Wailing Souls - Greensleeves Reggae Icons

Some classic Wailing Souls to go along with the release of their brand new single, "Shark Attack" feat. Alborosie.

For a deeper dive into the Wailing Souls, visit their Reggae Icons playlist on the Greensleeves Spotify page:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6rLWUtroMorLdwVukkqmiX?si=2WFDqG5DTluneFiFUeLnUQ

...

Wailing Souls are standard bearers and among the few active surviving elder statesmen from the birth and the golden era of reggae music. 

With a career spanning more than five decades, from rock steady through reggae to dancehall and beyond, their canon is part of the soundtrack of Jamaica itself. Songs including “Fire House Rock,” “Jah Jah Give Us Life,” “Mr. Fire Coal Man,” and “Shark Attack” mark creative high points in reggae history.
 
With the 2020 release of Back A Yard, produced by Alborosie, the group marks 25 albums in a career that includes three Grammy Award nominations for Best Reggae Album, and a pioneering 1992 appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Pipe and Bread’s creative history dates to Jamaica’s rock steady days in a group called The Renegades with George Haye. A number of name changes would take place into the 1970s, while they would first use the name Wailing Souls for a track called “Gold Digger” for producer Lloyd Daley in 1970. At that time, Pipe and Bread were joined by Norman “Fats D” Davis and Oswald “Sabu” Downer. With this lineup, the group also made a series of key recordings for Coxson Dodd’s iconic Studio One label, which included “Mr. Fire Coal Man,” “Back Out,” and “Things & Time.” These recordings either credited Wailing Souls or The Classics.
 
The group’s close association with Bob Marley & The Wailers during this era included singing harmony on Marley’s “Trench Town Rock” and seeing two tracks released on Marley’s Tuff Gong label in 1972, as Pipe & The Pipers.
 
While the Souls have worked with many record labels over the years, including Island, Columbia, and BMG, many associate their greatest recordings with Greensleeves Records and a series of albums including Fire House Rock, Inchpinchers, On The Rocks, and Stranded. During this period, the group was known for its four-part harmonies that included George “Buddy” Haye and Garth Dennis, formerly (and subsequently) of Black Uhuru. They were both in the group from 1976-1985, starting with the update of “Things & Time.”

With Back A Yard, Wailing Souls further solidify their place among Jamaican music’s all-time greats.

Down In Jamaica: 40 Years of VP Records

Wailing Souls - Firehouse Rock

Inchpinchers

Wailing Souls - Inchpinchers

Fire House Rock

Wailing Souls - Kingdom Rise Kingdom Fall

The Very Best Of The Wailing Souls

Wailing Souls - Bredda Gravalicious

Most Wanted: Crucial Cuts 1979-1984

Wailing Souls - Who No Waan Come

On The Rocks

Wailing Souls - What Is Your Meaning

Stranded

Wailing Souls - War Deh Round A John Shop