Producer Clancy Eccles, Kingston Jamaica EMI Songs Ltd CDTRL 262
Joe Higgs (June 3, 1940 December 18, 1999) was a reggaemusician from Jamaica. In the 1960's he was part of the duo 'Higgs & Wilson together with Roy Wilson.
Higgs knew Bob Marley from the early 1960s. In fact, it was at one of the informal music lessons Joe Higgs held in Trench Town, that Bob and Bunny Livingston met Peter Tosh. Marley acknowledged later on that Higgs had been an influential figure for him. Most people interested in classical reggae do not recognize his name, however Higgs has been regarded as the "Father of Reggae' by Jimmy Cliff. For a While Higgs toured with Clif as well as The Wailers when Bunny Wailer refused to go on tour in mid 70's while the Wailers were having disputes.
A majority of Higgs' songs were connected to his impoverished life in Trenchtown where he grew up. Higgs considered that it was out of the poverty and violence of Kingston's shantytowns such as Trenchtown and Johnstown that the reggae music had grown. Before reggae hit big on the western music scene with Bob Marley, it was understood as a 'Ghetto music'.
Higgs was the very first artist out the ghetto music scene to have lyrics which primarily dealt with every day troubles. In his own words, "the music originated from the confrontation of a struggle... It's not even got to be known as you are from Trenchtown. It is a kind of strength that you have to, really, accumulate. Reggae is a confrontation of sound, man. Reggae has to have a basic vibrant sound which is to be heard in a ghetto is like playing the bass and the drum very loud. Those are the basic sounds. A classical reggae should be accepted in any part of the world in the same sense: freedom, that's what it's asking for; acceptance, t'what it needs; and understanding, y'know, that's what reggae say."
"You have a certain love come from hard struggle, long suffering. A certain love that, through pain, girdle yourself with that hope for freedom. Not to give up."
The following lyrics from "There's a Reward" (Life of contradiction, 1975) reflect this attitude. Higgs commented on this song as being his anthem and biographical song, detailing a life of often being mistreated and overlooked, yet still holding strong and having hope for his future:
Everyday my heart is sore
Seeing that I'm so poor
But I shall not give up so easy
There's a reward for me, there's a reward for me
Though I'm bordered down with shame
There's no one for me to blame
But I shall not give up so easy
There's a reward for me, there's a reward for me
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
You know no one cares for me
I've never known sympathy
Sometimes I look to this world with a smile
Man you hear what I say...
He died of cancer on December 18, 1999
"Joe Higgs was a brother amongst the Wailers for years. He was encouragement, and he inspired us and kept us together." Peter Tosh (1976)
"We looked up to Joe Higgs. He was something like a musical guardian for us. He was a more professional singer, because he was working for years with a fella named Roy Wilson as Higgs & Wilson. They had a lotta hits and they had the knowledge of the harmony techniques, so he taught us [The Wailers] them. And he helped in the studio, to work out our different parts." - Bunny Wailer (1980's)
"Joe Higgs helped me understand that music. He taught me many things." Bob Marley
Loading...
39 videos
BIG TUNE!!
NaturalProd007 5 months ago
Fabulous tune!!!
TheRickynow 1 year ago