Greetings!
You join us here today as we head out on a version excursion deep into the heart of Bullwackie Country.
This exploration will take us to Jamaica, America, Japan and far beyond as we try to unearth some of it's rare and beautiful gems and maybe even catch a sighting of the man himself, Mr. Lloyd "Bullwackie" Barnes, in his natural habitat, at the mixing desk, producing quality roots reggae.
Along the way we will highlight the many recordings, both singles and albums, that you should certainly seek out, hunt, snag, bag and add to your collection.
We will be visiting key areas of interest within Bullwackie Country such as the many subsidaries including Senrab, Wisdom Track, City Line, Dougies, Rawse, Hamma, Aires and Footprints, we will also venture further afield to the areas known as Tachyon and Sabwackies.
Be prepared for some heavy roots rockers, earth-shaking dubs, heart-melting lovers rock and thought-provoking conscious reggae as we travel across decades of music that touches upon numourous sub-genres, the digital era and ragga dancehall, before reaching the shores of present day reggae music.
Everybody ready? All aboard! Let's Go!
In the early years of Jamaican musical history the people danced to Ska, a unique sound that borrowed heavily from American Rhythm and Blues, the best place to hear the latest Ska releases was at the Blues Dance or Soundsystems that would spring up around Kingston.
In the early 1960's there were three major soundsystems, Duke Reid's Treasure Isle, Coxsone Dodd's Downbeat and Prince Buster's Voice Of The People. It was at these soundsystems that many of the big name producers of the late 60's and 1970's cut their teeth and started out in the business. As was the case for the young Lloyd Barnes.
Lloyd Barnes was known as Bullwackie, a nickname given to him as a youth growing up in Trench Town as he explained in a 1996 interview: "We used to have gangs and I used to be a 'Bull Wackie' boy. The only difference was that we wasn't street fighting. The name 'Wackie' really comes from 'cocky'. It was like saying 'cocky boys'. Then the name just stick.".
Bullwackie would hang around the soundsystems and recording studios with the likes of Coxsone Dodd, Stranger Cole, Ken Boothe, Gladdy Anderson and Prince Buster, in fact it was with Buster that Bullwackie cut some of his earliest singles including "Time Is Hard" which appeared on the 'Blue Beat' label in 1964.
By the mid to late 1960's Ska had evolved into Rock Steady, a slower tempo music that allowed more freedom to the musicians, especially the bassist, and this evolution would eventually lead to the creation of Reggae music by the end of the decade.
The 'big three' soundsystem producers were now having to compete with the next generation of operators, guys such as Bunny Lee, Joe Gibbs, Leslie Kong, Lee "Scratch" Perry and Niney The Observer were storming the Jamaican charts and even gaining popularity in the UK and Europe.
Bullwackie decided to try something different and left Jamaica in the late 1960's and headed for New York, USA. Once there he and close friend Melvin "Munchie" Jackson set up a traveling soundsystem called 'Bullwackie's Disco' where they would play freshly imported Jamaican singles for the ever-growing West Indian communities in the Queens and Bronx districts.
By 1974 Bullwackie had created his first recording studio, a rudimentary four-track facility, in a damp basement at 211th Street, Bronx. He also started his own independent label 'Wackie's House Of Music".
Bullwackie's connections back in Jamaica would regularly supply the up and coming producer with new singles for his soundsystem and also rhythm tracks to work with in his new studio.
Close links were made with producer Lee "Scratch" Perry, who had also recently opened his 'Black Ark' studio in Jamaica, and Bullwackie would over-dub, remix and modifiy the Black Ark tapes at his own studio in New York. Perry had in fact made close ties with many of the expatriate Jamaicans in New York including Brad Osbourne (Clocktower) and the Chin family who expanded their 'Randys' label into America.
The Black Ark sound can be heard on material such as The Heptones' "Revolution (Total Destruction)", Jah Vill's "The Bump", Stranger Cole's "The Time Is Now" and Little Roy's "Tribal War".
The connection between Wackie's and the Black Ark is also evident on the dub album "Free For All" which appeared in 1974 on the 'Tafari' label in Jamaica and later on the Wackie's subsidary 'Aries' label.
The 'Tafari' label was operated by Little Roy and Maurice "Scorcher" Jackson (brother of Melvin) and based around Washington Gardens (close to Perry's Black Ark), whilst the Aires label was more of a subsidary to Wackie's and overseen by Bullwackie's collaborator Melvin Jackson.
The 'Tafari' label was operated by Little Roy and Maurice "Scorcher" Jackson (brother of Melvin) and based around Washington Gardens (close to Perry's Black Ark), whilst the Aires label was more of a subsidary to Wackie's and overseen by Bullwackie's collaborator Melvin Jackson.
"Free For All" is an excellent example of early dub reggae, sparse and eerie, featuring takes on Little Roy's "Tribal War" and "Blackbird", Stranger Cole's "My Application" and K.C White's "All For Free".
The album was credited to the Bullwackie's All Stars which became the given name of credit to many of the dub versions that would appear on later singles from Wackies studio.
Other notable singles from this early Wackies period include Johnny Osbourne's "Jah Children", K.C White's "Don't Be Untrue", Munchi And The Corner Crew's "A Dis Ya A Dub" and Ken Boothe's "Stop This World".
Like many of the record stores back in Jamaica the Wackies City Line store was also a meeting and gathering place for local NYC reggae musicians and followers who could check out the latest imports as well as discovering new, homegrown material.
Roots Rockers Reggae was now the dominating sound of Jamaica and Wackies would replicate this wonderfully in the new studio using a loose collective of musicians, the first of which were known as Reckless Breed and later as Bullwackies All-Stars or Wackies Rhythm Force.
The core of musicians included the likes of bass players Tony "Jah T" Allen, Roy "Reckless" Robinson, Cornel Sylvera, Brother Umojo and Harold Sylvester as well as regular appearances from Leroy Sibbles (of The Heptones) and long-term collaborator Clive "Azul" Hunt.
Drummers Clive "Sly" Plummer, Jah Scotty, Todd Dawkins and Bob Barnes (amongst others), Keyboardists Ervin "Allah" Lloyd, Linda Pickney and Steppy, Guitarists Jerry "Hitler" Harris and Ras Makonnen and hornsmen Baba Leslie, Perry Ricketts and the amazing Jerry Johnson.
Other frequently used musicians included Tony "Jah Batta" O'Mealy, Joe Auxumite, Orlando Nelson (most of which would also record as lead artists) and frequent collaborators such as Glen "Brad" Osbourne (of the Clocktower label) and studio engineer Douglas Levy (aka Jah Hamma - aka Prince Douglas).
These musicians would often vary from recording to recording depending on who was available or at hand during sessions, their roles would also change but this core of players would help shape and develope the Wackies sound and become a crucial part of the studio set up.
The distinctive sound crafted at Wackies was intentionally "lo-fi" and bass heavy with many listeners making the obvious comparison with Lee Perry's Black Ark studio. In fact many other comparisons can be made between the two such as the way both producers would record reletively unknown artists, scouting local talent and giving many their first break. Also the use of unorthodox studio equipment such as an aluminium foil-lined drum booth to reflect sound and a MOOG synthesizer.
A huge number of singles (both 7'' and 12'') were released through 1976 / 1977 on the many subsidary labels set up at Wackies including the already established 'Aires' and 'City Line' they added 'Senrab' (Barnes spelt backwards), 'Wisdom Track', 'Footprints', 'Dougies', 'Rawse' and 'Hamma'.
A selection of these singles were gathered for the compilation albums "Reggae Goodies Vol. 1 and 2" which were released on the 'City Line' label circa. 1977 / 1978 and "Roots Past Present And Future" released on the 'Footprints' label in 1978.
Songs featured include Joe Morgan's "Basement Session", Wayne Jarrett's "African Woman", Stranger Cole's "Capture Land" and African Jamaicans "Loving Man".
The 'Wackies' label has always remained a truly independent record outlet, with no major label distribution deals Bullwackie himself would print between 500 to 1,000 records at a time, only very rarely sending materials from his studio for release on other independent labels, particularly in the UK. It's highly possible that Bullwackie prefered it that way although it's sometimes said that the major labels such as Island Records, Greensleeves and Trojan favoured reggae music made only in Jamaica.
The 'Wackies' label has always remained a truly independent record outlet, with no major label distribution deals Bullwackie himself would print between 500 to 1,000 records at a time, only very rarely sending materials from his studio for release on other independent labels, particularly in the UK. It's highly possible that Bullwackie prefered it that way although it's sometimes said that the major labels such as Island Records, Greensleeves and Trojan favoured reggae music made only in Jamaica.
Augustus Pablo cut some Wackies related material around the mid-70's which appeared first on his album "Thriller" released on the 'Nationwide' label in 1975 and then again on the album "Pablo Nuh Jester" which had a run on the 'City Line' label before it's re-issue on President Records.
In 1976 Bullwackie collaborated with Jah Upton and Prince Douglas on the dub album "Reckless Roots Rockers" which appeared on the Rawse label.
A high quality dub release which features material recorded at King Tubby's by the Soul Syndicate band and the Wackies related groups The Sylvesters and Reckless Breed. It also features an appearance from Don Carlos on the wonderful "Prepare Jah Man".
In 1977 another high quality dub album surfaced entitled "Creation Dub" credited to Bullwackies All-Stars and put out under the 'City Line' imprint. Prince Douglas was heavily involved in the project, as was Clive Hunt.
This was followed by "African Roots - Act 1", again credited to the Bullwackies All-Stars and released on the unknown 'Five Arts' label in 1977 and then on 'Wackies' in 1980.
Another high quality dub album produced by Clive Hunt and featuring such killers as "Addis Ababa Dub", "Mozambique Trial" and "Gem Rock Dub".
Clive Hunt also cut his own "Orthodox Dub" album around 1978 at Treasure Isle with producer Errol Brown which was given a brief white label issue on the 'Wackies' label as well as appearing on 'Magic Fire' records the same year.
Also around this time appeared the album "Tribesman Assault" credited to Roots Underground (essentially the Reckless Breed band), this was a collection of material Bullwackie recorded in Jamaica at studios such as Treasure Isle, Randys and Black Ark before being mixed in New York.
"Tribesman Assault" contains dub versions to singles from the likes of Tyrone Evans, The Flames and African Jamaicans, it also contains the vocal track "Open The Gates" by K.C White and The Love Joys.
Another all-round collaborative piece from this period was the album "Positive And Constructive" by vocalist Earl Moodie and producer Tad Dawkins, recorded at Wackies (credits on the sleeve state 'Senrab Studios') with engineer Prince Douglas. It was released by Moodie's subsidary 'Great' in 1978.
The album has Earl Moodie's five vocal cuts on the A-Side and Dawkins' five dub versions on the B-Side, it's a very enjoyable album with Moodie taking on John Holt's "My Heart Is Gone" and Little Roy's "Tribal War" in fine style, whilst the dub sides are just as entertaining.
John Clarke (not to be confused with the more established Johnny Clarke) was a regular figure at Wackies, a musician and singer who would provide backing vocals on many records as well as recording material in his own right. His earlier material was cut with Munchie Jackson for the 'Tafari' label before he headed for New York.
Clarke recorded a bunch of tracks which were collected together for the album "Visions Of John Clarke" released on 'Wackies' in 1979.
A nice collection of songs such as "John Brown", "You're Just The One", "Good Collie Weed" and "Shack Up With You" as well as the Johnny Osbourne cover "Come Back Darling".
After some interest from Studio One to release the album it was eventually picked up by 'Makossa International Records' where it was released in a remixed and extended form as "Rootsy Reggae", this version of the album included the island flavoured "Bum Bang Festival" as well as the cuts "Boss I" and "Polution".
The Bullwackies All-Stars dropped another fine dub album the same year entitled "Black World", this one appeared on the 'Hardwax' label in the US and features the dubs to Joe Auxumite's "Troubled Land" and "Simple Little Woman" amongst it's tracklist.
Jezzreel were also regulars at Wackies, a roots vocal duo consisting of Christopher Harvey and Clive Davis, the pair recorded some wonderful material during their years with Bullwackie.
In 1980 the 'Wackies' label released the Jezzreel showcase album "Great Jah Jah" which highlights six of the duo's recordings including "Sun Will Shine", "Living In The Ghetto" and "Where Is That Love".
1980 also saw the release of two more excellent dub albums from Wackies, the first was Prince Douglas' "Dub Roots" which included a fantastic re-working of The Chosen Brothers' "March Down Babylon", the second was Bullwackies All-Stars' "Natures Dub", this one featured the epic title track and the dub take of Clive "Azul" Hunt's "Rockfort Rock".
The Paragons were best known as a Rock Steady era vocal trio that consisted of the legendary John Holt, Tyrone Evans and Howard Barrett, when Holt left in the late 1960's to record as a solo artist it wasn't long before Evans followed but in 1980 the group reformed and recorded some tracks for producer Bunny Lee at Harry J's and also at Wackies in NYC, these appeared on the excellent album "The Paragons Return" which appeared on 'Wackies', 'Striker Lee' and the 'Jackpot' labels around 1980.
It was as though the group had never been away as they storm through such great cuts as "Let The Wicked Run Away", "Sparkle Of My Eyes", "Smile, It's A New Day" and "Talk To The People".
In the same year Wackies resident female vocalist Maxine Miller was given a chance to shine on her "Showcase" album which features "Wake Up And Live", "Confession" and the beautiful Bob Marley cover "How Many Times".
Before the year was out there was just enough time for Bullwackie to drop an annual review entitled "Wackies Selective Showcase" which featured some of the best selling singles of the period such as the aforementioned "March Down Babylon" by The Chosen Brothers.
The Chosen Brothers featured such members as Anthony "Jah Batta" O'Mealy, Junior Delahaye, Milton Henry, Smoking Dread and Wayne Jarrett, these artists cut material in their own right at Wackies but would occassionally record as a vocal harmony collective. Bullwackie himself would also occassionally sing lead under this group name.
"Wackies Selective Showcase" also featured the cuts "Darling Your Eyes" by Wayne Jarrett (using the "Sparkle Of My Eyes" Rhythm), "Serious Thing" by Horace Andy (another regular visitor to Wackies) and "Mystic Revelation" by Junior Delahaye.
This style of spontaneous lyrical rhyming would eventually lead to the creation of Rap music in the US and Wackies didn't shy away from helping the new genre evolve, the Wackies New York soundsystem had deejay's of it's own such as Jah Batta and Clive Field Marshall which in turn influenced and encouraged the developement of Hip-Hop parties that would feature rap MC's including Solid C, Kool Drop and Bobby D who all recorded for Wackies.
In 1981 the 'Wackies' label released the album "Poor House Rockers" by Clive Field Marshall, one of the labels first full deejay long-players that included such cuts as "State Trooper Style", "Old Mas Charlie" and "Love Is What You Need".
"Poor House Rockers" is a very fine deejay record that competes strongly with anything Jamaica was producing at the time, the Roots Radics were the number one sound at this point and Channel One was the place to be in Kingston but Wackies was still turning heads amongst those in the know.
As well as the blossoming deejay scene another reggae sub-genre was also gaining in popularity in the early 80's, Lover's Rock, which had seen artists like Dennis Brown, Janet Kay and Sugar Minott break into the UK singles charts. Wackies would release many lover's rock flavoured singles, many by female vocalists such as the wonderful lover's roots duo The Love Joys.
The Love Joys consisted of cousins Claudette Brown and Sonia Abel who were originally from Brixton in London, England. They would record many singles at Wackies, the best of which appearing on the showcase album "Reggae Vibes" released in 1981 on the Miami based 'Top Ranking' label.
A strong and powerful vocal, the duo working together beautifully, the record includes such gems as "Stranger Get Up", "Wherever Jah Send Me", "Jah Light", "All I Can Say" and "Studio Man".
The Love Joys would become a regular fixture to the Wackies line-up.
Jerry "Hitler" Harris was another Wackies regular, a session musician, guitarist and singer who cut many singles with the label and the album "I'm For You" which appeared in 1982.
The album has a nice lover's vibe and features the songs "Spreading All Over", "You Should Be Dancing" and "Love Me Forever", Harris is on top form throughout, as are the Wackies session players.
In the same year Wackies released the album "Jah Son Invasion" which was a collection of recent singles such as Jah Skerta's "I Who Have Nothing", Joy Card's "Black Girl", Ras Makonnen's "Jah Is My Only Guide" and Joe Auxumite's "New Sensation".
In fact 1982 would be quite a busy year for the Wackies collective as further albums appeared such as resident hornsman Jerry Johnson's "For All Seasons", a saxophone led instrumental album that blends reggae and jazz to brilliant effect.
"For All Seasons" features such sessionists as key master Jackie Mittoo, Leroy Sibbles on bass guitar and drums from Sly Dunbar, some highlights include "School Dance", "Jamaica Sun", "Zion Chant" and "Black Freedom". The albums cover photo shows Johnson on his sax with Bullwackie himself in the centre.
Around this time appeared both Jezzreel's and the Love Joys' second collections entitled "Rockers Showcase Volume 2" and "Lovers Rock - Reggae Style" respectively, both of which contain six dub-heavy extended killers including Jezzreel's "Lonely Soldier", "Give I The Power", "I Love You Jah" and Love Joys' "Chances Are", "Long Lost Lover" and a cover of Rita Marley's "One Draw".
Two more fantastic showcase LP's were released in this period, the first was from Junior Delahaye and simply entitled "Reggae Showcase". Delahaye was another established member of the Wackies family, he had recorded with The Chosen Brothers and provided backing vocals to many songs.
Once again the album features six extended mixes including "Travelling Man", "Sitting In The Park" and the hauntingly brilliant "Love".
The second showcase LP release was by Wayne Jarrett (also a long-term Wackies resident) whose "Showcase - Vol. 1" features some of his best known recordings such as "Every Tongue Will Tell", "Brimstone And Fire" and the massive single "Bubble Up" which Jarrett would also cut for producer Henry "Junjo" Lawes in Jamaica. The album was released as "Bubble Up" for it's UK pressing.
It was around this time that Bullwackie would make another Black Ark connection when two of Lee Perry's former collaborators, Max Romeo and vocal trio The Meditations, visited Wackies.
Perry had fallen out with many of his former artists, slipping into his well documented breakdown that would result in the demise of his studio and exile in both America and England.
Max Romeo recorded the album "I Love My Music" with Bullwackie and Clive Hunt, the record includes "Let Them Fight", "Repent", "Find Time To Pray", "Dis Generation" and "Old Men Make Wars".
It appeared on the now defunct 'Solid Groove' reggae label in the UK before being picked up in Japan in 1984 by the Woorell Records group.
This early connection with Japan would become more relevant later as links in the Far East for reggae producers to expand became more excessable. Max Romeo had further material recorded at Wackies released in Japan including the album "Mek-Wi-Rock" of 1983.
The Heptones, fronted by Leroy Sibbles (who frequently played bass at Wackies), also cut some singles around this time including the amazing cover of Phil Phillips' "Sea Of Love". It's dub counterpart featured on the Bullwackies dub album "African Roots - Act II", which also features "Journey Rock" and "African Man".
The Meditations were a well established roots harmony trio consisting of Ansell Cridland, Danny Clarke and Winston Watson. The group recorded some material at Wackies that appeared on the white label LP "I Love Jah" around 1982.
The album contains six rootsy 12'' mixes including "Take It Easy", "Rebounce" and "For The Good Of Man". The Meditations also provided harmonies and backing vocals on long-time sessionman Baba Leslie's "Various Moods" album which was engineered by Bullwackie and released on the 'Tribes Man' label.
Maxine Miller followed up her 1980 showcase with the full album "Show Me That You Love", also released in 1982 on 'Wackies'.
Another quality blend of lover's rock and roots reggae that really pushes Miller's strong vocal to the forefront whilst the production and musicianship continues to shine. "Show Me That You Love" features the songs "Undying Love", "Rub-A-Dub Feeling" and "Freedom Train".
In Jamaica the musical tastes were once again changing as the roots rockers style that dominated the scene since the late 1970's was being replaced by the slower, harder, edgy sound of dancehall.
Deejays were now stronger than ever, delivering faster lyrics with often 'slackness' or violent subject matter.
Not much slackness ever came out of Wackies however, but the studio did embrace the dancehall sound and this shows on Jah Batta's debut album "Argument" released in 1983.
Hard and edgy dancehall rockers crafted by Bullwackie alongside Sugar Minott and Prince Douglas, the album features Sly and Robbie whilst also utilising Channel One studios in Kingston and it's resident house posse The Roots Radics.
Sugar Minott became a regular collaborator with Wackies along with his own Youth Promotions artists and Black Roots band and label. Minott's "Dance Hall Showcase Vol. II" appeared in 1983 on 'Black Roots' in collaboration with Wackies.
It was around this time that Sugar Minott and his Black Roots group embarked on a tour of Japan where further strong ties were made amongst the local reggae community in the Far East.
Minott brought Japanese artist Nahki back to Jamaica to join his Youth Promotions team and to work at Wackies in NYC.
Bullwackie himself worked on a project to showcase Japanese reggae music which was released as "Tokyo Reggae Clash" featuring artists such as Sanagi, PJ And The Cool Runnings, The 69 Band and Danceteria.
"Tokyo Reggae Clash" is one of the first records to credit producer Sonny "Sabwackie" Ochiai who would later become a major collaborator with Wackies towards the end of the decade.
Horace Andy was a well established reggae artist having been active right through the 1970's and working with most of the major Jamaican producers along the way. Into the 1980's Andy was also embracing the new dancehall style and that would in fact be the name of the album he cut with Wackies in 1983.
It features updated takes on previous hit singles such as "Money Money" and "Cuss Cuss" in a dancehall vibe. The album was quickly followed up by Andy's next, entitled "Exclusively", which appeared on the aforementioned 'Solid Groove' label in the UK.
Tyrone Evans had continued to record material with Wackies after his involvement in "The Paragons Return" and the best of these recordings appeared on 1983's "For Lovers Only". The album features the songs "All Depends On You", "Dread Lightly" and "Never In This World".
1983 also saw the release of the first in a string of compilations entitled "Jah Children Invasion", Volume One contains such singles as Itopia's "Do You Really Know", Milton Henry's "No Turning Back", Wayne Jarrett's "Moses" and Lloyd Hemming's cover of "Up On The Roof".
Bullwackie continued to release high quality dub reggae, as b-sides and 12'' singles and also full dub albums including further volumes in the "African Roots" series, the album "Jamaica Super Dub Session" and the epic "The Dub Generals" of 1984.
Even with the prevailing dancehall style ruling the scene Wackies continued to release some excellent roots reggae, Audley Rollens recorded some great material which would appear on the albums "Showcase Prevail" (released by 'Philadelphia Sounds' in 1982) and "Role Model" which 'Wackies' released in 1984.
"Role Model" is an excellent record which features the songs "So Long", "Water More Than Flour", "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" and "I'm In Love". Rollens proving to be a fine performer.
The legendary hornsman Roland Alphonso had been active since the Ska years, recording as a session player for almost every producer and studio in Jamaica, in 1984 he cut the album "Roll On" for Wackies.
A lovely blend of jazz and dub highlighting Alphonso's saxophone and the Wackies session players in general. It includes such renditions as "Shack-I-Sheck", "Ego Trip", "Tail Gate" and "Star Track".
It was around this time that Sugar Minott's incredible "Wicked A Go Feel It" album appeared with it's title track proving a hit on the NY reggae scene and featuring a Wackies update of Minott's mega-hit "Good Thing Going", the album also features a cover of Bob Marley's "So Much Trouble In The World" and the killers "She Stays On My Mind", "Don't Take Away" and "Think It Over".
It was these tracks that were given the heavy Bullwackies dub treatment on "African Roots - Act III" and dub was still an important part of the Wackies release schedule throughout the 1980's.
In 1985 Bullwackie collaborated with Beswick "Bebo" Philips who operated the 'Bebo Music' label from his headquarters in Maryland, USA alongside Clive Jarrett. One track has been credited as Wackies related, "Dunkirk Hop" which appeared on the album "Bebo In A Dub Style" released on 'Bebo Music' and later on the 'Tafari' label. The remainder of the album was recorded at Channel One with Sly and Robbie, produced by Bebo and engineered by Peter Chemist.
Milton Henry was yet another experienced member of the Wackies family, a veteran from the rocksteady era, Henry had worked with producers Joe Gibbs and Lee Perry during the 1970's before emigrating to the US where he worked closely with Wackies for many years, providing backing vocals to many recordings and as a member of The Chosen Brothers.
In 1985 Henry released the album "Who Do You Think I Am?", a complex and brooding album that blends Roots Reggae with abstract Jazz influences and R'n'B. Jerry Harris and Owen Stewart provide some wonderful guitar work whilst Jerry Johnson and Neville Anderson supply the horns.
Part recorded at Channel One and featuring backing vocals from Max Romeo, Junior Delahaye, Sugar Minott and Sonia Abel "Who Do You Think I Am?" is a really enjoyable listening experience. The album contains the songs "Let The Sun Shine In", "You Don't Have To Know Me" and "Sweet Melody" which is an update to his Black Ark recorded "Sweet Taste Of Melody" from the late 70's.
Milton Henry also appears on the compilation album "Wackies Reggae Christmas" which was released in 1985.
Henry performs the song "Just The Thrill Of Christmas", whilst John C. provides a great take on the standard "We Three Kings" and Maxine Miller gives us "What Do The Lonely Do For Christmas?".
As reggae music reached the mid-80's it had all gone digital in Jamaica, after Wayne Smith's smash hit "Under Me Sleng Teng" stormed the reggae charts, a wave of electronically produced rhythms swamped the market. Artists such as Tenor Saw, Barrington Levy and Ini Kamoze were turning heads on the NY scene.
Wackies would continue to favour the organic "real-musician" dancehall roots sound as displayed on Steve Knight's album "Orphan Child" which was released in 1985 on the newest off-shoot subsidary label 'Tachyon Records' run by Sonny "Sabwackie" Ochiai out of Englewood, New Jersey. The label would also have a strong base in Japan with connections to Minoru Hatanaka.
The album does have some minor digital effects but essentially remains musician led whilst Knight's vocal sounds current (of the time) and the album was a success due to the massive hit "Woman A Problem". It also features other great cuts such as "Love Me Entertainment", "Searching For A Queen" and "Feel Like Dancing".
That same year saw the release of The Chosen Brothers' first album for the label entitled "Sing And Shout", Bullwackie get's the lead vocal credit with backing from Wayne Jarrett, Jah Batta, Junior Delahaye, Smoking Dread and Milton Henry. Production is split between Bullwackie and Sabwackie.
It's a really great roots harmony album that comes together well with it's mix of roots, dub and lover's rock. It features an updated version of their earlier hit single "March Down Babylon" alongside tunes like "I Gave You Love", "Jah Don't Like That", "Dancing In The Rain" and "Back To Africa".
Before 1985 was over Wackies dropped the digital album "Tempo Explosion" which was based entirely around the "Tempo" riddim that had become a smash on both the Jamaican and UK reggae scenes.
The album is co-produced by Sugar Minott and features his Black Roots Players alongside some Wackies familiars including Jerry Johnson, Ras Menelik DaCosta and Chris Wayne.
Chris Wayne also cut his debut album "Freedom Street" in collaboration with Wackies, Sugar Minott and Channel One around 1986, it features the Abbashantie group who would become a long term staple of the Wackies set-up into the digital era.
Possibly the first fully digital album to have Wackies connections it was released via Sabwackie's 'Tachyon' label who's operations were now focused on the Japanese and Far East reggae markets.
The next release was far more rootsy, with appearances from most of the Wackies regulars under the collective name of Wackies Rhythm Force, "Free South Africa" appeared in 1986.
The Chosen Brothers, Milton Henry, Mikey Jarrett, Willie Williams and Ras Menelik are amongst the lead singers whilst backing features Maxine Miller, Fabian Cooke, Joe Auxumite and Andrew MacCalla. It's also one of the earliest mentions for keyboardist and singer Mortie Butler as a Wackies team member. This is an excellent record with great performaces all round and an epic feel to production.
Annette Brissett was an upcoming Jamaican singer who had performed as both a soloist and as a member of the all-female reggae band Steppin' Razor, often as the opening act for more established artists. She later worked with the groups Roots Vibration and Kalabash before recording her debut solo album "Love Power" at Wackies.
Annette has a lovely, unique vocal quality and the material recorded at Wackies is a mix of lover's rock and modern digital reggae. It features a cover of the Irene Cara related "What A Feeling" alongside the cuts "Betrayed", "Jumping Up And Down", "He's My God" and "Forever Loving You".
An excellent album that has an authentic roots feel with added digital elements, it features such tracks as "This Is Reggae Music", "She Don't Want Me", "Girl, I Love You" and "Black Liberation Struggle".
It appeared on both the 'Wackies' and 'Tachyon' labels via Bullwackie and Sabwackie respectively.
Sabwackies Far East connections had brought singer Nahki and experimental dub band Mute Beat to NYC to work at Wackies. Mute Beat were from Japan and were formed by Kazufumi Kodama whose eclectic tastes in music brought unusual elements to their particular brand of dub reggae.
The 'Wackies' label released the Mute Beat album "Still Echo" in 1987, although it's hard to research just how much involvement Bullwackie, Sabwackie or any of their related artists had on this project.
It was around this time that the Wackies set up would move once again, when the price rates for the premises on White Plains Road soared and the building was sold, Bullwackie headed to Englewood, New Jersey with collaborator Sonny Ochiai.
There they set up a modern 16 track digital facility, keeping up with the latest innovations and trends of late 80's digital reggae. This was (and is) an era of great debate within reggae music, many prefering the older studio set-up with a full band of musicians over the new techniques of using computerized rhythms and drum machines.
Sugar Minott had brought his younger nephew Robert Minott to NYC in the mid-1970's and he would record his debut album at Wackies entitled "All I Have Is Love" in 1987.
It's a pretty great record if you can track it down, production goes to Ralston Robinson and Cleveland Brown (of Steely And Clevie) and the album features covers of Gregory Isaacs' "All I Have Is Love" and Neil Diamond's "Red Red Wine" (which had also been a bit hit for UK reggae group UB40 in 1984).
Lee "Scratch" Perry arrived at Wackies around this period, after destroying his Black Ark studio in the early 1980's he had split his time between England and America recording some rather erratic material with producers Adrian Sherwood, Mark Downie and Melvin Jackson.
The material Perry cut with Bullwackie is also very eccentric but also fairly interesting and at times pretty cohesive. A cover of Bob Marley's "Keep On Moving" sees Perry on fine form vocally whilst tracks such as "Day Should Turn To Night" and "Sweet Dreams" are also reasonably entertaining. The resulting album was entitled "Satan Kicked The Bucket", released on 'Wackies' in 1988.
Whilst recording at Wackies new studio Perry also worked with his old friend and collaborator Max Romeo, cutting a 12'' single mix of "Keep On Moving" together. Another recording on the album was the track "Ooh La La" which featured Perry's old "Tight Spot / Revolution" rhythm, originally recorded at Randy's in the early 1970's and used later on some Black Ark recordings. In fact it was one of the rhythms Perry had allowed Bullwackie to use when he was starting out as a producer.
"Satan Kicked The Bucket" was also given a dub issue under the title "Lee "Scratch" Perry Meets Bullwackie In Satan's Dub" which appeared shortly after on the ROIR (Reach Out) label. This label also issued the follow-up album "Message From Yard" in 1990, which was essentially a collection of out-takes and unused material from the Wackies sessions also complete with dub companion "Dub Messenger".
Wackies continued to focus on it's singles throughout the late 1980's releasing a high volume of digital reggae 45's from a number of artists such as Coozie Mellers, Lucan Scissors and Sleepy Wonder. The label entering the now blossoming ragga dancehall scene which had become a major seller in Jamaica and was making moves in the UK and US.
One of the best examples of ragga at Wackies came from Santa Ranking whose album "Ruff Neck Chicken" was released on the label in 1988.
The album features the tracks "Nuh Put It Deh", "Ram Dance Party", "Yard Man Boogie" and "Jah Jah Planet" as Santa rides some nice riddims with flare and confidence.
Sleepy Wonder would also cut his debut album at Wackies, he had started out on Sugar Minott's Youth Promotion before working at Gemini Disco and Shocking Vibes before heading to NYC and the results were 1988's "Vibes" released on the 'Tachyon' label.
Another enjoyable piece of digital reggae featuring such songs as "In This Time", "Girls Like Sand", "Bed Of Roses" and "Crowd A Come Back".
Wackies long-standing saxophonist Jerry Johnson also recorded heavily around this time and the bulk of this material appeared on his albums "The Score" of 1988 and "East Of The City" in 1990.
Easily one of the greatest hornsmen in reggae music, Jerry's saxophone is captivating and beautiful as he breezes through such tunes as "Red Red Wine", "La La Means I Love You" and "All I Have Is Love" on "The Score" (released in Japan on 'Wackies') and "Big Yard Blues", "Forever Gold", "Jumbo Rock" and the title track on "East Of The City" (also released in Japan).
Mortie Butler, who had been a regular part of the Wackies set up since around 1986, also released his debut album around this time entitled "Love Lost And Found".
This is an interesting record, returning to a roots style with modern elements and plenty of synths, whilst Butler as a vocalist carries his weight and comes across quite well. Highlights include "Move Up The Man", "Nuclear War", "Peace Pipe" and "Aliens".
Michael Livingston, a New York based reggae artist, was just starting out in the business when he visited Wackies to record his album "The Plain Truth" in 1988.
The album contains the single "Starvation" alongside some nice digital rhythm material including "They Came And Took", "Holy Book", "In The City" and "Falling Empire". It was released on Livingston's own 'Cultural Gifts' label based out of NYC.
Long-time Wackies associate Mikey Jarrett also recorded an album at the studio that year entitled "Mr. Excitement" which appeared on both the 'Wackies' (USA) and 'Tachyon' (Japan) labels.
The album credits Coozie Mellers for drum programming, guitar and bass with production again split between Bullwackie and Sabwackie. It includes the tracks "Destroyer", "Nuh Want It Bout Yah", "Trade", "Rich" and "She Greedy".
In 1989 the album "Sabwackie Presents Five The Hard Way" appeared which featured material from Steve Knight, Johnny Rice, Michael English, Dada Wasp and Legendary.
A nice showcase album produced by Sabwackie and voiced at Creative Sound Studio whilst the recording and mixing continued at Wackies. It features Sugar Minott and Coozie Mellers with an engineer credit for both Bullwackie and Paul Davidson.
Further dancehall showcase albums appeared into the 1990's including the series of compilations entitled "Dancehall Sizzling".
The first three volumes featured up and coming artists such as Tuffest, Johnny P, Okra Slime, Papa Beeto and Tachyon's latest star Little Harada alongside established names like Wayne Smith, Lucan Scissors, Ninjaman, Steve Knight, Singing Melody, Tiger and Tinga Stewart.
Another interesting compilation from this period was "Young Generation Vibration" which featured Frankie Paul, General Screechie, Michael Palmer and Icho Candy. It appeared on 'Tachyon' records.
The album was recorded at Channel One in Kingston with backing from the Gifted Roots Band.
The legendary organist Jackie Mittoo had long been a part of the Wackies posse, playing on numourous recordings throughout the 1980's and in 1990 he recorded the album "Wild Jockey".
It's an instrumental album that blends synths, organs and other keys with digital reggae rhythms, all music is created by Mittoo at Wackies studio. It's a nice, mellow vibe thats similar in concept to the albums Jerry Johnson created with Bullwackie.
The 1990's saw reggae music fully embracing the ragga scene, in Jamaica it had been the ruling sound since the late 80's but into the 90's it had gone international with acts like Shabba Ranks, Chaka Demus, Tenor Saw and Ninjaman breaking into the UK and US singles charts.
Ninjaman spent some time at Wackies in the very early part of the decade and produced some memorable pieces including the album "Kill Them And Done" which was released by 'Wackies' in 1991.
The 1990's saw reggae music fully embracing the ragga scene, in Jamaica it had been the ruling sound since the late 80's but into the 90's it had gone international with acts like Shabba Ranks, Chaka Demus, Tenor Saw and Ninjaman breaking into the UK and US singles charts.
Ninjaman spent some time at Wackies in the very early part of the decade and produced some memorable pieces including the album "Kill Them And Done" which was released by 'Wackies' in 1991.
The album features such ragga cuts as "Mandella Come", "Beg You Help Them Stop", "Gospel Gun" and "Sympathy", the latter has a rhythm based around Madonna's pop hit "La Isla Bonita".
Bullwackie made a brief return to Jamaica around this time to work with Sugar Minott's Youth Promotion unit (Minott being one of the only sources for Wackies releases in Jamaica) but eventually he returned to New York where he set up a small studio in his home in Queens whilst spending time at the Jammyland record store in East Village, Manhatten where much of Wackies output was stocked and sold.
Later Bullwackie established a new fully computerised studio farther up White Plains Road on the corner of 225th Street where he worked closely with visiting Japanese reggae artists such as Kazufumi Kodama, Little Harada, Nahki, Ras Kanto and Ras Takashi.
The Wackies label had always been hugely popular in Japan and the connections Bullwackie made in the early years with Sonny "Sabwackie" Ochiai and Minoru "Tachyon" Hatanaka really helped establish the label in the Far East even though popularity was never really gained in Jamaica or Europe until much recently.
Wackies also worked closely with the Japanese label 'Overheat Records' which specialized in Japanese reggae artists and musicians, utilising Wackies studio for recording and mastering purposes.
Wackies really was a truly independent label, pressing very limited amounts of vinyl which by the 2000's was becoming harder to find and out-of-press, until the founder of the Hardwax record store in Berlin, Mark Ernestus, joined up with Moritz Von Oswald of the Basic Channel production company and the pair initiated a re-issue campaign.
Basic Channel also began their own reggae project that would attempt to replicate the Wackies sound of the early 1980's and they invited artists such as The Love Joys and The Chosen Brothers to record new material at their studio in Germany.
With a re-issue program well underway and new material still being recorded the Wackies legacy continues to expand and reach new audiences who may have overlooked the label during it's most creative years. Wackies may not have received the recognition it certainly should have in it's recording prime but in recent years Wackies popularity and influence is at an all time peak and Lloyd "Bullwackie" Barnes, undoubtably one of reggae's finest producers, will finally get the credit he deserves.
We hope this article goes a long way in showcasing the extensive and wonderful music created by the Wackies family, a journey that began in the early 1970's, created some wonderful music through the 80's and 90's and opened doors for reggae music in both America and the Far East.
Although this article has covered and highlighted many Wackies recordings and artists it is in no way a complete discography, there are many more albums and compilations to discover on the many subsidaries and we hardly even touched upon the wealth of singles with their b-sides, dubs and versions that Wackies produced over the years.
Find below a list of the albums mentioned in this article, we have added the issue label and any re-issues where applicable. Think of this as a starting guide to begin your own journey into Bullwackie Country and build your very own collection of incredible Wackie's music. :-)
Wackies Albums And Productions (Choice Highlights)
1970's:
Bullwackies All-Stars - Free For All {Aires 1974} {Wackies 2007}
Reckless Breed - Reckless Roots Rockers {Rawse 1976} {Wackies 2006}
Bullwackies All-Stars - Creation Dub {Senta 1977} {City Line 1979} {Wackies 2004}
Roots Underground - Tribesman Assault {City Line 1977} {Wackies 2003}
Clive "Azul" Hunt - Orthodox Dub {Magic Fire Records 1978}
Wackies Rhythm Force - African Roots Act I {Five Arts 1977} {Wackies 1980} {Wackies 2002}
Reggae Goodies Vol. 1 {City Line 1977} {Wackies 2005}
Earl Moodie And Tad Dawkins - Positive And Constructive {Great 1978}
John Clarke - Rootsy Reggae {Makossa International 1978} {Wackies 2006}
Roots Past Present And Future {Footprints 1978}
John Clarke - Visions Of John Clarke {Wackies 1979} {Wackies 2006} {Wackies 2014}
Bullwackies All-Stars - Black World Dub {Hardwax 1979} (Wackies 2008}
1980's:
Jezzreel - Great Jah Jah {Wackies 1980} {Wackies 2006}
Maxine Miller - Showcase {Wackies 1980}
Prince Douglas - Dub Roots {Wackies 1980} {Wackies 2005}
Bullwackies All-Stars - Natures Dub {Wackies 1980} {Wackies 1998} {Wackies 2002}
The Paragons - The Paragons Return {Wackies 1980} {Jackpot 1980} {Striker Lee 1981}
Wackies Selective Showcase {Wackies 1980}
Clive Field Marshall - Poor House Rockers {Wackies 1981} {Wackies 2002}
Love Joys - Reggae Vibes {Top Ranking International 1981} {Wackies 2002} {Wackies 2006}
Jah Son Invasion {Wackies 1982} {Wackies 2003}
Jerry Harris - I'm For You {Wackies 1982} {Wackies 2014}
Jerry Johnson - For All Seasons {Wackies 1982}
Jezzreel - Rockers Showcase Vol. 2 {Wackies 1982}
Junior Delahaye - Reggae Showcase {Wackies 1982} {Wackies 2001}
Love Joys - Lovers Rock Reggae Style {Wackies 1983} {Wackies 1998} {Wackies 2013}
Max Romeo - I Love My Music {Solid Groove 1982} {Woorell 1984}
Maxine Miller - Show Me That You Love {Wackies 1982}
The Meditations - I Love Jah {Wackies 1982} {Wackies 2002}
Baba Leslie - Various Moods {Tribes Man 1982}
Wackie's Rhythm Force - African Roots Act II {Wackies 1982} {Wackies 2002}
Wayne Jarrett - Showcase Vol. 1 / Bubble Up {Wackies 1982} {Nutmeg 1994} {Wackies 2004}
Horace Andy - Dance Hall Style {Wackies 1982} {Wackies 1998} {Wackies 2004}
Audley Rollens - Showcase Prevail {Philadelphia Reggae Sounds 1982}
Max Romeo - Mek Wi Rock {Woorell 1983}
Tokyo Reggae Clash {Wackies 1983} {Riv Star 1984}
Jah Batta - Argument {Wackies 1983} {Wackies 2004}
Horace Andy - Exclusively {Solid Groove 1983} {Wackies 2005}
Jah Children Invasion Vol. 1 {Wackies 1983}
Sugar Minott - Dancehall Showcase Vol. 2 {Black Roots 1983} {Wackies 2008}
Tyrone Evans - For Lovers Only {Wackies 1983}
Wackie's Rhythm Force - African Roots Act III {Wackies 1983} {Wackies 2002}
Jamaica Super Dub Session {Wackies 1983} {Wackies 1998} {Wackies 2003}
Audley Rollens - Role Model {Wackies 1984}
Bullwackies All-Stars - The Dub Generals {Wackies 1984} {Wackies 2002}
Roland Alphonso - Roll On {Wackies 1984}
Sugar Minott - Wicked Ago Feel It {Wackies 1984} {Wackies 2002} {Wackies 2015}
Wackie's Reggae Christmas {Wackies 1985} {Tachyon 1990}
Bebo - Bebo In A Dub Style {Bebo's Music 1985} {Tafari 2007}
Milton Henry - Who Do You Think I Am? {Wackies 1985} {Wackies 2007}
Steve Knight - Orphan Child {Tachyon 1985}
Tempo Explosion {Black Victory 1985} {Dug Out 2011}
The Chosen Brothers - Sing And Shout {Wackies 1985} {Nutmeg 1994} {Wackies 1998}
Annette Brissett - Love Power {Wackies 1986}
Wackie's Rhythm Force - Free South Africa {Wackies 1986}
Chris Wayne - Freedom Street {Tachyon 1986}
Horace Andy - Everyday People {Wackies 1987} {Tachyon 1987}
Mute Beat - Still Echo {Overheat 1987} {Overheat 1993} {Wackies 1987}
Robert Minott - All I Have Is Love {Wackies 1987}
Jerry Johnson - The Score {Wackies 1988}
Lee "Scratch" Perry - Satan Kicked The Bucket {Wackies 1988} {Rohit International 1994}
Lee "Scratch" Perry Meets Bullwackie In Satan's Dub {ROIR 1990} {ROIR 1998}
Michael Livingston - The Plain Truth {Cultural Gifts 1988}
Mikey Jarrett - Mr. Excitement {Wackies 1988} {Tachyon 1988}
Mortie Butler - Love Lost And Found {Wackies 1988}
Santa Ranking - Ruff Neck Chicken {Wackies 1988}
Sleepy Wonder - Vibes {Tachyon 1988}
Sabwackie Presents Five The Hard Way {Wackies 1989} {Tachyon 1989}
Young Generation Vibration {Tachyon 1990}
Dancehall Sizzling Vol. 1, 2, 3 {Tachyon 1990}
Jackie Mittoo - Wild Jockey {Wackies 1990}
Jerry Johnson - East Of The City {Wackies 1990}
Lee "Scratch" Perry - Message From Yard {Rohit International 1990}
Lee "Scratch" Perry - The Dub Messenger {Tassa 1990}
Ninjaman - Kill Them And Done {Wackies 1990} {Tassa 1991}
Sabwackie Presents Dancehall Reality {Tachyon 1991}
Jigsy King And Lloyd Barnes At Dub House {Wackies 1991}
Wackies Sampler Vol. 1, 2, 3 {Wackies 2003} {Wackies 2005} {Wackies 2008}
Shalom - Love Of Jah {Wackies 2006}
For more information on the Wackies re-issue catalogue visit the Basic Channel website here:
www.basicchannel.com/label/Wackies
For an in-depth listing of Wackies singles and albums (including items for sale) check out Discogs:
www.discogs.com/label/9520-Wackies
For further Wackies items available for purchase check out Hard Wax:
https://hardwax.com/label/wackies/
Also, be sure to watch this wonderful documentary on Wackies, filmed on location in New York, which features footage of Bullwackie and his artists, including Love Joys, Milton Henry, Maxine Miller, Sugar Minott and many others, both in the studio and at home. A really great video that compliments everything covered in this article:
An Exploration Into Bullwackie Country And Beyond
Please be aware that all download links are currently unavailable as of January 2023
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