Frogtoon Music

Israelites by Desmond Dekker

Artist Biography For Desmond Dekker

Desmond Dekker Born In Kingston Jamaica On 16 July 1941 - Deceased 25 May 2006 Was A Jamaican Ska And Reggae Singer And Songwriter. Together With His Backing Group The Aces Consisting Of Wilson James And Easton Barrington Howard He Had The First International Jamaican Hit Israelites. Other Hits Include 007 Shanty Town 1967 And It Mek 1968 . Before The Ascent Of Bob Marley Dekker Was The Best-Known Jamaican Musician Outside Of His Country And One Of The Most Popular Within It. He Was Born Desmond Adolphus Dacres In St. Andrew Jamaica And Grew Up In Kingston Where He Attended The Alpha Boys' School. After His Mother Took Ill And Died His Father Moved Him To St. Mary's And Then To St. Thomas Where He Apprenticed As A Tailor Before Returning To Kingston And Taking A Job As A Welder Singing Around His Workplace While His Co-Workers Encouraged Him. In 1961 He Auditioned For Coxsone Dodd Studio One And Duke Reid Treasure Isle . Neither Were Impressed By His Talents And The Young Man Moved On To Leslie Kong's Beverley Record Label Where He Auditioned Before Derrick Morgan Then The Label's Biggest Star. With Morgan's Support Dekker Was Signed But Did Not Record Until 1963 Because Leslie Kong Wanted To Wait For The Perfect Song Which "Honour Your Father And Mother" Was Felt To Be. “Honour Your Father And Mother” Was A Hit And Was Followed By “Sinners Come Home” And “Labour For Learning ” As Well As A Name Change From Desmond Dacres To Desmond Dekker . His Fourth Hit However Made Him Into One Of The Island's Biggest Stars. It Was “King Of Ska ” A Rowdy And Jubilant Song On Which Dekker Was Backed By The Cherrypies Also Known As The Maytals . The Song Remains Well Known Among Ska Fans. Dekker Then Recruited Four Brothers Carl Patrick Clive And Barry Howard Who Became His Backing Band The Four Aces. Dekker And The Howards Recorded A Number Of Hits Including “Parents ” “Get Up Edina ” “This Woman ” And “Mount Zion.” Until 1967 Dekker's Songs Were Polite And Conveyed Respectable Mainstream Messages. In That Year However He Appeared On Derrick Morgan's “Tougher Than Tough ” Which Helped Begin A Trend Of Popular Songs Glamourizing The Violent Rude Boy Culture. Dekker's Own Songs Did Not Go To The Extremes Of Many Other Popular Tunes Though He Did Introduce Lyrics Which Resonated With The Rude Boys Starting With One Of His Best-Known Songs “007 Shanty Town ”. The Song Established Dekker As A Rude Boy Icon And Also Became An Established Hero In The United Kingdom's Mod Scene. “007 Shanty Town ” Was A Top 15 Hit In The UK And He Toured That Country With A Posse Of Mods Following Him. Dekker Continued With Songs In The Same Vein Such As “Rude Boy Train” And “Rudie Got Soul” As Well As Continuing With His Previous Themes Of Religion And Morality In Songs Like “It's A Shame” “Wise Man” “Hey Grandma” “Unity” “It Pays” “Mother's Young Girl” And “Sabotage.” His “Pretty Africa” Is A Long-Standing Favourite Among His Fans And May Be The Earliest Popular Song Promoting Repatriation. Many Of The Hits From This Era Came From His Debut Album 007 Shanty Town . In 1968 Dekker's “Israelites” Was Released Appearing On Both The U.S. And UK Singles Chart And Eventually Topping The Latter And Peaking In The Top Ten Of The Former. He Was The First Jamaican Performer To Enter U.S. Markets With Pure Jamaican Music Though He Never Repeated The Feat. Equally The Track Became The First Reggae Song To Top The UK Chart. That Same Year Saw The Release Of “Beautiful And Dangerous ” “Writing On The Wall ” “Music Like Dirt” “Bongo Girl ” And “Shing A Ling.” In The Same Year Dekker Was Mentioned As "Desmond" By His Friend Paul McCartney In The Beatles' Song "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da" When It Was Released On 'The White Album'. 1969 Saw The Release Of “It Mek ” Which First Saw Only Lukewarm Success But Was Re-Recorded And Became A Hit Both In Jamaica And The UK. He Also Released “Problems” And “Pickney Gal ” Both Of Which Were Popular In Jamaica But Saw Only Limited Success Elsewhere. Mid Career The 1970s In The 1970s Dekker Spent Most Of His Time Touring And Moved To The UK Where He Continued To Record. Among His Best Known Releases Of This Period Was “You Can Get It If You Really Want ” Written By Jimmy Cliff Which Dekker Had Not Wanted To Record But Was Convinced To Do So By Leslie Kong. Dekker's Recording Of The Song Uses The Same Instrumental Backing Track As Cliff's Original. Kong Whose Production Had Been An Instrumental Part Of Both Dekker's And Cliff's Careers Died In 1971 And Both His Protegés Lost Direction For A Period Before Returning To Music. Dekker Continued Recording But With Only Limited Success Until He Began Working With The Production Duo Bruce Anthony In 1974. His First Hit With The Pair Was 1975's “Sing A Little Song” Which Climbed In To The British Top Ten. Dekker Was Unable To Follow Its Success However And Did Not Chart In The UK For Some Time Except For The Top Ten Re-Charting Of “Israelites” In 1975 . Dekker Also Found Only A Limited Audience In Jamaica. At The End Of The 1970s Dekker Signed With Stiff Records A Punk Label Linked With The Two-Tone Movement A Fusion Of Punk And Ska. He Recorded An Album Called Black & Dekker Which Featured His Previous Hits Backed By The Rumour Graham Parker's Backing Band. His First Single Was “Israelites ” A Top Ten Belgian Hit And Was Followed By “Please Don't Bend ” Jimmy Cliff's “Many Rivers To Cross” And “Book Of Rules.” His Next Album Was Compass Point Produced By Robert Palmer. Though Compass Point Did Not Sell Well Dekker Was Still A Popular Live Performer And He Toured With The Rumour. Later Life In The Early 1980s As The Two Tone Movement Died Out He Saw His Fortunes Dwindle And He Was Declared Bankrupt In 1984. Only A Single Live Album Was Released In The Late 80s But A New Version Of “Israelites” Reawakened Public Interest In 1990 Following Its Use In A Maxell Advertisement. He Re-Recorded Some Old Singles And Worked With The Specials For 1992's King Of Kings' Which Used Hits From Dekker's Musical Heroes Including Derrick Morgan. He Also Collaborated On A Remix Version Of His Classic “Israelites” With Reggae Artist Apache Indian. Death Desmond Dekker Died Of A Heart Attack On 25 May 2006 At His Home In Thornton Heath In The London Borough Of Croydon England Aged 64. He Was Preparing To Headline A World Music Festival In Prague. Mr. Dekker Was Divorced And Is Survived By A Son And Daughter.

Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Israelites

"Israelites" Is A Song Written By Desmond Dekker And Leslie Kong That Became A Hit For Dekker's Group Desmond Dekker & The Aces Reaching The Top Of The Charts In Numerous Countries In 1969. Sung In Jamaican English Some Of The Song's Lyrics Were Not Readily Understood By Many British And American Listeners At The Time Of Its Release. Despite This The Single Was The First UK Reggae #1 And Among The First To Reach The US Top Ten Peaking At #9 . It Combined The Rastafarian Religion With Rude Boy Concerns To Make What Has Been Described As A "timeless Masterpiece That Knew No Boundaries". Originally Issued In Jamaica As "Poor Me Israelites" It Remains The Best Known Jamaican Reggae Hit To Reach The United States Hot 100's Top 10 And Was Written Almost Two Years After Dekker First Made His Mark With The Rude Boy Song "007 Shanty Town ". Dekker Composed The Song After Overhearing An Argument "I Was Walking In The Park Eating Popcorn. I Heard A Couple Arguing About Money. She Was Saying She Needs Money And He Was Saying The Work He Was Doing Was Not Giving Him Enough. I Related To Those Things And Began To Sing A Little Song 'You Get Up In The Morning And You're Slaving For Bread.' By The Time I Got Home It Was Complete." The Title Has Been The Source Of Speculation But Most Settle On The Rastafarian Movement's Association With The Twelve Tribes Of Israel. In The 1960s Jamaican Rastafarians Were Largely Marginalized As "cultish" And Ostracized From The Larger Society Including By The More Conservative Christian Church In Kingston. Destitute "slaving For Bread" And Unkempt "Shirt Dem A-Tear Up Trousers A-Go" Some Rastafarians Were Tempted To A Life Of Crime "I Don't Want To End Up Like Bonnie And Clyde" . The Song Is A Lament Of This Condition. The Vocal Melody Is Syncopated And Is Centred On The Tone Of B Flat. The Chords Of The Guitar Accompaniment Are Played On The Offbeat And Move Through The Tonic Chord B Flat The Subdominant E Flat The Dominant F And The Occasional D Flat Viz B Flat - E Flat - F - B Flat - D Flat . It Was One Of The First Reggae Songs To Become An International Hit Despite Dekker's Strong Jamaican Accent Which Made His Lyrics Difficult To Understand For Many Listeners Outside Jamaica. Despite "Israelites" Being Recorded And Released In 1968 The Uni 45 Discography Shows Its Cataloguing In 1969. In June 1969 It Reached The Top Ten In The United States Peaking At #9 On The Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. It Hit #1 In The United Kingdom The Netherlands Jamaica South Africa Canada Sweden And West Germany. "Israelites" Brought A Jamaican Beat To The British Top 40 For The First Time Since Dekker's #14 Hit "007 Shanty Town " In 1967. The Disc Was Released In The UK In March 1969 And Was #1 For One Week Selling Over 250 000 Copies. A Global Million Sales Was Reported In June 1969. Dekker Had Two More UK Top 10 Hits Over The Next Year "It Miek" And His Cover Of Jimmy Cliff's Song "You Can Get It If You Really Want". Dekker Recorded On The Pyramid Record Label And When Its Catalogue Was Acquired By Cactus Records In 1975 "Israelites" Was Re-Issued In A First-Time Stereo Mix. Just Over Six Years After The Original Release The Song Again Reached A Top Ten Position In The United Kingdom. In 1980 Dekker Released A New Recording Of The Song On UK Label Stiff Records Performed In An Uptempo Two Tone Style. It Was Taken From An Album Of Similar Re-Recordings Of His Old Hits Black & Dekker. The Song Has Appeared In Numerous Movies And Television Programs Including The Soundtracks Of The 1989 American Film Drugstore Cowboy And The 2010 British Film Made In Dagenham. On November 3 2019 "Israelites" Was Prominently Featured In The Third Episode Of HBO's Watchmen. Potentially Because Of This Usage The Song Charted Again Entering The Billboard Digital Reggae Song Sales Chart At #2.

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