The Heptones
Encyclopedia
The Heptones are a Jamaica
n rocksteady
and reggae
vocal
trio
most active in the 1960s and early 1970s. They were one of the more significant trios of that era, and played a major role in the gradual transition between ska
and rocksteady
with their three-part harmonies
.
, Earl Morgan and Barry Llewellyn first came together as "The Hep Ones" in 1965 in Kingston
but they soon changed their name to "The Heptones". The name was chosen by Morgan after seeing a Heptones Tonic bottle lying in a pile of refuse.
The Heptones recorded for major Jamaican record producers at the time. They began their career, after one unsuccessful single. for Ken Lack
's "K Calnek" label, under the watchful eye of Coxsone Dodd
of Studio One. The Heptones had a number of Jamaican hits for Studio One, beginning with "Fattie Fattie", their first Studio One single in 1966. This began a long run of success for Coxsone, including "Pretty Looks Isn't All", "Get In The Groove", "Be a Man", "Sea of Love" (a cover of the Phil Phillips and the Twilights doo-wop classic), "Ting a Ling", "Party Time" and "I Hold the Handle." They were the chief rivals to The Techniques
, who recorded for Arthur "Duke" Reid
, as the top vocal act of the rocksteady
era.
During their five years at Brentford Road, Leroy Sibbles played bass on numerous sessions, auditioned acts, and along with Jackie Mittoo, was the chief studio arranger. Some of their instrumental session work was released as the Soul Vendors and Sound Dimension. Amongst the rhythms featuring Sibbles' bass playing are Alton Ellis
' "I'm Still In Love", "Full Up" (used on Musical Youth
's "Pass The Dutchie") and The Abyssinians
"Satta Massagana
". The Heptones remained at Studio One well into the reggae era, where they cut tunes such as "Message from a Black Man", "Love Won't Come Easy", "I Hold (Got) The Handle", "I Love You" and a successful cover version
of "Suspicious Minds
", then went on to record with Joe Gibbs
and Harry J in the early 1970s. They had a big hit with "Book of Rules" (based on an American poem called "A Bag of Tools" by R.L.Sharpe) in 1973. It was one of the group's few songs not sung by Sibbles. Barry Llewelyn sang lead and co-wrote "Book Of Rules". The song was featured on the soundtrack for the 1998 American comedy-thriller film Homegrown
. Sibbles emigrated to Canada in 1973 and the group suspended recording activities, returning in 1975 to once again record at Harry J's Kingston studio.
In 1975, The Heptones signed an album deal with Island Records
. Two albums resulted: Night Food in 1976 and Party Time in 1977. Night Food was produced by Danny Holloway, and featured several re-recorded Studio One classics, as well as originals such as "Country Boy" and "Mama Say". The group toured England with Toots & The Maytals
to support Night Foods release.
In 1977, The Heptones recorded Party Time with Lee "Scratch" Perry. They had issued a number of singles (including a cover of Billy Stewart
's "I Do Love You") on his Justice League imprint five years previously. Party Time was recorded during Black Ark
's peak period. Party Time also included remakes of Studio One tunes, including Bob Dylan
's "I Shall Be Released
", along with newer compositions such as "Sufferers' Time". In the same era, they released a number of 12" singles with Lee Perry, such as "Mystery Babylon", "Mr. President" (featuring DJ Jah Lloyd) and "Babylon's Falling".
Sibbles left the group once more in 1978 to start a successful solo
career, having already cut a solo version of "Love Won't Come Easy" for Augustus Pablo
, and having cut his own solo singles for Lee Perry ("Rasta Fari" and "Garden of Life") and Dennis Brown
's DEB Music ("New Song" and "Ain't No Love"). He was replaced by Dolphin "Naggo" Morris, who had recorded "Su Su Pon Rasta" for Joe Gibbs and "You Should Love Your Brother" for King Jammys, but the group's popularity waned. By the late 1970s, their slick stage suits and covers of pop tunes found little favour with audiences more used to more "militant" dreadlocked performers singing of Rastafari, and they began to be perceived as relics of an older era. Despite being produced by Joseph Hoo Kim
at Channel One
, Good Life (1979) saw the group treading water, and the years that followed brought little success. The original trio reunited in 1995, and released Pressure!, produced by Tapper Zukie
.
Barry Llewellyn died on November 23, 2011, in Kingston Public Hospital, at the age of 64.
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n rocksteady
Rocksteady
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor to ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was performed by Jamaican vocal harmony groups such as The Gaylads, The Maytals and The Paragons. The term rocksteady comes from a dance style that was mentioned in the Alton...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
vocal
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
most active in the 1960s and early 1970s. They were one of the more significant trios of that era, and played a major role in the gradual transition between ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
and rocksteady
Rocksteady
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor to ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was performed by Jamaican vocal harmony groups such as The Gaylads, The Maytals and The Paragons. The term rocksteady comes from a dance style that was mentioned in the Alton...
with their three-part harmonies
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
.
History
Leroy SibblesLeroy Sibbles
Leroy Sibbles is a Jamaican-Canadian reggae musician. He was the lead singer for The Heptones in the 1960s and 1970s.In addition to his work with The Heptones, Sibbles was a session bassist and arranger at Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd's Jamaica Recording and Publishing Studio and the associated Studio...
, Earl Morgan and Barry Llewellyn first came together as "The Hep Ones" in 1965 in Kingston
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
but they soon changed their name to "The Heptones". The name was chosen by Morgan after seeing a Heptones Tonic bottle lying in a pile of refuse.
The Heptones recorded for major Jamaican record producers at the time. They began their career, after one unsuccessful single. for Ken Lack
Ken Lack
Ken Lack was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae record producer active in the latter half of the 1960s, who also ran the Caltone and JonTom record labels.-Career:...
's "K Calnek" label, under the watchful eye of Coxsone Dodd
Coxsone Dodd
Clement Seymour "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, CD was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond...
of Studio One. The Heptones had a number of Jamaican hits for Studio One, beginning with "Fattie Fattie", their first Studio One single in 1966. This began a long run of success for Coxsone, including "Pretty Looks Isn't All", "Get In The Groove", "Be a Man", "Sea of Love" (a cover of the Phil Phillips and the Twilights doo-wop classic), "Ting a Ling", "Party Time" and "I Hold the Handle." They were the chief rivals to The Techniques
The Techniques
The Techniques were a Jamaican rocksteady vocal group mainly active in the 1960s.-History:The group was formed by Winston Riley in 1962 while still at school, with the initial line-up also featuring Slim Smith, Franklyn White, and Frederick Waite...
, who recorded for Arthur "Duke" Reid
Duke Reid
Treasure Isle re-directs here. For the game, see Treasure Isle .Arthur "Duke" Reid, CD was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner....
, as the top vocal act of the rocksteady
Rocksteady
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor to ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was performed by Jamaican vocal harmony groups such as The Gaylads, The Maytals and The Paragons. The term rocksteady comes from a dance style that was mentioned in the Alton...
era.
During their five years at Brentford Road, Leroy Sibbles played bass on numerous sessions, auditioned acts, and along with Jackie Mittoo, was the chief studio arranger. Some of their instrumental session work was released as the Soul Vendors and Sound Dimension. Amongst the rhythms featuring Sibbles' bass playing are Alton Ellis
Alton Ellis
Alton Nehemiah Ellis, OD, was a Jamaican musician best known as one of the innovators of rocksteady music and was often referred to as the "Godfather of Rocksteady". In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.-Biography:Ellis was born in 1938 and...
' "I'm Still In Love", "Full Up" (used on Musical Youth
Musical Youth
Musical Youth are a British reggae band. The group originally formed in 1979 at Duddeston Manor School in Birmingham, UK. They are best remembered for their successful 1982 Grammy-nominated single, "Pass the Dutchie". The group featured two sets of brothers, Kelvin and Michael Grant, plus Junior...
's "Pass The Dutchie") and The Abyssinians
The Abyssinians
The Abyssinians are a Jamaican roots reggae group, famous for their close harmonies and promotion of the Rastafari movement in their lyrics.-History:...
"Satta Massagana
Satta Massagana
Satta Massagana is a roots reggae album released by The Abyssinians officially in 1976. It is widely considered The Abyssinians crowning achievement and a classic roots reggae album....
". The Heptones remained at Studio One well into the reggae era, where they cut tunes such as "Message from a Black Man", "Love Won't Come Easy", "I Hold (Got) The Handle", "I Love You" and a successful cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "Suspicious Minds
Suspicious Minds
"Suspicious Minds" is a song written by American songwriter Mark James that, after the failure of his own recording, was handed to Elvis Presley by producer Chips Moman becoming one of his most notable hits and a number one in 1969, "Suspicious Minds" was widely regarded as the single that returned...
", then went on to record with Joe Gibbs
Joe Gibbs
Joe Jackson Gibbs is a former American football coach, NASCAR Championship team owner, and two time NHRA Pro Stock team owner. He was the 20th and 26th head coach in the history of the Washington Redskins...
and Harry J in the early 1970s. They had a big hit with "Book of Rules" (based on an American poem called "A Bag of Tools" by R.L.Sharpe) in 1973. It was one of the group's few songs not sung by Sibbles. Barry Llewelyn sang lead and co-wrote "Book Of Rules". The song was featured on the soundtrack for the 1998 American comedy-thriller film Homegrown
Homegrown (film)
Homegrown is a 1998 comedy / thriller film. It was directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal and starred Billy Bob Thornton, John Lithgow, and Hank Azaria.-Plot:...
. Sibbles emigrated to Canada in 1973 and the group suspended recording activities, returning in 1975 to once again record at Harry J's Kingston studio.
In 1975, The Heptones signed an album deal with Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
. Two albums resulted: Night Food in 1976 and Party Time in 1977. Night Food was produced by Danny Holloway, and featured several re-recorded Studio One classics, as well as originals such as "Country Boy" and "Mama Say". The group toured England with Toots & The Maytals
Toots & the Maytals
Toots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group and one of the best known ska and reggae vocal groups. According to Sandra Brennan at Allmusic, "The Maytals were key figures in reggae music...
to support Night Foods release.
In 1977, The Heptones recorded Party Time with Lee "Scratch" Perry. They had issued a number of singles (including a cover of Billy Stewart
Billy Stewart
Billy Stewart was an American musical artist, with a highly distinctive scat-singing style, who enjoyed popularity in the 1960s.-Biography:...
's "I Do Love You") on his Justice League imprint five years previously. Party Time was recorded during Black Ark
Black Ark
The Black Ark was the recording studio of reggae and dub producer Lee "Scratch" Perry, built in 1973 and located behind his family's home in the Washington Gardens neighborhood of Kingston, Jamaica...
's peak period. Party Time also included remakes of Studio One tunes, including Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "I Shall Be Released
I Shall Be Released
"I Shall Be Released" is a 1967 song written by Bob Dylan.The Band played it on their debut album, Music from Big Pink , with Richard Manuel singing lead vocals, and Rick Danko and Levon Helm harmonizing in the chorus...
", along with newer compositions such as "Sufferers' Time". In the same era, they released a number of 12" singles with Lee Perry, such as "Mystery Babylon", "Mr. President" (featuring DJ Jah Lloyd) and "Babylon's Falling".
Sibbles left the group once more in 1978 to start a successful solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
career, having already cut a solo version of "Love Won't Come Easy" for Augustus Pablo
Augustus Pablo
Horace Swaby , known as Augustus Pablo, was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer, melodica player and keyboardist, active from the 1970s onwards. He popularized the use of the melodica in reggae music...
, and having cut his own solo singles for Lee Perry ("Rasta Fari" and "Garden of Life") and Dennis Brown
Dennis Brown
Dennis Emmanuel Brown was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lovers rock, a sub-genre of reggae...
's DEB Music ("New Song" and "Ain't No Love"). He was replaced by Dolphin "Naggo" Morris, who had recorded "Su Su Pon Rasta" for Joe Gibbs and "You Should Love Your Brother" for King Jammys, but the group's popularity waned. By the late 1970s, their slick stage suits and covers of pop tunes found little favour with audiences more used to more "militant" dreadlocked performers singing of Rastafari, and they began to be perceived as relics of an older era. Despite being produced by Joseph Hoo Kim
Joseph Hoo Kim
-Career:Shortly after the Jamaican government banned gaming machines in the early 1970s, Joe Joe Hookim and his brother Ernest, abandoned their jobs as machine operators, and jumped into the music business. By 1973, the Hookims had opened their own studio, Channel One, with Joe Joe as its hands-on...
at Channel One
Channel One Studios
Channel One is a recording studio in Maxfield Avenue, West Kingston, Jamaica. The studio was built by the Hoo Kim brothers in 1972, and has had a profound influence on the development of reggae music....
, Good Life (1979) saw the group treading water, and the years that followed brought little success. The original trio reunited in 1995, and released Pressure!, produced by Tapper Zukie
Tapper Zukie
Tapper Zukie is a reggae deejay and producer.-Biography:Tapper was the nickname given to him by his grandmother in his youth, while Zukie was a name that came from his friends' association as a young boy - their gang was called 'The Zukies'.In 1973 his mother, concerned with Zukie's tendency to...
.
Barry Llewellyn died on November 23, 2011, in Kingston Public Hospital, at the age of 64.
Selected singles
- "Fattie Fattie" (1966)
- "I've Got a Feeling" (1966)
- "Get In the Groove" (1967)
- "Equal Rights" (1968)
- "Ain't Nobody Else" (1968)
- "Party Time" (1966 - Studio One 1977 - Lee Perry)
- "Pretty Looks" (1969)
- "Our Day Will Come" (1972)
- "Book of Rules" (Island WIP 6179, 1973)
- "Mistry Babylon" (1977)
- "Sufferers' Time" (1978)
Albums
- The Heptones (aka Fattie Fattie) (1967)
- On Top (1968)
- Black is Black (aka Ting a Ling) (1970)
- Freedom Line (1971)
- Book of Rules (1973)
- The Original Heptones (1976)
- Cool Rasta (1976)
- Night Food (1976)
- Party Time (1977)
- Better Days (1978)
- Good Life (1979)
- Mr. Skabeana (with Alton EllisAlton EllisAlton Nehemiah Ellis, OD, was a Jamaican musician best known as one of the innovators of rocksteady music and was often referred to as the "Godfather of Rocksteady". In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.-Biography:Ellis was born in 1938 and...
) (1980) - Swing Low (1985)
- Changing Times (1986)
- Pressure! (1995)
- Deep in the Roots (2004)
- Rainbow Valley (2007)