Dancehall live from jamrock 80's

The Volcano set up was the brainchild of a music entrepreneur from West Kingston called Junjo Lawes (b. Henry Lawes). His path to sound system fame differed from the usual in that he started out producing records in the late seventies working alongside singer and producer Linval Thompson. In fact he could lay claim to one of the first dancehall albums ever released when in 1979 he produced, in partnership with Jah Life (b. Hyman Wright), Barrington Levy’s classic “Bounty Hunter” album.

This catapulted the youthful singer to stardom and made Junjo Lawes one of the most sort after producers right at the start of the dancehall era. His productions became all the rage, employing the new on the scene Roots Radics Band who specialised in slower, heavier riddims all mixed down by Scientist or Soljie at Channel One. The hits started to flow in the early eighties with many singles coming out on the Volcano label and its affiliated imprints Arrival and Jah Guidance. With the help of Junjo’s sound, artists like Yellowman, Eek A Mouse, Ranking Toyan, Josey Wales and many others, burst onto the dancehall scene, recording singles and albums which earned them fame both locally and in “foreign”.

In 1981 and 1982 Lawes had almost non stop success working with a broad spectrum of reggae artists. From more traditional groups and singers like Wailing Souls Johnny Osbourne and John Holt to grass roots artists like Little John, Lui Lepki, Little Harry(b. Claude Campbell) amongst many others. Around 1982/83 Junjo started to contemplate his next move in the business, the Volcano sound system. He had an unlimited supply of music with which he could cut to dubplate and he started to assemble the equipment needed to compete against Kingston’s finest. The sound had their headquarters in Myrie Avenue in Kingston 11 and soon he was surrounded with all the talent he needed to take the sound to the top.

Perhaps one of the key elements to having a great sound system is recruiting the best selector. In choosing Danny Dread (b. E. Ffrench) as his main man, Junjo couldn’t have chosen any better. Without doubt Danny Dread was, and still is, one of the finest soundmen of all time. If you want a set to have success Danny Dread is the man to guide a sound. Junjo also employed Steve and Bello to look after the day to day running of the sound. During the short period that Volcano flourished (1983-85) Steve and Junjo's brother Papa Mellon also selected the tunes for the sound. Buro remembers the very first night that Volcano strung up their sound. It was held in front of the Kingston Industrial Works on Spanish Town Road and the venue was so packed that nobody could move, and there was “gunshot everywhere, salutes, fences started to beat”. Buro made quite an impact that night and Junjo hired him the very next day saying “yuh haffi deejay the sound”

On the deejay front Buro (b. Donovan Spalding) was perhaps Volcano’s number one mic man, stepping over from the Killamanjaro sound around mid 1983. Always cultural in style the “Original Banton” could ride rhythms all night long, stringing lyrics together without hesitation. Another fine deejay who often turned up when Volcano played out was Josey Wales (b. Joseph Stirling). He was recording for Junjo at this time so it was only right that he should lend his considerable skills to the Volcano set. Another seasoned performer was Ranking Toyan (b. Byron Letts). His deejaying was unmistakeable, delivering his lyrics with an almost asthmatic kind of style. No matter the age of the performer, if they were good enough they played a part. So youthful deejays Little Harry (b. Claude Campbell), who had first appeared a couple of years earlier on Port Morant’s Aces International aged just 10, and Billy Boyo (b. William Rowe), himself first taking the mic aged 9 on Prince Jammy’s, regularly rocked the crowds. Other Volcano regulars were Elfigo Barker (b. Glenroy McPharker), who learned his trade from Stanley Braveman on Prince Jammy’s set at the turn of the 1980’s. Shadowman (b. Junior ...) was spotted by Junjo performing on Little John’s Romantic set and was brought on board right from the start. Buro’s apprentice deejay was Matta Pang aka Prento, and his training continued the tradition of schooling youngsters in the art of deejaying. Like most sets they always had special guests like Yellowman, Eek A Mouse, Lui Lepki, LeeVan Cliff, Dillinger and others passing through on any given night.Read more

Jamaican dancehall has long been one of the most vital and influential cultural and artistic forces within contemporary global music. Wake the Town and Tell the People presents, for the first time, a lively, nuanced, and comprehensive view of this musical and cultural phenomenon: its growth and historical role within Jamaican society, its economy of star making, its technology of production, its performative practices, and its capacity to channel political beliefs through popular culture in ways that are urgent, tangible, and lasting.
Norman C. Stolzoff brings a fan’s enthusiasm to his broad perspective on dancehall, providing extensive interviews, original photographs, and anthropological analysis from eighteen months of fieldwork in Kingston. Stolzoff argues that this enormously popular musical genre expresses deep conflicts within Jamaican society, not only along lines of class, race, gender, sexuality, and religion but also between different factions struggling to gain control of the island nation’s political culture. Dancehall culture thus remains a key arena where the future of this volatile nation is shaped. As his argument unfolds, Stolzoff traces the history of Jamaican music from its roots in the late eighteenth century to 1945, from the addition of sound systems and technology during the mid-forties to early sixties, and finally through the post-independence years from the early sixties to the present.
Wake the Town and Tell the People offers a general introduction for those interested in dancehall music and culture. For the fan or musicologist, it will serve as a comprehensive reference book.