Crucial Reggae Discomix #90 – Johnny Osbourne –

A. Johnny Osbourne & Pappa Tullo – Rock And Come On Ya
B. Version – Rock And Come On Ya
Label: Jammy’s Records – JAMEU007

More info @ Discogs

Some say the best reggae ever was made in the early 1980s, with producers like Junjo Lawes, Linval Thompson, Joe Gibbs and Prince Jammy running the show. That’s open to debate, of course. But this edition of Crucial Reggae Discomix goes back to 1982 anyway, to Johnny “Bumpy” Osbourne, already hugely popular by then, and Rock And Come On Ya.

The song first appeared in 1982 as a UK 12-inch on Black Joy, a sub-label of Starlight Records. Starlight was the well-known shop and imprint in Harlesden, North-West London, run by the brothers Desmond and Popsy Bryan. Black Joy wound down gradually by the mid-80s, when the market swung toward digital dancehall.

In the US the tune came out on Beardie, but with Tullo’s toast on the B-side. The copy we’re spinning is the 2012 repress from Germany’s BuyReggae. You’ll also find the song on Osbourne’s 1983 album Musical Chopper, which the UK issued as Reggae On Broadway on Vista Sounds.

The A-side carries the extended version. After a few minutes deejay Pappa Tullo slides in and takes over from Johnny with his toast Out A Line, without a seam in sight. Flip it and you get the dub by Hopeton Brown, better known as Scientist, who runs the backing track through the dub machine and builds something special out of it.

The riddim, cut at Channel One and used here by Jammy, will be familiar to any reggae head. It’s the Drifter riddim, which goes back to Dennis Walks’ Drifter from 1969, produced by Harry Mudie.

Playing this take on the Drifter riddim are the High Times Players, sometimes written as Hi Time Players. It’s the Jamaican collective around guitarist Earl “Chinna” Smith, tied to his High Times label. In an interview Chinna called it a circle of “players of instruments”. Names in the band include bassist Christopher Meredith, keyboardist Tony “Asher” Brissett, percussionist Noel “Scully” Simms, drummer Basil “Benbow” Creary and horn men like “Deadly” Headley and Bobby Ellis. That’s a who’s who of session players from the period.

There’s a lot to tell about Johnny Osbourne, and his career goes back to the 1960s. Born Errol Osbourne, he started out in the late 60s. After early work with The Wildcats, he recorded around 1969 and 1970 for producer Winston Riley as one of The Sensations. That partnership gave us Come Back Darling and cuts like Warrior. Then he emigrated to Toronto, where he sang with local groups such as Ishan People during the 70s.

Back in Jamaica, Clement “Coxsone” Dodd put out the album Truths and Rights on Studio One in 1979. It’s a genuine classic, and it was recently reissued as a double LP. The title track and Jah Promise settled his reputation as a top roots vocalist. By the early 80s Osbourne was one of the most sought-after singers on the dancehall scene. He worked closely with the leading producers of the day, and the Linval Thompson-produced showcase album In Nah Disco Style is regarded as a classic.

And he adapted without trouble when the digital wave hit Jamaica. In 1985 he voiced Buddy Bye, originally titled Put It By Number One, for King Jammy on the Sleng Teng riddim, and it became an international dancehall anthem. With releases for Prince Jammy, Linval Thompson, Bobby Digital, E.J. Robinson and Jah Thomas, he was impossible to miss at the front of 80s reggae. He’s probably still the most requested name when it comes to dubplates. His latest album, Right Right Time, came out in 2023 on the French label Baco Records.

The deejay on this release, Pappa Tullo, also known as Tullo T, was born Everald Norman Crawford. He came out of Jamaican sound system culture and worked with Linval Thompson, Henry “Junjo” Lawes and Prince Jammy, among others. His discography is small, and he faded into obscurity during the 1980s. He passed away in 2017.

And then there’s the man behind it all, King Jammy, born Lloyd James in 1947. He began in the mid-70s as a mixing engineer for King Tubby, where he mixed countless dubs and riddims for people like Bunny “Striker” Lee. From 1977 he moved into production and scored right away with Black Uhuru’s debut album Love Crisis. In the early 80s he ruled the rub-a-dub era with productions for Half Pint, Johnny Osbourne, Wayne Smith and Sugar Minott.

Then in 1985 he changed the landscape for good by releasing Wayne Smith’s Under Mi Sleng Teng, the start of digital dancehall. On that new foundation he turned out hits through the 80s and 90s for Admiral Bailey, Super Cat, Frankie Paul, Cocoa Tea and Shabba Ranks, and plenty more. He’s still producing from his studio in Waterhouse. Recently he’s worked closely with Jamaican singer Aza Lineage, producing her singles Sound System and Rule the Sound, and releasing her debut album Rebel Daawta together with VP Records.