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Reggae Loves Country: A 50-Year Romance
by Baz Dreisinger
Source: NPR
VP Records is the largest distributor of reggae music, and Warner Music Nashville is a preeminent country label. What could the two have in common? This month, a joint album — Reggae's Gone Country.
Picture this: You're at a massive street dance in Kingston, Jamaica, and the speakers are blaring the latest reggae and dancehall tunes. But the crowd erupts when the DJ drops this one: Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler."
Surprised? Don't be, says veteran Jamaican reggae singer Freddie McGregor. He, like so many West Indians, is a huge country music fan. His favorite singer?
"Definitely Marty Robbins," he says. "My all time favorite — sings "El Paso" — love that song." McGregor sings another of his favorites — Roger Miller's "King of the Road," first recorded in 1964 — on Reggae's Gone Country.
Read the rest of the story here
by Baz Dreisinger
Source: NPR
VP Records is the largest distributor of reggae music, and Warner Music Nashville is a preeminent country label. What could the two have in common? This month, a joint album — Reggae's Gone Country.
Picture this: You're at a massive street dance in Kingston, Jamaica, and the speakers are blaring the latest reggae and dancehall tunes. But the crowd erupts when the DJ drops this one: Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler."
Surprised? Don't be, says veteran Jamaican reggae singer Freddie McGregor. He, like so many West Indians, is a huge country music fan. His favorite singer?
"Definitely Marty Robbins," he says. "My all time favorite — sings "El Paso" — love that song." McGregor sings another of his favorites — Roger Miller's "King of the Road," first recorded in 1964 — on Reggae's Gone Country.
Read the rest of the story here