The Meditations

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Meditation (disambiguation).

The Meditations are a reggae vocal harmony group from Jamaica formed in 1975. They have released several studio albums and were still performing in the 2000s.

Contents

[edit] History

The Meditations were formed in 1975, when Danny Clarke left The Righteous Flames, recruiting Ansel Cridland and Winston Watson.[1] They recorded in the mid-1970s for producers such as Dobby Dobson, Joseph Hoo Kim, and Lee "Scratch" Perry, their righteously Rastafarian style gaining comparisons with The Mighty Diamonds.[1][2] Their first album, Message From The Meditations, was released in 1977.

The Meditations sang backing vocals on a number of Bob Marley songs, including "Blackman Redemption," "Punky Reggae Party," and "Rastaman Live Up", as well as providing backing for Gregory Isaacs, Jimmy Cliff and The Congos (on their Heart of the Congos album).[3]

They appeared at the One Love Peace Concert in April 1978, officially a commemoration of the 12th anniversary of Haile Selassie's state visit to Jamaica, but more famous for the handshake between Michael Manley and Edward Seaga when they joined Bob Marley on stage.[4]

The Meditations 1983 album, No More Friend was produced by Linval Thompson and featured The Roots Radics, and saw them adapting to the prevailing dancehall sound.[3]

Cridland left the group, leaving Clarke and Watson to record 1988's For The Good of Man without him, but they were reunited for 1993's Return of The Meditations.[3]

They have subsequently toured the United States and Europe.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

  • Message From The Meditations (1977) Wild Flower
  • Wake Up (1978) Third World
  • Guidance (1979) Tad's/Guidance
  • No More Friend (1983) Thompson Sound/Greensleeves
  • For The Good of Man (1988) Greensleeves
  • Return of The Meditations (1993) Sonic Sounds/Heartbeat
  • Ghetto Knowledge (1999) Easy Star
  • I Love Jah (2002) Wackies (recorded 1982)

[edit] Compilations

  • Greatest Hits (1984) Shanachie/Greensleeves
  • Deeper Roots: The Best of The Meditations (1994) Heartbeat/Greensleeves
  • Reggae Crazy: Anthology 1971-1979 (1997) Nighthawk

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae. Virgin Books. ISBN 0-7535-0242-9. 
  2. ^ Barrow, Steve; Dalton, Peter (1997). Reggae: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides. ISBN 1-85828-247-0. 
  3. ^ a b c E A S Y S T A R * R E C O R D S
  4. ^ Thompson, Dave (2002). Reggae & Caribbean Music. Backbeat Books. ISBN 0-87930-655-6. 

[edit] External links