The founding members of the group were Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso, Lloyd Brevett, Lloyd Knibb, Lester Sterling, Don Drummond, Jerome “Jah Jerry” Haynes, Jackie Mittoo, Johnny Moore and Jackie Opel.
Trombonist Drummond's composition, Man In The Street, entered the Top 10 in the United Kingdom. He was not only the Skatalites' busiest composer, but was the most prolific in all of Ska, with at least 200 tunes to his name by 1965.
On January 1, 1965, Drummond was jailed for the murder of his girlfriend, Anita 'Marguerita' Mahfood, and in August that year, the Skatalites played their last show. The break-up resulted in the formation of two supergroups, Jackie Mitto and the Soul Brothers (later the Soul Vendors and finally Sound Dimension) and Tommy McCook and the Supersonics. Drummond died in the Bellevue Asylum on May 6, 1969 at age 37.
In June 1983, the Skatalites reformed for a reunion performance at the Sunsplash festival in Montego Bay in July. Between 1985 and 1988, the core members of the Skatalites emigrated, and eventually coalesced in the northeast of the United States. They played their first U.S. concert at "The Village Gate", and did their first U.S. tour in January, 1990. The Skatalites continued touring the U.S., and did their first tour of Europe in 1992.
In January 1996, the Skatalites was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of "Best Reggae Album" for their 1995 Shanachie release, Hi Bop Ska. They were again nominated for a Grammy Award in the same category for their 1996 Shanachie release, Greetings From Skamania, in January 1997.
The Skatalites began their first World Tour in February 2002, covering the United States, Europe, Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Russia, and Japan, which lasted nine months.
On 8 February 2012 the band announced a new single and album due out in 2012 as well as a new US tour starting in Texas and heading to New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Oregan, California, Washington and then Canada. These dates follow 4 dates they announced in January for the North East. The new album will be titled "All Roads" and will feature the last recordings of founding member Lloyd Knibb.
Original 1960s lineup
Tommy McCook - tenor saxophone, flute
Roland Alphonso - tenor saxophone
Lester Sterling - alto saxophone
Don Drummond - trombone
Johnny "Dizzy" Moore - trumpet
Lloyd Brevett - upright bass
Lloyd Knibbs - drums
Jerome "Jah Jerry" Haynes - guitar
Jackie Mittoo - piano
Jackie Opel - vocals
Associated musicians
Though not official band members, these musicians worked with the Skatalites extensively during the 1964-1965 period in the recording studio, or in the case of the vocalists, at live shows. Doreen Shaeffer later joined the group full-time when they reunited.
Tony Gregory - vocals
Doreen Shaeffer - vocals
Lord Tanamo - vocals
Dennis "Ska" Campbell - tenor saxophone
Oswald "Baba" Brooks - trumpet
Frank Anderson - trumpet
Ernest Ranglin - lead guitar
Lyn Taitt - rhythm guitar
Current lineup
Lester Sterling - alto saxophone
Doreen Shaffer - vocals
Azemobo "Zem" Audu - tenor saxophone
Andrae Murchison - trombone
Kevin Batchelor - trumpet
Val Douglas - bass guitar
Natty Frenchy - guitar
Cameron Greenlee - keyboards
Trevor "Sparrow" Thompson - drums
Other former band members
These musicians played in various lineups of the Skatalites during their reunion period (1983–present), generally replacing original members who were absent or deceased.
Mark Berney - trumpet
Nathan Breedlove - trumpet (1993–1998)
Cedric "Im" Brooks - tenor saxophone (2000–2002,2007-2010)
Karl "Cannonball" Bryan - saxophone (2003–2009)
Calvin "Bubbles" Cameron - trombone (1983–1984)
Welford "Will" Clark - trombone (1994–2003)
Vin "Don D. Junior" Gordon - trombone (2003–2008)
Devon James - guitar (1987–2009)
Bill Smith - keyboards (1993–1999)
Ken Stewart - keyboards (1988-1990,1998-2009) (also serves as the band's manager)
Clark Gayton - Trombone (1989–1994)
Cary Brown - keyboards (1990-1995)
Louis Bonilla - trombone
www.skatalites.com
Rude Boy
The Skatalites Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Walking the streets of dreams.
Everybody knows I'm a rude boy
Walking the streets of dreams.
I'm just an ordinary man
With ordinary plans.
I'm just an ordinary man
I had a dream last night
That I was a rich man,
But when I woke up this morning
I found out I was a poor man.
I dreamt I was the president
Living in a tent,
But when I woke up this morning
I was thrown out for not paying the rent.
No mama, no papa, and I live in the ghetto.
I'm just a child from a broken home.
The Skatalites' song "Rude Boy Dreams" is a song that speaks to the reality of many individuals who are living in poverty. The song speaks of a rude boy who is walking down the streets of his dreams. The character within the song is living in a world of his own, where he is longing to escape the harsh realities of his life.
The lyrics reveal that the character is an ordinary man with ordinary plans, but the one thing that sets him apart is that he is a rude boy. This title associates the character with the subculture of Jamaican rude boys in the 1960s. The song goes on to reveal that the character had a dream where he imagined that he was rich and even the president of the country living in a tent. However, as soon as he wakes up, he realizes that his life is still the same, and he is still living in poverty.
The song "Rude Boy Dreams" speaks to the struggle for upward mobility that many impoverished individuals go through. The character in the song has aspirations to escape the harsh realities of his life, but he finds that his dreams only serve as a temporary escape. The song's message is both relatable and poignant as it touches on the aspirations of many people as they struggle to break free from their circumstances.
Line by Line Meaning
Everybody knows I'm a rude boy
I'm widely known as a rebellious young man who disobeys authority and lives by his own rules.
Walking the streets of dreams.
I'm wandering through my imagination, lost in a world of possibilities and possibilities of what I could achieve.
I'm just an ordinary man
I'm not exceptional, just a simple individual among many.
With ordinary plans.
I have no extraordinary goals, I just want to lead a normal life.
I had a dream last night
I had an imaginary experience while sleeping that felt real.
That I was a rich man,
I envisioned myself as a wealthy person with lots of money and luxuries.
But when I woke up this morning
In reality, when I woke up, I discovered that it was just a fantasy.
I found out I was a poor man.
I learned that my financial situation has not improved, and I am still poor.
I dreamt I was the president
I imagined that I was the leader of the country with political power and influence.
Living in a tent,
Instead of the White House, I was living in poor conditions without proper housing.
But when I woke up this morning
However, my dream was unreal, and the reality was quite different.
I was thrown out for not paying the rent.
I was kicked out of my shelter for being unable to pay the rent.
No mama, no papa, and I live in the ghetto.
I'm growing up without any parental guidance or support, and I'm living in low-income neighborhoods.
I'm just a child from a broken home.
My family is dysfunctional, and I come from a broken home with emotional issues.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: LAUREL AITKEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@shadowrand
I love that quote "Music is Life, Live a fun one, Listen to Ska." That's exactly how I live my life and I try to get everyone around me to do the same. The world is fucked up enough. SKA SKA SKA!
@binojoe3633
essa musica é linda!
@25PHANTOM69
All time greatest Laurel Aitken song, ever!
@yabadabadou3196
Maybe not the best but one of them
@jackatthecontrol
Out of great sadness comes great gladness. It's like that all over the world. This tune exeplifies that.
@ludacris10
my spirits shoot up listening to this song,I just love ska music!!
@GerardoZang
De mis favoritas!!!!!!
@KleinstadtSkin1
a great person and a great band;) R.I.P. Laurel
@trinihaze3127
Masterpiece!
@Zoo187
I looooooove this tune!!!