REGGAE AROUND THE WORLD
Special 10th Anniversary Edition Available Now!

From Putumayo Records in cooperation with Midnight Dread
was available online at Putamayo.com

It was a quarter century ago that reggae music burst forth from the Caribbean island of Jamaica, fully
formed and ready to conquer the world. Through the simultaneous release of Bob Marley & The
Wailers' Catch A Fire and the classic film, The Harder They Come, starring Jimmy Cliff, reggae found an
enthusiastic international audience for the first time. Throughout the 70s, Jamaica's distinctive
backbeat music, laced with its message of peace, love and the homegrown spirituality of
Rastafarianism, continued to spread around the globe. Inspired by 60s soul and protest music as well as
Jamaican independence, reggae kept the best instincts of the 60s alive with songs of love and social
revolution.

Originally associated with the hard-luck slums of the Trenchtown area of Kingston, reggae was rejected
in its homeland as ghetto music. But like the biblical prophesy "the stone that the builder refuses shall
be the head cornerstone," reggae has overcome this stigma to be catapulted into our collective musical
consciousness.
Several reggae tunes of the era spoke of 'reggae going international.' Bob Marley toured the globe,
sowing the musical seeds that grew into a worldwide love affair with reggae. The classic Marley sound
continues to influence musicians around the world; its musical stylings affect the music of Native
Americans and Australian aboriginals; pop, country and jazz bands freely incorporate its 'riddims.' Some
completely embrace the music and its culture while others use it as spice to their own mix of sounds. It
is of little wonder that reggae has joined rock 'n roll as one of the most pervasive, popular musics of our
time. Whatever the case, "Reggae Around The World" proves that music has no borders.
- Doug Wendt