Harlem Shuffle Records

10/09/2024

PERRY & THE BEATLES part 3: “Paul MCCartney & Wings Recording At The Black Ark Studio”... or so everyone thought!

Paul & Linda loved early Reggae and went to Jamaica several times on holidays in the 70’s with their kids. Shortly after Linda’s death in 1998, Paul McCartney released a compilation of her recordings, Wide Prairie, that included two “Reggae” tracks widely considered to be recorded by Linda & Paul in 1977 at the Black Ark in Kingston.
Let see what McCartney said about that: “So, this was that era. And we loved it so much that we asked Lee Perry if he would do that …and he did! They were classic backing tracks from that time, and Linda sang ‘Mr Sandman’ and ‘Sugartime’ over them.” Source: www.paulmccartney.com
In fact there is no official mentions or photos of Linda and Paul actually going to the Black Ark and recording there anywhere… uh uh.

Finally here is what we found from Macca himself again:
“‘Mr Sandman’ and ‘Sugartime’ were backing tracks that we asked Lee Perry - the great reggae producer and artist – to do. We had this idea to see if he would be interested in making some backing tracks in Jamaica that he could then send over to us. And we would just finish them up and put vocals on them, and stuff. So that was a very exciting idea. It was very exciting getting those original tracks…
PM.com: Had you worked with him before?
Paul: No, no we were just friends. “
Source: www.paulmccartney.com

Therefore the “Mr Sandman” and “Sugartime” (or "Seaside Woman") tracks were not recorded by Linda and Paul (or Wings for that matter) at the Black Ark in 1977 as it has been widely written in the press over the last four decades.

McCartney never said they were, but somebody assumed by mistake they recorded there and everyone else followed without checking… Fake news indeed!!

The friendship between Macca and Scratch was real though as we will reveal in our next episode. Stay tuned!

10/09/2024

From Rhoda Dakar. Artists should go all physical and post just snippets on Spotify. That would help Record Labels too ✊

I really appreciate all you who follow and listen to my music on Spotify, but monetarily this is what it means. Even for chart placings, Spotify doesn’t carry the weight of physical copies or even downloads.

I appreciate these figures aren’t up to date, but the sentiment is correct. Spotify is a handy tool to listen to music, but makes almost no impression on a grassroots artist like me.

Via From The Jam

07/09/2024

A BIG DOG BLOXIE, EARLY REGGAE & THE McCARTNEYS IN JAMAICA!
"BIG DOG BLOXIE" is Lee Perry instrumental version of Let It Be by The Soulettes. In this version, Perry took the beautiful song by the Soulettes and scraped all the vocals, leaving the bare instrumental basking in its nasty Boss glory.
True it does not sound much like The Beatles anymore but it’s sure is Boss Reggae music at its finest. Sorry Paul.
One real mystery remains though, what is a “Big Dog Bloxie”???No one knows.

Following the radical deconstruction of LET IT BE by Lee Perry one could think that Paul McCartney was not impressed. In fact, it was quite the contrary, the Mc Cartneys loved everything Jamaican including early Reggae!

“We loved early reggae and I had the ‘Tighten Up’ albums – ‘Tighten Up’ volumes I and II,” McCartney said. “We were hooked on reggae and we went to Jamaica. … We knew Lee Perry from all of that. We knew he was one of the great local guys and there used to be this fantastic little record shop called ‘Tony’s’ in Montego Bay – and you’d go in and it would just be records, records, records… I remember one of them being ‘Lick the Pipe’ and I’ve still got that!… We loved it so much that we asked Lee Perry if he would (record with us)… and he did.”

The Mac Cartneys and their kids went on holidays several times to Jamaica, starting from 1971. In 1973, they met Dustin Hoffman who was there to shoot “Papillon” with Steve McQueen. Hoffman challenged Paul to improvise a song about Picasso last words as he just died. Paul did just that and on the spot made up the song"Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)" that appeared on Wings' 1973 album "Band On the Run".

McCartney professed several times his love for Jamaica (and w**d). Most recently a video showing the 81 years old Beatle smoking a pliff in Jamaica went viral in April 2023.
But did Paul and Linda actually record at the Black Ark as it is written everywhere? Stay tuned!

05/09/2024

WHEN LEE PERRY SLASHED TROUGH THE BEATLES: THE LET IT BE COVER - 1970
"Let It Be" by The Souletts was released in 1970 on the Upsetter label and was never reissued until now. On this recording The Soulettes were Rita Marley, Nora Dean & Cecile Campbell. Perry who produced the track did not do that many covers in his long career, and this is one of the most striking.
“Let It Be” was and still is a very special and meaningful song by the Beatles for several reasons. Firstly, it was the last single released by the fab four.
Secondly, it was their last album ever; the album was aptly titled “Let It Be” and showcased four separates photos of the Beatles. With its simple yet beautiful melody and meaningful lyrics, the song became a huge hit regularly listed as one of the top 3 Beatles’ songs by their many fans.
At the time of its release though, the song deeply infused with religious piety was interpreted by some as “dangerous politically”. In fact, Paul wrote the song after having a dream where his deceased mother “Mary” (his mother died when he was fourteen) appeared to him and told him "It will be all right, just let it be" obviously commenting on the Beatles imminent breakup.
Shortly after the single release, McCartney did announce his departure from the band.
Straight after that, Lee Perry took this masterpiece of a song and just slashed through it. But his genius shines in his strange minimalist cover.
Out of the 242 beautiful words in the original song the iconoclast cut most of it out to keep just the chorus i.e. just two sentences: “Let it be, let it be, let it be, Whisper words of wisdom, let it be”.
The rest of the lyrics are just “da da da da” repeated all along and resulting in a surprisingly gorgeous melody beautifully interpreted by Rita, Nora and Cecile…
Music wise, he also scrapped most of it. He kept the short piano introduction followed by a syncopated Boss rhythm made mostly of organ and guitar bursts, the outstanding vocals coming out dramatically on the minimalist beat. The whole thing works wonderfully well and the song became The Soulettes’ main hit and a Boss Reggae cult song.

04/09/2024

From Culture Dub!

🔥🔥🔥 The Soulettes / The Upsetters – Let It Be / Big Dog Bloxie – Une reprise des Beatles et son exceptionnelle version produites par le légendaire Lee Scratch Perry enfin rééditées ! 🔥🔥🔥

Le label Harlem Shuffle Records, bien connu pour ses rééditions de morceaux phares de l’Histoire du Reggae, annonce la réédition en vinyle 7 pouces du titre ‘Let It Be‘, reprise de la mythique chanson des Beatles par The Soulettes, sortie en 1970, et produite par Lee Scratch Perry, qui en mixe une wicked version de folie sur la face B… Entre Boss Reggae et Skinhead Music, une galette incontournable pour tout amoureux de belle musique, à découvrir inna Culture Dub :

🔊 https://culturedub.com/

Large Up,
Alex Dub

03/09/2024

THE SOULETTES (aka RITA MARLEY, NORA DEAN & CECILE CAMPBELL)
The Soulettes initially comprised Alpharita Anderson (aka Rita Marley), born in Cuba, her male cousin Constantine Walker and her school friend Marlene Gifford and started recording as backing vocalists at Studio One from 1964 recording a string of Ska numbers including the first Wailing Wailers’ hit “Simmer Down”. They also backed Lee Perry on a series of lewd songs such as ‘Rub & Squeeze’ and ‘Doctor Dick’. Under their own name The Soulettes were moderately successful having recorded quite a few tracks in a variety of styles resulting in a string of minor hits such as the lovely ‘Friends And Lovers’. Rita married Marley in in 1966 and the Soulettes disbanded.
In 1969, Rita Marley re-formed the Soulettes with the great Nora Dean (later replaced by Hortense Lewis) and Cecile Campbell, Cornel’s sister. The new line-up with Nora Dean and Cecile Campbell started working with Lee Scratch Perry for a couple of songs including the outstanding cover of the Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’ which became their main hit in 1970. Following the group’s demise around 1973, Rita joined Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt to form the I-Threes whom became the de facto female backing trio for Bob Marley…

23/08/2024

"THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING"/"THAT'S NICE" - Skinhead anthem by the great SYMARIP released for the very first time on 7" Single by Harlem Shuffle Records back in 2020... Lucky we are here!

15/08/2024

Coming up two outsanding LEE PERRY productions, the gorgeous SINNER MAN by ANNETTE CLARKE + the super rare SINNER MAN DUB by LEE PERRY on 7"45 RPM!
On PRE-SALE at https://www.harlemshufflerecords.com/ and all good record stores. Release on September 20, 2024.

08/08/2024

The killer RUDY MILLS "JOHN JONES" + the crazy instrumental version "SPLASH DOWN"by THE CRYSTALITES - released separately in 1969 on Big Shot and Explosion - released together by Harlem Shuffle Records in 2021.

06/08/2024

Never released in Europe before, the Jamaican Soul killer "MINI SKIRT & GO GO BOOTS on The A side with the explosive "WHAT YOU'VE GOT" on the flip, both by LLOYD & GLEN. Released by Harlem Shuffle Records in 2021, "MINI SKIRT" was first released on the Jamaican BRA label and "WHAT YOU'VE GOT" on the Doctor Bird label - both in 1967.

11/07/2024

Someone with taste 😁

21/06/2024

Released today at https://www.harlemshufflerecords.com/ and all good record stores: DICE THE BOSS - GUN THE MAN DWON/ YOUR BOSS DJ - repressed for the first time on 7" single limited to 500 copies.

18/06/2024

2 tueries absolues chez Harlem Shuffle Records , sur nos platines !
Le " Tea House " est un clin d'oeil a Emperor Rosko ( John Pasternak , immense DJ sur Radio Luxembourg qui fut un des premiers à faire découvrir le ska a l'Europe continentale) , la face B est indispensable ( Brixton Cat) , les deux titres quasi impossibles à trouver en format original, en bon état et surtout à un prix qui ne soit pas délirant . Cette réédition consacréebà Joe Mansano , producteur Trinidadien quasiment le papa de ce qu'on va appeler par la suite le dont ces deux titres constituent un graal pour tout DJ .
Autant dire qu'il était temps que quelqu'un ressorte les œuvres de ce grand monsieur , puisque Trojan qui en détient les droits ne semble plus s'intéresser au bon vieux 45 T sauf pour des rares coffrets ....

Le second est une magnifique petite découverte sortie des productions de Attack ( encore un sous label de Trojan ) , avec Graham Goodhal et Phil Chen à la console ... Très bon
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

Impeccable !

18/06/2024

Release this Friday at https://www.harlemshufflerecords.com/ and all good record stores worldwide!