Jamaican reggae pioneer Desmond Dekker was born 80 years ago today. "Israelites" was one of the first reggae songs to become an international hit, reaching #1 in the UK, #9 in the US, and reaching the Top Ten in most of Europe in 1969.
Song of the Day: Desmond Dekker & The Aces, “Israelites”
Published
The Sound of One Hand Typing 
I don’t think I ever heard this song. I enjoyed it.
LikeLike
Might have been slightly before your time, and it didn’t get a lot of airtime after the record dropped off the charts.
LikeLike
Great song!
LikeLike
One of the first reggae songs to reach the Top 40, and we had no idea at the time. The first time I heard Bob Marley, I immediately thought of this.
LikeLike
This is such a great song! I remember when I was a window dresser in a boutique I got my friend ( bless her she was a nutter) a job there. She was deaf in one ear and had a lisp but she was great fun.
Everytime this song came on she would turn the shop speakers up, put her good ear to the speaker and dance! The Manageress would be screaming at her to turn it down but she just carried on….she did a lot of mad things and usually got away with it!!? 💜💜😍
LikeLike
No doubt she was great fun because of the deaf ear and lisp…
LikeLike
I don’t know but we are still friends now 💜 she used to run rings round our boss!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this song. One of my favorites from The Harder They Come soundtracks.
LikeLike
It was the first time most of us heard reggae. I liked it because it didn’t sound like everything else.
LikeLike