1000 Day Album Challenge (#61) Burning Spear: Marcus Garvey (1975) [01.03.24]
slavery days / do you remember the days of slav'ry?...
I was lucky that as early as high school I was listening to reggae beyond Bob Marley & The Wailers. as I got older I became aware that often when someone claimed to like reggae they actually only meant, “I like Bob Marley.” it is my experience that many people aren’t familiar with much more than the Legend album by BMW. I think Marcus Garvey by @officialburningspear entered my life during my freshman or sophomore year of college.
as I listen to Marcus Garvey I realize it has been way too long since I last sat down and listened to it start to finish. as Live Good, the fourth song, plays and draws my attention to it, some time passes before I recognize it. the same thing with Give Me, which follows it. still love it though. I am going to have to listen more often.
I had no such problem with the first three tunes – Marcus Garvey, Slavery Days, and The Invasion all came roaring back. Winston Rodney (lead singer) and Burning Spear were on that Afrocentric vibe long before Native Tongues would take up the mantle a decade and a half later. it is likely Burning Spear’s strong political bent that kept them making a bigger dent in the U.S. market. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.
not long before bed last night, but after I had already decided to post about Marcus Garvey today, I learned through a post by a friend (Steve Dolley) on FB, that today is Winston Rodney’s 79th birthday. a nice touch of serendipity involved with this post. I guess it was just the universe validating my choice.
here’s to keeping on!
#1000DayAlbumChallenge #BurningSpear #MarcusGarvey #SlaveryDays #TheInvasion #WinstonRodney