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Posts tagged as “Sly & Robbie”

MUSIC: Celebrating Jamaican Independence Day with Stevie Wonder Reggae Covers (LISTEN)

MUSIC: Celebrating Jamaican Independence Day with Stevie Wonder Reggae Covers (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on August 6, 2020

by Jeff Meier (FB: Jeff.Meier.90)

Jamaican Independence Day is celebrated every August 6th in honor of the date in 1962 when Jamaica gained its independence from England after more than 300 years of British colonial rule.

On the heels of Jamaica’s independence, Jamaican ska music partially shifted to celebrate the country’s newfound freedoms, eventually paving the way for the birth of reggae music, which has been the driving force of the nation’s music since then.

To enjoy the evolution of those sounds, you can check out the GBN playlists we posted earlier this year – Celebrating The History and Evolution of Ska Music and Celebrating Reggae Songs of Struggle and Peace.

All you faithful Good Black News readers may also remember that just a few months ago we saluted the amazing Stevie Wonder with a month-long series of themed playlists (see below). Well, believe it or not, we still had a few additional Stevie playlists we never got to share with you in May. So today, in honor of Jamaican Independence Day, we are showcasing “Stevie Wonder Goes to Jamaica – Reggae Wonder Covers.”

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:7gd7WSlKNGin1kC5y5LSs3″/]

Although it’s hard to remember a time when iconic reggae superstar Bob Marley wasn’t universally known, back in 1974, when Stevie Wonder first issued the song “Boogie on Reggae Woman,” Marley had yet to really break through on the U.S. music charts – and not that many people knew what Stevie was talking about.

Always one to infuse his music with innovative sounds, in the final years of the seventies when Stevie acknowledged reggae yet again with the smash hit “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” – in which he detailed “From the park I hear rhythms / Marley’s hot on the box” – the world had finally caught up with Stevie’s vision.

Later, in 1982, Stevie even wrote and produced the big R&B/reggae crossover hit ‘Try Jah Love” for Jamaica superstars Third World.

While Stevie was relatively early to jump on reggae sounds, reggae music had actually jumped on Stevie Wonder sounds even earlier. A longtime tradition of reggae music – particularly in the “lovers rock” genre – is to remake popular US chart hits in a reggae style.

Wonder’s hits provided fertile territory. From the late 1960s, all the way up through contemporary times, Stevie’s own hits as well as his compositions for others have yielded dozens of reggae cover versions, whether ballads or uptempo, more modern dancehall sounds.

Today’s playlist kicks off with Stevie’s version of “Master Blaster” and his Third World composition before heading into covers from today’s most known reggae hitmakers such as Wayne Wonder, Tanya Stephens, Sly & Robbie, Maxi Priest, Bob Marley scion Stephen Marley, as well as such legends as John Holt, Desmond Dekker, Dennis Brown, Toots & the Maytals, and Lee Perry & the Upsetters.

Finally, in honor of the “birth” of Jamaica’s independence from colonial rule, we close with Barry Biggs’ reggae rendition of Stevie’s classic “Happy Birthday,” which Wonder famously composed to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday as well as Black America’s fight for equal rights and justice.

Happy Birthday, Jamaica!

 

17th Annual ImageNation Outdoors Festival of Soul Cinema & Music Kicks off Aug. 8 in NY

17th Annual ImageNation Outdoors Festival of Soul Cinema & Music Kicks off Aug. 8 in NY

By goodblacknews on August 2, 2019

ImageNation Outdoors Festival (photo courtesy ImageNation)

The 17thAnnual ImageNation Outdoors Festival: Soul Cinema and Music Under the Stars kicks off this year on August 8th with an outdoor screening of BOSS: The Black Experience in Business.

Held in partnership with the Historic Harlem Parks and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, ImageNation Outdoors, is New York City’s only free summer-long outdoor film and music festival dedicated to Black cinema, will continue with a dynamic slate of free entertainment.

On August 22nd, ImageNation Outdoors will present a special screening of Amazing Grace, the acclaimed documentary of Aretha Franklin recording her gospel album live at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles in 1972.  The screening will follow a live musical tribute, and Harlem will attempt to make the Guinness Book of Records by forming the world’s longest Soul Train line.

On August 30th and September 6th, join ImageNation will be screening When They See Us. The critically acclaimed docu-series that tells the untold story of the Exonerated Five. Korey Wise and Kevin Richardson of The Exonerated Five will be in attendance.

Come to slay with a screening of an intimate documentary as stylish and unconventional as its subject, Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami on September 20th.  The documentary depicts Jones in her Jamaican hometown, follows her into the studio with longtime collaborators Sly & Robbie, and at cutting-edge live shows—featuring performances of “Slave to the Rhythm,” and “Pull Up to the Bumper”.

The screening will follow live tribute performances and a fashion show of OKETSA by Thulare Monareng and designs by Sheila Prevost.

Festival dates are August 8th and continue through September 20th.   All programs are free and open to the public. Music and activities begin at 6:00PM; and, films begin at sundown.

2019 Outdoor Lineup:

  • August 8th – BOSS: The Black Experience in Business, Marcus Garvey Park
  • August 13th – Poetic Justice, Marcus Garvey Park
  • August 17 – If Beale Street Could Talk, St. Nicholas Park, w/ Harlem Week!
  • August 22 – Soul Train Tribute to Aretha Franklin and Amazing Grace, Marcus Garvey Park
  • August 23 – Decade of Fire, St. Nicholas Park (Black Public Media 40th Ann.)
  • August 24 – Kids Night Out – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, St. Nicholas Park, w/ Harlem Week!
  • August 30th- When They See Us, Adam Clayton Powell State Office Bldg @ 125th St
  • September 6th- When They See Us, Adam Clayton Powell State Office Bldg @ 125th S
  • September 20 – Black Girl Magic – Grace Jones: Bami & Bloodlight, Marcus Garvey Park

Kids’ Night Out is curated by eight year-old Harlemite Kgari Kgama-Gates who shared, “I chose the film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse because it really inspired me to have a young superhero who looks like me. Plus, the music is awesome!”

Children as well as adults are bound to have a great time as the screening celebrates Harlem Week as well.  The program will also offer STEM games, face painting, and a back to school backpack giveaway by the Harlem-based Xi Phi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

ImageNation Outdoors is sponsored by Harlem Community Development Corp, Black Public Media, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, Harlem Week, Radio 103.9, HBO, the Colonel Young Park Association, Harlem 2020 and Global Black Network of Black Pride. Launched in 2002 with a single screening for 300 people, ImageNation Outdoors has grown to draw nearly 10,000 attendees each summer. ImageNation Outdoors is the only summer long festival dedicated to films and music about the Black global experience. 

Full descriptions of the festival programs are enclosed below. All programs are free and open to the public. Music/activities begin at 6:00PM; and, films begin at sundown: