Black Star Liner still sailing
No Fred Locks show is complete without him performing Black Star Liner, his classic 1975 song and one of reggae’s bona fide anthems.
In February the album of the same name was reissued by VP Records through its 17 North Parade subsidiary.
Released in 1976, the album also includes So Jah Sey, another Fred Locks fan favourite, and Last Days.
Hugh Boothe produced the album which hit the market at the height of Jamaica’s Rastafarian revolution. He and Fred Locks are from Harbour View in eastern St Andrew.
Boothe, who lives in South Florida, spoke with the Jamaica Observer about the album which he believes is just as potent now as when it was first released.
“It (re-issue) says that the message and the style with which it it was presented is still appealing today,” he said. “The strong points of the album begin with Fred Locks’ unique, sincere rendition of Rastafarian concepts. The compositions were all original and different from each other.The musical backing had feeling that conveyed spirituality with real instruments.”
A member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, Boothe had been interested in music since his years at Kingston College, where one of his friends was ace keyboardist Jackie Mitoo.
Boothe recalls meeting Fred Locks in the early 1970s after a mutual friend played a cassette version of
Black Star Liner for him. Impressed by the rough cut, he requested a meeting with the singer, who was inspired to write the song about Marcus Garvey’s ill-fated
Black Star Line fleet of ships which were meant to take black people to Africa.
They assembled some of the hottest musicians to play on the song. Among them were guitarists Earl “Chinna” Smith, Howard “Grey Patch” Roberts, and Jerome “Jah Jerry” Haynes; bassist Earl “Bagga” Walker; drummer Benbow Creary; and keyboardist Pablove Black.
After a slow start, Black Star Liner took off, prompting an album one year later.
Ironically, some of the songs were recorded at Randy’s Studio, 17 North Parade, in downtown Kingston.
For Boothe, the project is bittersweet.
“The album was ahead of its time and didn’t receive the promotion it deserved because the label which released it [Vulcan Records] turned out to be pirates and collected royalties from Phonogram Records, then declared bankruptcy. So we never received these royalties,” he explained.
“However, the album was illegally distributed in Europe and gained popularity among hard-core reggae enthusiasts. So much so that when Fred did a show in Europe he was surprised that the audience was singing along with him.”
Hugh Boothe produced a follow-up album with Fred Locks titled The Missing Link.
He also produced songs by Israel Vibration and Brigadier Jerry in the 1980s before becoming disillusioned with the music business.
Fred Locks remains an active artiste. His latest album, Born Rasta, was released last December by Montego Records.
