THE WAILING SOULS
The consummate roots band, the Wailing Souls may
never have gained the international reputation of their
compatriots, at least not at the height of the genre's
popularity, but they did outlive most of them. Their very
survival has been their greatest strength, that and their
ability to diversify over time. Today they are one of the most
popular live acts around and they continue to release
provocative and popular albums. A roots band they may well be,
but their history actually stretches back long before the birth
of that genre, as far back as the heyday of ska. The Wailing
Souls' story begins with Winston "Pipe" Matthews. As a youth
living in Kingston in the early '60s, Matthews learned to sing
at the feet of Joe Higgs. Higgs, although himself barely out of
his teens, was already a veteran vocalist with a string of hits
to his name, and coached up and coming talent in his tenement
yard. His most famous protégés were, of course, the Wailers.
Higgs' training stood Matthews in equally good stead and by
1963, the aspiring singer and his vocal group the Schoolboys had
come to the attention of Prince Buster. The group cut a handful
of singles for the producer over the next year, "Little Boy
Blue" and "Dream Lover" included. In 1965, the Schoolboys
folded, but Matthews was soon back with a new group, the
Renegades. This vocal trio comprised Matthews, Lloyd "Bread"
McDonald, and George "Buddy" Haye, both of whom were also alumni
of Higgs' vocal classes. Initially, the group hooked up with
guitarist Ernest Ranglin appearing on a number of singles with
him, before they finally debuted on their own with "Lost Love."
It was at this point that the trio came to the attention of
Coxsonne Dodd and the Renegades embarked on a fruitful career at
Studio One. Over the next three years, the group released a
clutch of singles on this label. Their debut for Dodd was "Back
Out With It," a fine effort, but it was a later cut, "Fire Coal
Man," recorded to the rhythm of the Silverstones' hit "Burning
in My Soul," that eventually had the biggest impact. Although a
number of the Renegades' singles were local hits, the trio never
really excited much attention elsewhere during their lifetime.
In 1968, Haye departed, in his place came two new
singers, Oswald Downer and Norman Davis. Such a seismic shift of
lineup prompted the group to totally cut ties with the past, and
the they changed their moniker to the Wailing Souls. In many
ways, though, the quartet merely picked up where the trio had
left off and continued recording popular singles -- "Thou Shall
Not Steal," "Dungeon," and "Pack Your Things," included.
Although only a handful are now recalled by fans from these
earliest days, the group would re-record a number in later years
under new titles, and these seminal re-cuts are still part of
the group's most treasured canon. Amongst these are such classic
songs as "Feel the Spirit" (originally released as "Soul and
Power") and "Back Biter" ("You Should Have Known Better").
Studio One would eventually release two compilations of
recordings from this period, The Wailing Souls and Soul and
Power, which together wrap up most of the quartet's best work
with Dodd. And while song titles would change in the future,
back then the quartet was appearing under enough aliases to fill
an FBI sheet. When the group recorded "Gold Digger for Lloyd
Daley, the single was credited in the U.K. to Little Roys.
Elsewhere, they appeared as Atarra, the Classics, and even Pipe
& the Pipers. Apparently their was some concern in Britain that
people might confuse the Wailing Souls with the Wailers. The
Wailers themselves certainly didn't think so, and in 1970 the
quartet moved to the Tuff Gong label. More crucial singles
followed, including "Walk Walk Walk" and "Harbour Shark," all
backed by the Tuff Gong All Stars of course, aka the Wailers
themselves.
The group's career seemed to be on track, but in
1974, the Wailing Souls suddenly underwent a swift series of
cataclysmic lineup shifts. Davis and Downer both departed, with
former Renegade Hayes and former vocal teacher Higgs taking
their place. Higgs' stay was short-lived, however, and he too
soon departed to take part in a U.S. tour with Jimmy Cliff. In
his stead came founding Black Uhuru member Rudolph "Garth"
Dennis. Such dramatic changes in personnel usually heralds the
rapid decline of a group, but surprisingly enough, the Wailing
Souls were now about to enter their strongest era. The new group
joined forces with producer JoJo Hookim at his Channel One
studio, and backed by Sly & Robbie's Revolutionaries proceeded
to cut classic song after classic song. "Jah Give Us Life," a
re-recorded version of "Fire Coal Man," "Back Biter," "Things
and Time" (also re-recordings of old songs, but with new titles
attached), and "War" featuring DJ Ranking Trevor, all impacted
across the Jamaican roots scene. Across the Atlantic, the Ulster
punk band Stiff Little Finger were as taken by the music as fans
in Jamaica, and recorded their own phenomenal version of "Fire
Coal Man, helping further excite interest in the group abroad.
In 1984, the British label Empire gathered up many of the
group's masterful singles with Hookim on the compilation The
Best Of.
By 1977, the Wailing Souls were
ready to have a go running their own record label, which they
named Massive. It was a prescient moniker and their debut
release, the seminal "Bredda Gravalicious," was a smash hit
and remains a firm favorite to this day. Their follow-up, "Feel
the Spirit," another one of their old Studio One cuts given new
life, did equally as well. The success of these two singles
prompted Island Records to pick up world rights to the group's
debut album, 1979's Wild Suspense. (In reality, their eponymous
Studio One album was their first, and was released three years
earlier, but this was the group's first album of new material.)
The record boasts some of the heaviest roots of the Wailing
Souls' career, and along with the two singles, it also features
the equally classic "Very Well."
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Even though Massive had proved
just that, the quartet continued recording for other labels.
They rejoined Sly & Robbie at their Taxi label for the sublime
"Sugar Plum Plum" and "Old Broom," both of which were huge hits.
With Sly & Robbie and their Roots Radics in tow, the Wailing
Souls returned to Channel One, and cut a stream of exceptional
singles for producer Junjo Lawes. The infectious "Firehouse
Rock," the exquisite harmonies of "See Baba Joe," and the mighty
"Kingdom Rise Kingdom Fall," followed, as the group released a
stream of hits across 1980 and into 1981. All three of these
singles featured on the Wailing Souls' next album, the
magnificent Firehouse Rock. Produced by Lawes, ignited by the
Roots Radics, and mixed by Scientist, the set remains a high
water mark of the roots age, with the band's tough rhythms
perfectly aligned with the singer's own soulful delivery. Their
follow-up, 1982's Inchpinchers, is nearly as good, although its
dancehall vibes didn't always sit well with the purer roots
crowd. In the interim, the group also released Wailing, and cut
a number of other notable singles with other producers,
including such hits as "Who No Waan Come" and "Rude Boy Say Him
Bad."
In 1981, the Wailing Souls were
on the road, and embarked on a short tour of California, so
enjoying the experience, they spent most of the next three years
in the States. However, they continued releasing singles,
several of them self-productions, and a number were cut in
collaboration with DJs, including "Take We Back," which saw them
reunite with Ranking Trevor, and "Take a Taste," with Ringo.
During this period, the group also released two albums, 1983's
On the Rocks and the following year's Stranded. And for a
moment, they were indeed stranded. Garth Dennis had now elected
to reunite with his old band Black Uhuru, and Haye refused to
leave L.A. Matthews and McDonald were not finished yet, however.
They returned to Jamaica, and continued the group as a duo. The
now-shrunken Wailing Souls joined up with producer Delroy Wright
for 1986's On the Line, an apt title, considering the situation.
It was evident that the pair had yet to find their footing, but
their follow-up, Kingston 14, found them back on track, abetted
by yet another reunion with Sly & Robbie, who provided sublime
rhythms. And if there were doubts, they were put to rest with
"Full Moon," another smash hit. In 1988, the Wailing Souls
recorded a new album, again in conjunction with Sly & Robbie,
along with a slew of seminal session men and overseen by Wright.
However, the record was not released at the time. Their next
full-length, the fabulous Stormy Night, would not appear until
the following year, and found the duo now working with King
Jammy. Amazingly, Stormy Night was never given a Jamaican
release, although it created quite a stir around the rest of the
world. Even odder, the recordings didn't spawn a sole hit
single.
Understandably, the Wailing Souls were losing patience. They'd
wasted a year recording an album that never saw release, and now
their new record was unable to even find a Jamaican label
willing to put it out. In truth, the hits were drying up,
although the group's work remained as strong as ever, the vocals
as heartfelt, and harmonies as exquisite as they'd always been.
Styles had changed, and at home, interest had flagged. By 1991,
Matthews and McDonald had made the momentous decision to quit
Jamaica, and returned to the States. And there, the previously
unreleased Reggae Ina Firehouse was finally mashing up the
dancefloor. It might have arrived three years late, but there
was no disguising the record's mastery. Even so, the duo were
unhappy at its unexpected and tardy arrival, but they shouldn't
have been. The album is filled with phenomenal songs, fabulous
roots music, and some of the pair's best vocals. However, the
Wailing Souls did have some reason for concern, as they were
about to embark on a musical journey that would make their old
roots fans mouths drop. Recruiting vocalist Maisha, the trio
inked a deal with the Sony label's Chaos subsidiary and began
work on a new album. Along for the ride was a club's worth of
guest musicians, backing vocalists and even a pair of DJs
(including U-Roy). The result, 1992's All Over the World,
deservedly earned the group a Grammy nomination, and is a genre
buster extraordinaire. Running from deep roots to funk, R&B to
country, it was enough to give older rastas a heart attack. But
the the Wailing Souls were unrepentant, and continued on their
merry way. They followed up with the Live On live set, which did
not live up to Sony's expectations, but there was little time
for tears, and the group happily made their way for the indie
labels. Tension arrived in 1997, with Psychedelic Souls quickly
following the next year. The latter again boasts Sly & Robbie's
tough rhythms, and finds the group venturing ever deeper into
the rock world. The pair stayed on board for 2000's Equality,
which returned Wailing Soul to their rootsiest roots, yet is
shot through with a modern electronic sound and American
stylings. The duo remain defiant, refusing to play the role of
elder statesmen; they've remained forward looking, and over time
their biting cultural lyrics have not softened an iota. The
Wailing Souls continue to tour, and we can expect more
intriguing releases guaranteed to mix-up the music and shake the
dancefloors.
2007 saw a
reuniting of The Wailing Souls as a quartet with
Rudolph
“Garth” Dennis joining Bread and Pipe for a
series of shows including the Hollywood Bowl and an appearance
at the Monterey Bay Reggae Festival. SNWMF is very pleased
to introduce this outstanding quartet of singers to this year's
festival.
Wailing
Souls Links:
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