Take It Easy, which some musicologists consider the first rocksteady song, is part of a Federal Records archive series to be released through VPAL Music. The first set of albums are expected out in March, VPAL’s general manager Donovan Williams, disclosed.
Released in late 1966, Take It Easy was sung by Hopeton Lewis, and produced by Winston “Merritone” Blake. It was recorded at Federal Records studios in Kingston, the Jamaica capital.
Take It Easy is among 10 songs on Rusty Dusties — Granville Williams, Lynn Taitt & The Jets, the title of one of three compact discs to be released by VPAL. Sounds And Pressure, another Lewis hit, Games People Play by Bob Andy and Talking Love from The Paragons, are also on this collection.
Jamaica Magic – Lloyd Wilks And The Soulettes, and Jamaica, an album by singer Faith D’Aguilar, will also be released by VPAL which has distribution rights to the Federal Records catalog which amounts to over 200 albums.
Lewis (who died in 2014) and The Jets recorded Take It Easy five years after Kenneth Khouri launched Federal Records. The Jets were led by Trinidadian guitarist Lynn Taitt, and included top session musicians such as keyboardist Gladstone Anderson.
Take It Easy is widely recognized as the song that transitioned Jamaican pop music from the faster, jazzier ska to rocksteady. The rocksteady era ended in 1968, giving way to reggae.
The three albums are part of 10th anniversary celebrations for VPAL Music which is owned by VP Records. The company exposes music by artists to VP’s expansive distribution network on an album-to-album basis, with VPAL earning a percentage of sales.
Williams said a live show featuring several VPAL artists is scheduled for New York, possibly in the summer.
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