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A beer for The Rude Boy, b8?

I'd have a spliff, but I have to go to bed real soon now.

I'll be lighting one up tomorrow though, for sure.

Curious - how did he change your life?

i love that whole thing about him being a welder before he was a singer, and that many Jamaican singers have said that--because "welder" is slang for someone who has lots of sex. : >

well...
I wanted to explore reggae music but everybody kept going on about Bob Marley...and they were usually frat dudes who owned that "Legend" collection...which was good, but didn't really speak to me.
I asked a friend of mine where a good place to start would be and he suggested Desmond Dekker. So I went out bought some cassettes. I was blown away and listened to him non-stop for weeks on end.
I took an interest in Jamaican music in a broader way, avoiding Marley as much as possible (nothing against him, per se - but it's like someone telling you all you needed to know about rock music could be discovered via The Beatles).
It opened a whole new world to me...which is still pretty cool when you're 15 or so.

Boring, huh?

No, I don't think so...
I'd never thought about it much, but I guess he opened me up to stuff I probably wouldn't have known otherwise, although I can't be very specific here.
I know what you mean about the Marley thing. I think he's a genius, but let's move on, eh? Reggae is such a deep pool, it's a shame most people know Marley "Legend" and maybe that "I Can See Clearly Now" Jimmy Cliff cover. Ugh.
I loove that "fake" tempo change (before the main groove comes in) at the beginning of "Israelites". For a popular song to do that, especially at that time, is pretty brilliant. No doubt Mr. McCartney was taking notes.
The Jamaicans changed the whole game. The rest of the world is still catching up to this stuff. Who the hell thought to play this backwards music like that? The bass is the lead instrument? The guitar is narrowed to practically a percussion instrument? To turn the delay all the way up in the middle of a song? They're just so fucking out there, it's such a joy to hear this alien shit. Take Junior Dread's "Sufferer's Heights", a song about tough times and suffering, but at the same time it's an absolutely beautiful tune. I wish I could express more about it, but it's just an amazing juxtaposition of themes (suffering/keeping on), sounds (heavy roots backbone/light catchy melody), moods (anger & frustration/happiness). It's all right there. I still get chills over that one.

RIP Mr. Dekker