Upsetter Records
Upsetter Records | |
---|---|
Founded | 1968 |
Founder | Lee "Scratch" Perry |
Defunct | 1978 |
Distributor(s) | Trojan Records |
Genre | Reggae |
Country of origin | Jamaica |
Location | Kingston, Jamaica |
Upsetter Records was a Jamaican record label set up by Lee "Scratch" Perry in 1968. Perry also opened the Upsetter Record Shop where he sold the records he produced.
Lee "Scratch" Perry worked for Coxsone Dodd's Studio One record label and later for Joe Gibbs's Amalgamated Records through the 1950s and 1960s. Amid personal and financial disagreements, he left, and in 1968 he formed his own label as an outlet for music he produced and his own recordings. The label was named Upsetter Records, and the house band was The Upsetters. "The Upsetter" was Perry's nickname after his 1968 single "I Am The Upsetter", a musical dismissal of his former boss Coxsone Dodd.[1]
Upsetter Records signed a distribution deal with the U.K. based Trojan Records, and had its first success with Perry and The Upsetters' 1969 album Return of Django, which became a hit in the U.K. The label proceeded to release productions by many major Jamaican performers, including The Wailers and early sessions of Bob Marley and the Wailers.[1][2]
In 1973, The Wailers left and signed up with Island Records. Aston "Family Man" Barrett and his brother Carlton (Carlie) Barrett left The Upsetters and formed the Wailers Band, the backing band of The Wailers, and later part of Bob Marley and the Wailers.[3] Despite the setback, Perry turned his fortunes around when, in the same year, he built Black Ark Studios — which recorded for Upsetter Records and other labels, becoming a center of creativity in reggae music.[1]
Upsetter Records continued to release records throughout the 1970s, and in 1981, Perry had a breakdown and burned down Black Ark Studios.[3]
In 1989, after King Tubby's death, the studio was looted.[4]
In 2014, Lee Perry reopened the label exclusively for the release of his new album "Back On the Controls" with London producer Daniel Boyle.
References
- ^ a b c F. W. Hoffmann and H. Ferstler, Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound, Volume 1 (New York, NY: CRC Press, 2nd edn., 2004), ISBN 0-415-93835-X.
- ^ Upsetter Records Profile Archived 1 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine (About.com)
- ^ a b Lee Scratch Perry Interview Archived 8 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine, New Musical Express, 17 November 1984
- ^ "Lee "Scratch" Perry". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 July 2013.[permanent dead link]
- v
- t
- e
- The Wailing Wailers (1965)
- Soul Rebels (1970)
- Soul Revolution Part II (1971)
- The Best of the Wailers (1971)
- Catch a Fire (1973)
- Burnin' (1973)
- Natty Dread (1974)
- Rastaman Vibration (1976)
- Exodus (1977)
- Kaya (1978)
- Survival (1979)
- Uprising (1980)
- Confrontation (1983)
- African Herbsman (1973)
- Rasta Revolution (1974)
- Legend (1984)
- Rebel Music (1986)
- Natural Mystic: The Legend Lives On (1995)
- 21 Winners: The Best of Bob Marley and the Wailers (1997)
- One Love: The Very Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers (2001)
- Gold (2005)
- Live! (1975)
- Babylon by Bus (1978)
- Talkin' Blues (1991)
- Live at the Roxy (2003)
- Live Forever: September 23, 1980 • Stanley Theatre • Pittsburgh, PA (2011)
- Easy Skanking in Boston '78 (2015)
- Chances Are (1981)
- Chant Down Babylon (1999)
- B Is for Bob (2009)
- Songs of Freedom (1992)
- The Complete Bob Marley & the Wailers 1967–1972 (1997–2002)
- "Judge Not"
- "Simmer Down"
- "Guava Jelly"
- "Stir It Up"
- "Get Up, Stand Up"
- "I Shot the Sheriff"
- "No Woman, No Cry (Live '75)"
- "Jah Live"
- "Exodus"
- "Waiting in Vain"
- "Jamming"/"Punky Reggae Party"
- "Is This Love"
- "Satisfy My Soul"
- "So Much Trouble in the World"
- "Could You Be Loved"
- "Redemption Song"
- "Three Little Birds"
- "Forever Loving Jah"
- "Buffalo Soldier"
- "One Love/People Get Ready"
- "Iron Lion Zion"
- "Sun Is Shining"
- "Turn Your Lights Down Low"
- "Slogans"
- "Is This Love"
- "One Love"
- "Rude Boy"
- "Mr Brown"
- "Small Axe"
- "No Woman, No Cry"
- "Turn Your Lights Down Low"
- "Sun Is Shining"
- "One Drop"
- "War"
- "Hammer"
- Smile Jamaica Concert (1976)
- Exodus Tour (1977)
- One Love Peace Concert (1978)
- Uprising Tour (1980)
- Chris Blackwell
- Errol Brown
- Allan Cole
- Coxsone Dodd
- Vincent Ford
- Neville Garrick
- Joe Higgs
- Lee Jaffe
- Arthur Jenkins
- King Sporty
- Leslie Kong
- Johnny Nash
- Jimmy Norman
- Lee "Scratch" Perry
- Mortimer Planno
- Karl Pitterson
- Alex Sadkin
- Discography
- Band members
- Outline of Bob Marley
- 1976 assassination attempt
- Marley Natural
- Upsetter Records
- Tuff Gong
- Bob Marley Museum
- Statue of Bob Marley
- Tribute to the Legend: Bob Marley
- Marley
- soundtrack
- Hall of Fame: A Tribute to Bob Marley's 50th Anniversary
- Time Will Tell: A Tribute to Bob Marley
- One Love: The Bob Marley Musical
- Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical
- Bob Marley: One Love
- soundtrack
Category