FEATURES | INTERVIEWS | REVIEWS
“Jamaica’s answer to the Motown house band and Booker T. and the MG’s combined”
ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE
“I first knew the bittersweet theme from “The Guns of Navarone” from a 1961 hit instrumental—but it was nothing like the Skatalites version that Don Drummond adapted. The melody is the same, of course, but with the blazing horns and heavily pronounced beat, it was totally on fire—and so full of life that remains the hallmark of ska and the Skatalites.”
Jim Bessman | BILLBOARD MAGAZINE
“I saw the Skatalites at the Palace in Los Angeles in 1989, playing with Bad Manners. I remember how astonishingly tight they were, and how swinging their jazzy ska groove was. I’ve been an admirer for at least…wow, is it 20 years by now?”
Phil Freeman | Managing Editor: GLOBAL RHYTHM MAGAZINE
“I am comforted each time I hear The Skatalites. They are each and all a precious keepsake of what is wonderful and joyous about Jamaican culture.”
Pat McKay | Reggae Format Manager: SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO
“The Skatalites are pure energy: hot like fire, with a scorching, skanking rhythm and big-band bravado.”
Mark Harris | Editor: REGGAEREVIEWS.COM
“Ska is ubiquitous, and there’s no disputing that they started it all. When you also consider the influence that the various Skatalites alumni had on the subsequent styles of Jamaican music, then you could argue that they are one of the most influential groups in 20th century popular music.”
-Carter Van Pelt | DJ/ Writer
“Eric Clapton once said that he didn’t want to talk to anyone who didn’t know Robert Johnson’s music. I kinda feel that way about the Skatalites…” “Not only did they pave the way for the intricacies and nuances of the rocksteady, reggae and dub styles that followed, but they’ve been held in continual high esteem by musicians, intellectuals and such non-mainstream types as punk rockers. They were the cultural barometer of their day. To feel how influential they are on a global scale, listen to their recent live album recorded in Argentina. You can hear the audience singing along to songs that don’t have lyrics! What other band can connect with a crowd that way?”
Tom Orr | THE BEAT MAGAZINE
“The joy of discovery that you hear in the first recordings is still there in the band today.”
Andy Bassford | GUITAR: Mutabaruka, Gladiators, Congos, Toots Hibbert, Ernest Ranglin, Burning Spear
“Lloyd Knibb is one of the greatest and only drummers from Jamaica to set precedence, adapting the Burru, Pocomania and Repeater style of African polyridmic playing. He is the Godfather of Jamaican drumming. Just ask Sly and anyone who dare to tread in his footsteps. He is de king.”
Phil Chen | BASS: Prince Buster, Funk Brothers, Rod Stewart, Jeff Beck, The Doors
“It’s great to know that the Skatalites are still out there as the foremost exponents of this unique Jamaican genre.”
Dermot Hussey | Reggae Program Director: XM SATELLITE RADIO
