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
When I Fall In Love
The Skatalites Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It will be forever
Cause I'll never ever
Fall in love again
When I fall in love,
There will be no other
Only you and me
In soul wide world
In love again
To me could
Be a pleasure
If it don't take
All my leisures away
When I fall in love,
There will be no other
Cause I'll never ever
Fall in love again
If I'll should fall
In love again
To me it would
Be a pleasure
If it don't take
All my leisures away
When I fall in love,
There will be no other
Only you and me
In the soul wide world
If I'll should fall
In love again
To me it would
Be a pleasure
If it don't take
All my leisures away
When I fall in love
It will be forever.
Cause I'll never ever
Fall in love again
When I fall in love,
There will be no other
Only you and me
In the soul wild world
The Skatalites’ “When I Fall in Love” is a love song that expresses a sense of ambivalence about falling in love. The song's chorus repeats "When I fall in love, it will be forever, cause I’ll never ever fall in love again." This line suggests that the singer has been hurt before in love and is not ready to surrender to those feeling again. However, the character also muses about the possibility of falling in love again, with the caveat "if it don't take all my leisures away." This implies that the character also fears losing their freedom and independence if they fall in love.
At the core of “When I Fall in Love” is the idea of finding one person to share your world with, and the importance of that relationship. The lyrics indicate that the character believes that they will never find a love like the one they hope for, as implied in the line "when I fall in love, there will be no other." The lyrics also suggest that the character is optimistic about future love but is wary of it turning out badly.
Overall, “When I Fall in Love” expresses the mixed emotions that come with the prospect of love. The lyrics demonstrate a desire for true love and companionship while acknowledging the risk of hurt and the need for independence.
Line by Line Meaning
When I fall in love
The moment I begin to love someone
It will be forever
My love will last eternally
Cause I'll never ever
Because I have decided that I will never again
Fall in love again
Experience the same sort of affection for anyone else
There will be no other
No one else can compare to the person I love
Only you and me
Just we two in a world filled with souls
In soul wide world
In the universe of emotions and feelings
If I'll should fall
However, if I do end up falling
In love again
In love again with someone else
To me could
It would
Be a pleasure
Bring me joy and happiness
If it don't take
As long as it doesn't consume my entire
All my leisures away
All of my free time and leisure activities
There will be no other
No one else can compare to the person I love
Cause I'll never ever
Because I have decided that I will never again
Fall in love again
Experience the same sort of affection for anyone else
When I fall in love
The moment I begin to love someone
There will be no other
No one else can compare to the person I love
Only you and me
Just we two in a world filled with souls
In the soul wide world
In the universe of emotions and feelings
If I'll should fall
However, if I do end up falling
In love again
In love again with someone else
To me it would
It would bring me
Be a pleasure
Joy and happiness
If it don't take
As long as it doesn't consume my entire
All my leisures away
All of my free time and leisure activities
When I fall in love
The moment I begin to love someone
It will be forever.
My love will last eternally
Cause I'll never ever
Because I have decided that I will never again
Fall in love again
Experience the same sort of affection for anyone else
When I fall in love,
The moment I begin to love someone
There will be no other
No one else can compare to the person I love
Only you and me
Just we two in a world filled with souls
In the soul wild world
In the untamed universe of emotions and feelings
Contributed by Zachary L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@shotclip6116
Rolooon!
When I fall in love
It will be forever
Cause I`ll never ever
Fall in love again
When I fall in love,
There will be no other
Only you and me
In soul wide world
If I`ll should fall
In love again
To me could
Be a pleasure
If it don`t take
All my leisures away
When I fall in love,
There will be no other
Cause I`ll never ever
Fall in love again
If I`ll should fall
In love again
To me it would
Be a pleasure
If it don`t take
All my leisures away
When I fall in love,
There will be no other
Only you and me
In the soul wide world
If I`ll should fall
In love again
To me it would
Be a pleasure
If it don`t take
All my leisures away
When I fall in love
It will be forever.
Cause I`ll never ever
Fall in love again
When I fall in love,
There will be no other
Only you and me
In the soul wild world
@f3lip3bolivar
me siento en la época...esta música rompe con representaciones de pasado o futuro, nos provoca solo presenciar el instante y la conciencia del ahora. viva siempre
@RudeBoyKristTruitt
Yes!
@davidcamilocorderosocadagu4310
This song accompanied my firsts weed trips smoking in the washroom while my parents were watching movies lol.
Love this tune!
@Lunagabriel1507
Excellentissime!!!! vu en concert y'a qq années superbe ! ça c du bon son et cette voix....
@BillyJango
WOW!!! Ive never heard this before. Love The Skatalites!!
@vikkismith7497
This is song is from before I even know who I'm. Because I was too young to know. And now I'm almost back to my childhood days again. As the bible said, once a man and twice child.
@MrBongoagogo
so true them that song chills me to the bone man pure classic takes me back to the 80,s at the age of 17 iam 48 and ska still runs deep in my soul real music,,
@Katabwa
Big up!!.... Bless it!!.....From the mountain of the gods Tanzania.
@adamgonzalez2194
DAMN SMOOTH!!! The upscratch, upbeat, whatever you want to call it, invented in Jamaica by perhaps the Skatalties, I'm uncertain. None the less, whenever you hear an upscratch on the guitar, or just the up pulse in music for that matter, you can look to early ska pioneers for that from the 60's. It's influenced hip hop, rock, punk, r & b, etc. Changed music.
@GB-vp3vx
What a tune! First heard it played live (whilst I was a little drunk) by Natty Bo and The Top Cats at The Underworld in Camden and have spent about twenty years trying to remember what it was and hunt it down...imagine the satisfation when I stumbled on this.