VP Records

In the history of postwar Jamaican popular music, the development role played by the great sound system owners - Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, Arthur "Duke" Reid, Cecil "Prince Buster" Campbell and Vincent "King" Edwards, has rightly been noted elsewhere as central to development of the music. However, this is not the whole story; the creative entrepreneurial role played by the Chinese-Jamaican community was also highly significant, particularly in exposing the music outside Jamaica. By the early 1960's the foundation sound system owners had been joined by several Chinese-Jamaican producers eager to make their mark in the music business. Notable among them were such as Leslie Kong, Byron Lee, Charlie Moo, and Justin Yap. But, the most important (and successful) was Vincent "Randy" Chin, whose early productions are faetured on this present compilation.

Vincent Chin was born on 3rd of October 1937 in Kingston, Jamaica. He opened his first record shop in 1959; it was situated on the corner of east Street and Tower Street in central Kingston. Vincent had got his first taste of the music business from his former boss, Isaac Issa, who has owned the juke box market in Jamaica. Vincent's job had been to maintain Mr. Issa's juke boxes around the island. Instead of discarding the old records, Vincent used to store them; these records formed the nucleus of his stock when he started his own business. By 1961 he was operating from his new premises located at 17 North Parade in the heart of old downtown Kingston.

This was the era when US R & B ruled Jamaica, both on sound system and on radio. Vincent was a keen listener to the biggest late-night radio show then being broadcast in the US South, "Randy's Record Shop", hosted by dj Gene Nobles on WLAC from Nashville, Tennessee. The show was sponsored by Randy's Record Shop of Gallantine, Tennessee, and eventually Vincent would aquire the nickname "Randy" from the show, using it for his shop and record label.

His earliest productions featured artists like the bues shouter Basil Gabbidon, and the Dua Alton Ellis and Eddie Perkins. This latter pair has scored a big hit in 1959 for Coxsone Dodd with the doowop-style prison ballad "Muriel"; they cut equally successful ballad material for Randy's in 1961, including "My Love Divine" and "Let Me Dream". Ellis, who would go on to be one of the biggest Jamaican stars with Duke Reid, also make solo recordings for Randy's, noting "Ska Beat", "It Doesn't Matter At All" and "Mouth A Massy". But Vincent's biggest success in the early days came from the Trinidadian-born singer Kenrick Patrick, better known as Lord Creator. Creator made his very best music for Randy's scoring immediately with "Independent Jamaica", specially composed for the island's independence in 1962. It became the first record issued in the UK by Chris Blackwell's fledging Island Records. A selection of Creator's greatest hits is available on the CD "Don't Stay Out Late": Lord Creator's Greatest Hits (VPCD 2046).

Vincent also recorded the vocal trio The Maytals; they had also begun their hitmaking career with Coxsone. We have included here the revival-influenced "John & James" and "Lost Penny". Additionally, the trio cut "Someone Going To Bawl", "I'm In Love With Your Daughter". John Holt also recorded for the young producer; he had cut his first recording, a ballad "A Tear Fell" for Leslie Kong in 1962. The following year he made "Rum Bumpers" for Randy's. Similarly, future stars like Ken Boothe and Wilburn "Stranger" Cole recorded their version of "Home Home Home" for the label.

The musicians employed by Vincent Chin were the top sessioneers of the day, including tenor saxists Roland Alphonso, Tommy McCook and Stanley Notice aka "Ribbs", trombonists Don Drummond and Rico Rodriguez, alto saxist Lester Sterling and trumpeters Bobby Ellis and Johnny "Dizzy" Moore. Many were graduates of the famous Alpha Boy's School on South Camp Road in Kingston. Founded in 1880, the school started a band in the 1890's; through its ranks have passed generations of Jamaica's top musicians. When Rico left for the UK in late 1961 he cut "Rico's Farewell" for Randy's. The harmonica player Charlie Organaire also cut a few sides for Vincent, including the hit "Royal Charlie". Othe musicians excepting Ribbs and Ellis, went on to form the Skatalites, the dominant instrumental group of ska, the new beat that had replaced the Jamaican boogie style during 1961-62.

Vincent needed a set of musicians that he could relate to and the Skatalites were just the right group at the time. He met Tommy McCook at a night club on Mountain View Avenue in Kingston. Tommy was working with a jazz group when Vincent, impressed with his playing, first approached him to do some recording; McCook said that he only played jazz. Later on, Vincent met Johnny Moore at the Rasta camp in Wareika Hills in Eastern Kingston, where many of the Skatalites were regular visitors. In their consistently superb instrumantals the band blended jazz, r & b, and Afro-Cuban elements with Jamaican forms like mento, producing a unique hybrid form that also arried a subtle Rasta influence. We have included here some of the best selections by the band, including "Black Joe" and "Malcolm X", neither of which have been reissued since their original release on 45 rpm. The masterful trombonist Don Drummond recorded 45s like "Machine Stop" as well as a 7-inch EP for Randy's, issued originally on colored vinyl. It contains titles like "Don't Tune", "Don't Bury Me", "Dandy Don" and "Alive And Well" and has long been sought after by collectors. It will be made available on CD in a future volume of this important series showcasing the production talents of Vincent "Randy" Chin.

1968 the music had changed from ska to rocksteady into reggae; in the latter part of 1968 Vincent opened his legendary Studio 17 over the North Parade permises. It became the crucial studio of reggae - most of Bob Marley's classic recordings with Lee Perry were recorded there until the mid-1970's when the family relocated to New York, opening the world-famous VP Records(VP stands for Vincent and Patricia Chin). VP Records is today the leading distributor of Jamaican Music in the world.

This compilation is the first time that many of theses classic ska tunes have ever been reissued; today we can recognize the vital contribution made by Randy's to the development of modern Jamaican music, and appreciate the eternal qualities of good taste, swing and vibes that went into their making.

Get ready to drop some "legs" to this great ska beat!

Steve Barrow, Oktober 1997.

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Vincent Chin - Home
Vincent Chin - Disco
Vincent Chin - Biblio
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