Grammy Trustees Award for being credited with co-producing a Bessie Smith reissue in 1971, and in 1986 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He died from a series of strokes at age 76 on July 10, 1987.

His son John Hammond Jr. is an accomplished blues musician in his own right.

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Boudleaux Bryant 6/1987

boudleaux-bryantJune 25, 1987 – Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant was born on February 13, 1920 in Shellman, Georgia. he was trained as a classical violinist and during the 1937–38 season he performed with the Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra, yet was more interested in country “fiddling.”

He joined Hank Penny and his Radio Cowboys, an Atlanta-based western music band and slowly started moving towards jazz, when in 1945 he met Matilda Genevieve Scaduto, whom he called Felice, while performing at a hotel in her hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was born in the city in 1925 to an ethnic Italian family. She used to write lyrics to traditional Italian tunes. During World War II, still a teenager, she sang and directed shows at the local USO.

Bryant and Scaduto eloped two days after meeting. Their song, “All I Have To Do Is Dream,” is autobiographical for Felice. She was working as an elevator operator at the Sherwood Hotel in Milwaukee, when she saw Bryant. She has said that she “recognized” him immediately; she had seen his face in a dream when she was eight years old, and had “looked for him forever.” She was nineteen when they met.

By himself and as a couple they went on to become one of the greatest songwriter teams in country pop music history. His wife Felice Bryant died in 2003. The husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team are best known for songs such as “Raining In My Heart”, “Wake up little Susie”, “Rocky Top,” “Love Hurts” and numerous Everly Brothers hits, including “All I Have to Do Is Dream” and “Bye Bye Love”.

Beginning in 1957 they came to national prominence in both country music and pop music when they wrote a string of hugely successful songs for the Everly Brothers and hits for others such as Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly. Their compositions were recorded by many artists from a variety of musical genres, including Tony Bennett, Sonny James, Eddy Arnold, Bob Moore, Charley Pride, Nazareth, Jim Reeves, Leo Sayer, Simon & Garfunkel, Sarah Vaughan, The Grateful Dead, Elvis Costello, Count Basie, Dean Martin, Ray Charles, Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan and others.

In those days the Bryants lived not far from Nashville on Old Hickory Lake in Hendersonville, Tennessee, near friends Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash. In 1978 however, they moved to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. They had often stayed at The Gatlinburg Inn, where they wrote numerous songs, including “Rocky Top.” They purchased the “Rocky Top Village Inn” in the town next to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In 1979 they released their own album called A Touch of Bryant. “Rocky Top“, written in 1967, was adopted as a state song by Tennessee in 1982, and as the unofficial fight song for the University of Tennessee sports teams.

The Bryants wrote more than 6,000 songs, some 1,500 of which were recorded and by the late ’80s, it was estimated that Boudleaux and Felice’s warehouse of songs, had sold over 300 million copies worldwide. In 1972 they had been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, in 1986 into the Songwriters Hall of Fame; and in 1991 the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

During their career, the Bryants earned 59 BMI country, pop, and R&B music awards. Boudleaux Bryant is the third most successful songwriter of the 1950s on the UK Singles Chart, his wife Felice the 21st.

Boudleaux died on June 25, 1987 at the age of 67.

Interesting Sideline Anecdote:

“The title came from [producer and Monument Records founder] Fred Foster. He called one night and said, ‘I’ve got a song title for you. It’s “Me and Bobby McKee.”’ I thought he said ‘McGee.’ Bobby McKee was the secretary of Boudleaux Bryant, who was in the same building with Fred. Then Fred says, ‘The hook is that Bobby McKee is a she. How does that grab you?’ (Laughs) I said, ‘Uh, I’ll try to write it, but I’ve never written a song on assignment.’ So it took me a while to think about.

“There was a Mickey Newbury song that was going through my mind—‘Why You Been Gone So Long?’ It had a rhythm that I really liked. I started singing in that meter.

“For some reason, I thought of La Strada, this Fellini film, and a scene where Anthony Quinn is going around on this motorcycle and Giulietta Masina is the feeble-minded girl with him, playing the trombone. He got to the point where he couldn’t put up with her anymore and left her by the side of the road while she was sleeping. Later in the film, he sees this woman hanging out the wash and singing the melody that the girl used to play on the trombone. He asks, ‘Where did you hear that song?’ And she tells him it was this little girl who had showed up in town and nobody knew where she was from, and later she died. That night, Quinn goes to a bar and gets in a fight. He’s drunk and ends up howling at the stars on the beach. To me, that was the feeling at the end of ‘Bobby McGee.’ The two-edged sword that freedom is. He was free when he left the girl, but it destroyed him. That’s where the line ‘Freedom’s just another name for nothing left to lose’ came from.

“The first time I heard Janis Joplin’s version was right after she died. Paul Rothchild, her producer, asked me to stop by his office and listen to this thing she had cut. Afterwards, I walked all over L.A., just in tears. I couldn’t listen to the song without really breaking up. So when I came back to Nashville, I went into the Combine Publishing building late at night, and I played it over and over again, so I could get used to it without breaking up. Songwriter and keyboardist Donnie Fritts came over and listened with me, and we wrote a song together that night about Janis, called ‘Epitaph’. “‘Bobby McGee’ was the song that made the difference for me. Every time I sing it, I still think of Janis.”- Kris Kristofferson

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Peter Lucia 6/1987

Peter LuciaJanuary 6, 1987 – Peter Paul Lucia, Jr.  was born on February 2, 1947 in Morristown, New Jersey. He was a drummer for Hog Heaven and member of Tommy James and Shondells, whose period of greatest success came in the late 1960s. He co-wrote Crimson and Clover with Tommy James, referring to having the title created during a football meeting between two high school teams of which his home team wore Crimson and the opponents green reminding him of Clover.

They had a series of number one singles in the US – “Hanky Panky” in 1966 and “Crimson and Clover” in 1969, and five other top ten hits; “I Think We’re Alone Now,” “Mony Mony,” “Crystal Blue Persuasion”, “Mirage”, and “Sweet Cherry Wine”.

Crimson and Clover, often mistaken by Christmas is Over

Peter Lucia unexpectedly died from a heart attack on January 6, 1987 in Los Angeles, U.S. during a round of golf.In 2006, Tommy James & the Shondells were inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of FameProfile

While researching the minuscule information available on Peter Lucia I stumbled on a 2008 story by The Guardian correspondent John Moore that pretty much underlines how I feel about this strange strange song that is so bubble gummy sweet, but perfect. Here is his take on it:

While watching Monster, the biopic of executed serial killer Aileen Wuornos, Crimson and Clover plays in the background as Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci become sapphically acquainted in a dingy motel room. There’s hardly any flesh on display, but the scene is extraordinarily erotic, due to the tender, otherworldly sweetness of this song.

Tommy James and the Shondells were one of the big US acts of the mid-60s, scoring massive hits with songs such as I Think We’re Alone Now and Monie Monie. However, it was only after his main songwriter, Bo Gentry, went on strike in a dispute with Roulette records, that James had a go at writing himself.

In the face of much derision and scepticism over just how far his talents might stretch, he and Shondells drummer Peter Lucia Jr descended into the bowels of New York City’s Brill building, and Crimson and Clover was the result.

It’s fantastically vague – perhaps the song’s title is a reference to ladies’ parts, or some sort of pharmaceutical, but I’m probably being sordid. More likely, they’re just nice (and wonderfully inarticulate) words to sing and rhyme to: “Now I don’t hardly know her”, and “Well if she come walkin’ over”, etc.

Several sites on the web mistakenly (or perhaps mischievously) attribute it to the Velvet Underground. It has exactly the same three chord-descending riff as the earliest incarnation of Sweet Jane – which was developing in the big apple at exactly the same time. Perhaps a pop detective could place Tommy James at Max’s Kansas City, or prove Lou Reed was hiding in a guitar case, but it’s just as likely with rock music barely into its adolescence, that two great minds could pluck the same riff from the ether and bring it down to earth. It’s possible to love them both, with no overlap.

The production is an immaculate accident, sounding like a budget, restrained Phil Spector with a map of The United States, crossing from the east coast to the west, and calling at all points in between. In five and a half minutes, it travels from aching adolescent mating call, to gum-chewing garage punk, to Nashville ballad, and ends in psychedelia – achieved by singing through the guitar amp tremolo input.

The song was of course a massive hit in the winter of 1969, although it might have lasted longer, had radio stations not mistaken the title for Christmas is Over and stopped playing it.

As the final verse of this hymn, I’ll tell you that Kenny Laguna, the Shondells’ keyboard player, went on to produce Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – the singer currently being my favourite person, due to her knocking all those dreadful I’ll-do-anything-to-be-famous pretenders out of my daughter’s affections, and replacing them with her I Love Rock’n’Roll, Crimson and Clover real self.

There’s a fantastic recent clip of Tommy James and the Shondells on YouTube. Although he is beginning to look strangely like Danny deVito as the Penguin, his voice is still utterly thrilling, and the song remains superb.

Oh, one very last thing. Before changing their name to the Shondells, the band was called … the Raconteurs.

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Yogi Horton 6/1987

yogihortonJune 8, 1987 – Yogi Horton was born Lawrence Horton on October 1, 1953 in Teaneck, New Jersey. Two neighborhood recording studios got a lot of young kids in his area to pick up music. Yogi choose drums following in the footsteps of famous Motown drummer Bennie Benjamin.

By the late 1970s he was a highly in-demand, colourful and energetic drummer for hundreds of sessions with dozens of artists and bands, such as Diana Ross, Odyssey, Grover Washington Jr., John Lennon, Aretha Franklin, The B-52s, The Rolling Stones, Debbie Harry as well as being the long time touring and recording drummer for the late R&B singer Luther Vandross and the singer songwriters Ashford & Simpson.

Also, he was a member of the Alessi Brothers band for three years in the mid-’80s, touring and recording with Barnaby Bye bandmates and twins Billy & Bobby Alessi.

On June 8, 1987 after a very tense concert performance behind Luther Vandross in New York City, Yogi was very upset about the state of his career and jumped from a 17th floor hotel window. He was 33.

This is an instructional video in which he breaks down groove drumming. His words are as meaningful as his playing

At the time of his untimely death, Yogi was the go-to guy for hundreds of sessions, as well as the touring/recording drummer for the late R&B singer Luther Vandross and legendary singer/songwriters Ashford & Simpson. This online tribute is a continuation from piece we published in the August ’07 issue of Modern Drummer magazine.

The History Of R&B/Funk Drumming, featuring Yogi Horton, is one of the very first instructional type videos of its kind. The video, which was produced by Hudson Music founders Paul Siegel and Rob Wallis in association with DCI in 1983, has unfortunately been out of print for sometime now. Paul’s recollection is that Yogi came up with a very strong presentation for the concept right on the spot. “There wasn’t any real discussion beforehand as I recall. He just launched into this spontaneous rap about R&B drumming, particularly Benny Benjamin, the genius drummer at Motown. We were so inexperienced in video production at the time, though, so the audio was recorded very poorly, and the video was rendered almost un-releasable.”

Rob Wallis recalls, “I first met Yogi in 1980/81, at an Ashford & Simpson rehearsal, through a friend of mine, Pete Cannarozzi, who was their keyboard player. I had already heard about Yogi’s playing and incredible groove, but had never seen him play live before—I’d only heard him on records. When I first walked into the rehearsal room, I remember hearing a huge amount of laughter and soon realized at the center of it was Yogi telling some story or joke.

“I also remember the amount of power he used for his backbeat,” Wallis continues. “He raised the stick high and came down with more force than I’d ever see anyone hit a drum with. His snare drum was probably the loudest thing in the band. As they went through their set, it was clear that Yogi drove the band with an amazing confidence. Even on the ballads, he played with complete force and conviction. When we spoke after the rehearsal, I found him to be a very warm and funny guy.

“We talked about him doing a master class,” Rob goes on, “at what was then the original location for Drummers Collective. It was the early days of home video, and Paul Siegel and I started videotaping—very crudely at first—classes at the school. We knew very little about filming, as we were both drummers and running the school. I remember Yogi coming in, rolling tape, and that was pretty much it. We had edited an hour-long video that was one of the first three or four titles our first company, DCI Music Video, ever released. It was a very simple and somewhat crude production and eventually taken off the market due to the production values it had. But it was a glimpse of Yogi and a document of one of the great Funk/R&B drummers of the ’80s.”

Memories Of Yogi

Yogi Horton was a member of the Alessi Brothers band for three years in the mid-’80s, touring and recording with Barnaby Bye bandmates and twins Billy & Bobby Alessi. Bobby Alessi recalls one particular evening on tour with Yogi. “He looked like a tough guy on the outside,” Bobby explains, “but inside he was a sensitive, caring person. He was also very honest—one time, in my case, maybe a little too honest. I remember once in Japan, we were all enjoying a little R&R at a popular private club. I was dancing with a beautiful model, having a great time, when Yogi called me over and said, ‘Yo Bobby, if I were you, brother, I wouldn’t dance.’ Needless to say, I suck at dancing.”
Billy Alessi remembers the very first band rehearsal with Yogi. “He came into the studio with all of us there, including the road staff and the our beautiful backup singer Diana Krall. Yogi proceeded to drop his sweat pants to his ankles, walks up to our percussionist, Carlos Rodriguez, and says, ‘Let’s go, sucka, pay up!’ Later we found out that Carlos told Yogi he wasn’t our kind of drummer and was so sure he would never get the gig that they made a bet. He wound up playing with us a for three years.”

Keyboardist Pete Cannarozzi says, “We all still talk about Yogi and smile backstage whenever I do an occasional show with Ashford and Simpson. Yogi and I were roommates for the Ashford and Simpson Solid tour in 1983/84. I could tell you road stories about Yogi, but they’re not suitable for print! As far as his drumming, I recall Yogi being the finest pocket player I ever worked with. His live playing dynamics were always sensitive and explosive, and his studio chops and stamina were never-ending. He will forever be in my Hall of Fame.”

Drummer Chris Parker shared the drum seat with Yogi in 1981 on the Ashford & Simpson–produced recording for their then back-up singer Ullanda McCullough. “Yogi and I used to hang out when he came down to my loft on Grand Street or at Mikell’s when Stuff was playing. Yogi had such a fierce groove and plenty of power behind the notes. He also had a musically wicked sense of humor and took delight in playing things that would trick your ears, like accent displacement, ‘one drop’ reggae fills that incredibly led to the downbeat, or a big crash where you’d least expect it. When he caught you by surprise like that, he’d throw back his head and laugh hard!”

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John Gary Driscoll 6/1987

john-gary-driscollJune 8, 1987 – John Gary Driscoll was born on 18 April 1946 was an American R&B style rock drummer who performed in a number of successful bands from the 1960s until his death on June 10, 1987.

He first entered the music scene when he joined Ronnie Dio and The Prophets in June 1965, fronted by Ronnie James Dio. The band transformed into The Electric Elves, The Elves, and finally Elf in 1969, releasing a few singles along the way. They were eventually discovered by Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover who went on to produce two of Elf’s three studio albums.

Elf disbanded in 1975 when Gary Driscoll, Ronnie James Dio, Micky Lee Soule (Elf’s keyboardist) and Craig Gruber (their bassist) were recruited by Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore to form the rock band Rainbow.

Driscoll was dismissed from Rainbow shortly after their debut album, entitled Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, was recorded. It is speculated that firing Gary was simply due to his R&B/jazz/funk style of drumming, which did not sit well with Blackmore. Driscoll was later replaced with British hard rocker, Cozy Powell.

By 1975 Elf was no more, disbanded to join Blackmore and his new band, Richie Blackmore’s Rainbow, they recorded an album of the same name and although the line-up never toured, the band and the album won critical acclaim. Despite the success of the album, Blackmore fired all of the band except Dio and replaced Driscoll on drums with Cozy Powell for the follow-up album and world tour. The former band members were suitably irate at being used by Blackmore to secure the services of Ronnie James Dio and regardless of stories about Blackmore’s dislike of Driscoll’s R&B style, the reality is that Blackmore only ever wanted Dio.

After his departure from Rainbow, Driscoll played in the band Dakota (1978–1980, from Scranton, Pa. formally the Jerry Kelly Band), before starting Bible Black with Craig Gruber, future Blue Cheer guitarist Duck McDonald and singer Jeff Fenholt. This band released the albums Ground Zero and, with a few other musicians, Thrasher, neither of which sold well. Driscoll found a day job, and made a little extra money on the side as a session musician and moved between bands.

Driscoll was found dead in a friend’s home in Ithaca, New York in June 1987 at the age of 41. His brutal murder remains unsolved with no apparent motive, although it is rumored to have been drug related. The man initially arrested for the crime was acquitted at trial. There have been leads in the case, and the person of interest has fled the country. There have been varying accounts as to the reason; from drug deals to a ritualistic satanic sacrifice. There is evidence to suggest that the murder was carried out by more than one person, whilst the chief suspect fled America before being charged.

Driscoll did not have the impact on rock music that Dio and Blackmore can rightfully claim but his appearance on that first Rainbow album is enough to cement his place in the genre’s history books.

Listen to his playing on this track, it’s ironic that he was fired for his ‘pop style’ given Blackmore’s reason for letting Dio go in favour of Graham Bonnet and a move towards chart single success. Ignore, if you will, Blackmore’s soloing and hear the drumming. It’s really rather good.

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Paul Butterfield 5/1987

Muro do Classic RockButterfield could hit a single note and have it sound like a full orchestra!

May 4, 1987 – Paul Vaughn Butterfield was born on December 17, 1942 to become one of the best white Chicago blues performers in America (singer and harmonica player).

Beyond anything, it should be noted that Paul Butterfield was much better as a harpist/singer than he was ever given credit for. With the likes of Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield he carved a huge inroad for Chicago City Blues in the world of blues.

 After early training as a classical flautist, Butterfield developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his native Chicago, where he was able to meet Muddy Waters and other blues greats who provided encouragement and a chance to join in the jam sessions. Soon, Butterfield began performing with fellow blues enthusiasts Nick Gravenites and Elvin Bishop.

In 1963, he formed the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, with whom recorded several successful albums as the band became a popular fixture on the late-1960s concert and festival circuit, with performances at the Fillmores, Monterey Pop Festival, and Woodstock. They became known for combining electric Chicago blues with a rock urgency as well as their pioneering jazz fusion performances and recordings. After the breakup of the group in 1971, Butterfield continued to tour and record in a variety of settings, including with Paul Butterfield’s Better Days, his mentor Muddy Waters, and members of Bob Dylan’s backing group The Band, some of whom lived in Woodstock.

Most of his later work originated in Woodstock, New York where he moved to in the early 1970s

While still recording and performing, Butterfield died in 1987 at age 44 of a heroin overdose. Music critics have acknowledged his development of an original approach that places him among the best-known blues-harp players. In 2006, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 2015.

Both panels noted his harmonica skills as well as his contributions to bringing blues-style music to a younger and broader audience.

 

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Carlton Barrett 4/1987

carly barrettApril 17, 1987 – Carlton “Carly” Barrett was born December 17th 1950. As a teenager he built his first set of drums out of some empty paint tins, and had initially been influenced by Lloyd Knibb, the great drummer from the Skatalites. He and his brother Aston were raised in Kingston and absorbed the emerging ska sound. Working as a welder he first tried building a guitar and playing. But he soon realised guitar wasn’t his thing and picked up the drums.

In the late 1960s Carlton started playing sessions with his brother Aston, the pair calling themselves the Soul Mates or the Rhythm Force, before settling on The Hippy Boys, a line-up that featured Max Romeo on vocals. Leroy Brown, Delano Stewart, Glen Adams and Alva Lewis also played in the band’s fluctuating line-up.

The Hippy Boys became one of Kingston’s busiest session bands; fittingly their first recording was “Watch This Sound”, backing the late Slim Smith. They also released a couple of albums for Lloyd Charmers, Reggae with the Hippy Boys and Reggae Is Tight. As well as playing on many sessions for Bunny Lee and Sonia Pottinger, the Barrett brothers also played on two 1969 UK chart hits, “Liquidator” for Harry J, and “Return of Django” for Lee “Scratch” Perry, with whom they had now taken root.

For Perry, they took the name The Upsetters, and knocked out a long run of instrumentals, including “Clint Eastwood”, “Cold Sweat”, “Night Doctor”, and “Live Injection”. It was while with Perry that the Barrett brothers first teamed up with The Wailers, then a vocal trio consisting of Bob, Peter and Bunny. After recording many now classic numbers, Carly and Aston decided to team up with The Wailers on a permanent basis.

The Barrett brothers recorded several singles with the Wailers in 1969–70: “My Cup (Runneth Over)”, “Duppy Conqueror, “Soul Rebel”, and “Small Axe”. Most of these songs appeared on two Perry-produced Wailers albums: Soul Rebels and Soul Revolution, and formed the early foundation of the one drop sound.

Though original Wailers Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston left the group in 1973, Carlton and Aston remained with Bob Marley and went on to record Natty Dread in 1974. Carlton has songwriting credits for two of Natty Dread’s songs: “Talkin’ Blues” and “Them Belly Full”.

Carlton remained with the Wailers in the studio and on tour until Bob Marley’s death in 1981. His signature style can be heard on every recording the Wailers produced since 1969, with the exception of the 1970 “Soul Shakedown Party” sessions produced by Leslie Kong.

On 17 April 1987, just as Carlton arrived at his Kingston home and walked across his yard, a gunman stepped up behind him and shot him twice in the head. He was dead on arrival at a Kingston hospital at age 36.

Shortly after his murder, Carlton’s wife, Albertine, her lover, a taxi driver named Glenroy Carter, and another man, Junior Neil, were arrested and charged with his killing. Albertine and Carter escaped the murder charge, and were instead convicted and sentenced to 7 years for conspiracy. After just one year in prison, they were released in December 1992 on a legal technicality.

Carlton is featured on all the albums recorded by Bob Marley and the Wailers with the exception of the 1970 “Soul Shakedown Party”.  As a famous and influential reggae drummer and percussion player, he was the originator of the one drop rhythm, a percussive drumming style. He wrote the well known Bob Marley song “War” and with his brother Aston co-wrote “Talkin’ Blues”.

With Carly’s beats and his brother Aston’s bass, the Wailer rhythm section planted the seeds of today’s international reggae.