Early music and with the Wailers
Tosh was born in Westmoreland, the westernmost parish of Jamaica. He was abandoned by his parents and "shuffled among relatives". When McIntosh was fifteen, his aunt died and he moved to Trenchtown in Kingston, Jamaica. He first learned guitar after watching a man in the country play a song that captivated him. He watched the man play the same song for half a day, memorizing everything his fingers were doing. He then picked up the guitar and played the song back to the man. The man then asked McIntosh who had taught him to play; McIntosh told him that he had. During the early 1960s, as an aspiring musician, Tosh went to vocal teacher Joe Higgs, who gave free music lessons to young people. Through his contact with Higgs, Tosh met Robert Nesta Marley (Bob Marley) and Neville O'Reilly Livingston (Bunny Wailer). He then changed his name to Peter Tosh and the trio started singing together in 1962. Higgs taught the trio to harmonise and while developing their music, they would often play on the street corners of Trenchtown.
In 1964 Tosh helped organise the band the Wailing Wailers, with Junior Braithwaite, a falsetto singer, and backup singers Beverley Kelso and Cherry Smith. Initially, Tosh was the only one in the group who could play musical instruments. According to Bunny Wailer, Tosh was critical to the band because he was a self-taught guitarist and keyboardist, and thus became an inspiration for the other band members to learn to play. The Wailing Wailers had a major ska hit with their first single, "Simmer Down", and recorded several more successful singles before Braithwaite, Kelso and Smith left the band in late 1965. Marley spent much of 1966 in Delaware in the United States with his mother, Cedella (née Malcolm) Marley-Booker, and for a brief time was working at a nearby Chrysler factory. He returned to Jamaica in early 1967 with a renewed interest in music and a new spirituality. Tosh and Bunny were already Rastafarians when Marley returned from the US, and the three became very involved with the Rastafari faith. Soon afterwards, they renamed the musical group the Wailers. Tosh would explain later that they chose the name Wailers because to "wail" means to mourn or to, as he put it, "...express one's feelings vocally". He also claims that he was the beginning of the group, and that it was he who first taught Bob Marley the guitar. Also according to Bunny Wailer, the early Wailers learned to play instruments from Tosh.
During the mid-1960s Tosh, along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, were introduced to Danny Sims and Johnny Nash who signed the three artists to an exclusive recording contract on Sims' and Nash's JAD Records label as well as an exclusive publishing agreement through Sims' music publishing company, Cayman Music. Rejecting the up-tempo dance of ska, the band slowed their music to a rocksteady pace, and infused their lyrics with political and social messages inspired by their new-found faith. The Wailers composed several songs for the American-born singer Nash before teaming with producer Lee "Scratch" Perry to record some of the earliest well-known reggae songs, including "Soul Rebel", "Duppy Conqueror", and "Small Axe". The collaboration had given birth to reggae music and in 1970 bassist Aston "Family Man" Barrett and his brother, drummer Carlton Barrett, joined the group. They recorded the album The Best of The Wailers, which was produced by Leslie Kong and released in 1971.[citation needed]
In 1972, Danny Sims assigned the balance of the JAD Records recording contract with the band to Chris Blackwell and Island Records company and released their debut, Catch a Fire, in 1973, following it with Burnin' the same year. The Wailers had moved from many producers after 1970 and there were instances where producers would record rehearsal sessions that Tosh did and release them in England under the name "Peter Touch".
In 1973, Tosh was driving home with his girlfriend Evonne when his car was hit by another car driving on the wrong side of the road. The accident killed Evonne and severely fractured Tosh's skull. After Island Records president Chris Blackwell refused to issue his solo album in 1974, Tosh and Bunny Wailer left the Wailers, citing the unfair treatment they received from Blackwell, to whom Tosh often referred with a derogatory play on Blackwell's surname, 'Whiteworst'. Tosh had written many of the Wailers' hit songs such as "Get Up, Stand Up", "400 Years", and "No Sympathy". Tosh began recording and released his solo debut, Legalize It, in 1976 with CBS Records company, and Treasure Isle. The title track soon became popular among endorsers of cannabis legalization, reggae music lovers and Rastafari all over the world, and was a favourite at Tosh's concerts.
That was his last album from the Wailers, Island Records. In 2013, a book co-written by French scholar Dr Jeremie Kroubo Dagnini and American Lee Jaffe, his former associate, says Tosh was part of a smuggling operation that raised money to fund this album.
Solo career
Tosh started to make his own albums with Rolling Stones Records and CBS Records Equal Rights followed in 1977, featuring his recording of a song co-written with Marley, "Get Up, Stand Up", and a cover of "Stepping Razor" that would also appear on the soundtrack to the film Rockers.
Tosh organised a backing band, Word, Sound and Power, who were to accompany him on tour for the next few years, and many of whom performed on his albums of this period. In 1978, the Rolling Stones record label Rolling Stones Records contracted with Tosh, on which the album Bush Doctor was released, introducing Tosh to a larger audience. The album featured Rolling Stones frontmen Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and the lead single – a cover version of The Temptations song "Don't Look Back" – was performed as a duet with Jagger.
During Bob Marley's free One Love Peace Concert of 1978, Tosh lit a marijuana spliff and lectured about legalising cannabis, lambasting attending dignitaries Michael Manley and Edward Seaga for their failure to enact such legislation. Several months later he was apprehended by police as he left Skateland dance hall in Kingston and was beaten severely while in police custody.
Mystic Man (1979), and Wanted Dread and Alive (1981) followed, both released on Rolling Stones Records. Tosh tried to gain some mainstream success while keeping his militant views, but was only moderately successful, especially when compared to Marley's achievements.
In 1984, after the release of 1983's album Mama Africa, Tosh went into self-imposed exile, seeking the spiritual advice of traditional medicine men in Africa, and trying to free himself from recording agreements that distributed his records in South Africa. Tosh had been at odds for several years with his label, EMI, over a perceived lack of promotion for his music.
Tosh also participated in the international opposition to South African apartheid by appearing at anti-apartheid concerts and by conveying his opinion in various songs like "Apartheid" (1977, re-recorded 1987), "Equal Rights" (1977), "Fight On" (1979), and "Not Gonna Give It Up" (1983). In 1987, Peter Tosh seemed to be having a career revival. He was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Performance in 1987 for No Nuclear War, his last record.
Death
On 11 September 1987, just after Tosh had returned to his home in Jamaica, a three-man gang came to his house on motorcycles demanding money. Tosh replied that he did not have any with him but the gang did not believe him. They stayed at his residence for several hours and tortured Tosh in an attempt to extort money from him. Over the hours, as various associates of Tosh arrived to visit him, they were also taken hostage by the gunmen. The gunmen became more and more frustrated, especially the chief thug, Dennis "Leppo" Lobban, a man whom Tosh had previously befriended and tried to help find work after a long jail sentence. Tosh said he did not have any money in the house, after which Lobban and the fellow gunmen began opening fire in a reckless manner. Tosh was shot twice in the head and killed. Herbalist Wilton "Doc" Brown and disc jockey Jeff 'Free I' Dixon also died as a result of wounds sustained during the robbery. Several others in the house were wounded, including Tosh's common law wife Andrea Marlene Brown, Free I's wife Yvonne ("Joy"); Tosh's drummer Carlton "Santa" Davis, and musician Michael Robinson.
According to Police Commissioner Herman Ricketts, Dennis "Leppo" Lobban surrendered and two other men were interrogated but not publicly named. Lobban went on to plead innocent during his trial, telling the court he had been drinking with friends. The trial was held in a closed court due to the involvement of illegal firearms. Lobban was ultimately found guilty by a jury of eight women and four men and sentenced to death by hanging. His sentence was commuted in 1995 and Lobban remains in jail. Another suspect was acquitted due to insufficient evidence. The other two gunmen were never identified by name.
Discography
Legalize It (1976)
Equal Rights (1977)
Bush Doctor (1978)
Mystic Man (1979)
Wanted Dread & Alive (1981)
Mama Africa (1983)
No Nuclear War (1987)
Johnny B Goode
Peter Tosh Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Back up in the woods, on top of a hill
There stood an old hut made of earth and wood
There lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode
He never learned to read and a-write so well
But he could play his guitar like ringing a bell, yell
And said, "Go, go Johnny, Johnny B. Goode tonight," yeah
He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
Sitting in a tree in the railroad track
Old engineer in the train sitting in the shade
Strummin' with the rhythm that them drivers made
People passing by would stop and say
Oh my, oh my, what the boy can play
I said, "Oh, go Johnny, Johnny B. Goode tonight," yeah
Said, "Oh oh, go Johnny, Johnny B. Goode"
Mama said: Son, you gotta be a man (go out, be a man)
You gotta be the leader of a reggae band
People coming in from miles around
To hear you play until the sun goes down
Boy, someday, your name will be in the lights
Saying: Johnny, Johnny B. Goode tonight
I said, "Oh, go Johnny, Johnny B. Goode tonight," yeah
Said, "Oh oh, go Johnny, Johnny you better be good"
I said, "Go, go Johnny, Johnny B. Goode tonight"
Play Johnny, "Go Johnny, Johnny B. Goode"
I said, "Go, go, go, go, go Johnny, Johnny B. Goode tonight"
You can hear him play, go Johnny, better be good
Peter Tosh's song "Johnny B. Goode" is a tribute to Chuck Berry, the famous rock and roll pioneer. In this song, Tosh tells the story of a country boy named Johnny B. Goode who lives in a hut made of earth and wood on top of a hill close to Mandeville in Jamaica. Despite his lack of education, Johnny has a natural talent for music and can play his guitar like ringing a bell. He carries his guitar in a gunny sack and sometimes sits in a tree next to a railroad track strumming his guitar with the rhythm of passing trains. People passing by often stop and marvel at his skill.
Tosh's mother, portrayed in the song, encourages Johnny to pursue his musical talent, telling him that someday his name will be in lights, performing for fans who come from miles around to hear him play. The song ends with Tosh exhorting Johnny to be good, as his music will be heard far and wide.
Overall, the song is a celebration of Chuck Berry's music and the power of music to transcend cultural and national boundaries.
Line by Line Meaning
Deep down in Jamaica, close to Mandeville
The story is set in Jamaica, specifically in a place called Mandeville.
Back up in the woods, on top of a hill
Johnny's hut is located in the woods, up on a hill.
There stood an old hut made of earth and wood
Johnny's home is a simple hut made of local materials.
There lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode
Johnny is a young man from the country.
He never learned to read and a-write so well
Johnny did not receive much formal education.
But he could play his guitar like ringing a bell, yell
Despite his lack of education, Johnny is an extremely talented musician.
And said, "Go, go Johnny, Johnny B. Goode tonight," yeah
Johnny's fans urge him to perform his best and give a great show.
He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
Johnny's only possession is his precious guitar, which he carries with him everywhere.
Sitting in a tree in the railroad track
Johnny often sits in a tree near the train tracks, playing his guitar to the sound of passing trains.
Old engineer in the train sitting in the shade
Passing train drivers enjoy listening to Johnny's music while they relax in the shade.
Strummin' with the rhythm that them drivers made
Johnny creates music inspired by the rhythm of the passing trains.
People passing by would stop and say
Word of Johnny's talent has spread, and strangers stop to listen to him play.
Oh my, oh my, what the boy can play
Listeners are amazed by Johnny's guitar skills.
Mama said: Son, you gotta be a man (go out, be a man)
Johnny's mother encourages him to grow up and take leadership of a reggae band.
You gotta be the leader of a reggae band
Johnny's mother wants him to start his own band and become a successful musician.
People coming in from miles around
Johnny has gained a large following, with fans coming from far away to see him perform.
To hear you play until the sun goes down
Johnny's fans want to hear him play all night long.
Boy, someday, your name will be in the lights
Johnny's mother believes he will become famous and have his name in lights.
Saying: Johnny, Johnny B. Goode tonight
When Johnny becomes famous, she imagines his fans calling out his name and urging him to play his best.
Said, "Oh oh, go Johnny, Johnny you better be good"
Despite Johnny's talent, his fans have high expectations and want him to perform at his best.
Play Johnny, "Go Johnny, Johnny B. Goode"
Johnny's fans want him to perform his signature song, "Johnny B. Goode".
You can hear him play, go Johnny, better be good
When Johnny performs, his music can be heard throughout the area, so his fans expect him to do his best.
Lyrics © ENTERTAINMENT ONE U.S. LP
Written by: Chuck Berry
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Maria De Jesus Santos
linda musica