Previous Page: Rock 'n' roll was the big thing for the American record producers during the 1950's which was not suited for the sound systems revelling Kingstonians, and by the mid 1950's Bill Haley and Elvis Presley were unwittingly creating a major problem in Kingston Jamaica, much to the Mom and Dad's displeasure. Blue-jeaned, white middle class America found out how to rock 'n' roll. Kingstonian's staple diet was based on the rousing sound of hard core Rhythm & Blues and night outs at his or her favourite sound system dance with a chilled bottle of Red Stripe beer and an earful of hard driving big beat R&B. However, sound system men found new R&B rhythm sounds was in rather short supply. All the American top Recording Studios were rushing to record every clean-faced or clean-cut white singer they could find, they were too busy recording teeny-boppers for their record labels. The old R&B singers had found themselves out of a job and the sound systems found themselves lacking new R&B imports from America. Rock 'n' roll was alright for the children of the land of the free, with their newly oil-slicked-back hair, but in Kingston there was mayhem or rather a disaster. Sound system night ravers simply did not like the new type hillbilly bop purveyed by people like Carl Perkins. The dance crashers of Kingston thirsted for greaser R&B shuffle of Bill Doggett or Rosco Gordon and Wynonie Harris. |
