More old radio shows from the archive - one from 1977 with Rico Rodriguez playing some of his influences including Don Drummond and Gene Ammons. Rico now plays in Jools Holland's band but has a lengthy career in Jamaica playing on many Ska sessions in the 60's.
Wikipedia says if Rico -
"Rodriguez was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and was taught to play the trombone by his slightly older schoolmate Don Drummond at the Alpha Boys School. In the 1950s, he became a rasta and became closely musically related to rasta drummer, Count Ossie. In 1961, he moved to the UK and started to play in reggae bands there. In 1976, he recorded the album, Man from Wareika under contract with Island Records.In the late 1970s, with the arrival of the 2 Tone genre, he played with ska revival bands such as The Specials. One of his most notable performances was on The Specials' song, "A Message to You, Rudy".
Rodriguez also helmed his own outfit, Rico and the Rudies, to yield the albums Blow Your Horn and Brixton Cat.
In 1995 Island Records released the album Roots to the Bone, an updated version of Rodriguez's earlier work, Man from Wareika.
Since 1996, amongst other engagements, he has played with Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and he also performs at various ska festivals throughout Europe with his own band.
He was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) at Buckingham Palace on 12 July 2007, for services to music."
fRoots article about Charlie HERE.
Charlie Gillett - Rico
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2 comments:
so good to hear Rico the legend
im amazed it was from so long ago
i noticed you have interference static on this recording -
I used to have tape recordings from this period from the radio and it used to drive me up the wall as the noise used to be quite loud anyway I compared this with my family's media savvy i - pod sensibility and they were giggling at the primitiveness
of it all BUT I enjoy the 'crackles
and pop's as I think it gives it a
period character
i was also played them Rico's version
of 'carolina' and the family recognised the tune straight away
even though they didn't know who it
was by - so I was saved from further ridicule!
thanks once again
Glad you enjoyed it Anon. As you say - the pops and crackles give it an added period charm! I wish more people would post old radio shows despite the age of the tapes - long to hear some of those earlier recordings that Charlie did when he first started at Radio London in 1973 or whenever it was. I made reel to reel recordings in 1976 - the earliest I have but they are sadly edited- with Charlie and his guests getting chopped! What was I thinking!? It wasnt until 1978 that I realised the error of my ways and by that time Charlie had moved on. I managed to get a couple of tapes including this one from a kind chap called Ron Ray who donated all his Honky Tonk tapes to Charlie I believe. I live in the hope that his family will somehow make an internet Honky Tonk Archive so we can all hear again the master at work, I can dream can;t I? Meanwhile I do the best I can with what I have in these dusty boxes.
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