Sugar Minott – Vanity Part 1 from the Studio 1 45

I hope you all enjoyed the Blast from the past and Stinkie Steve’s athletic abilities from 1973. The guy is a trip. I’m gonna see if I can get him to host a guest mix. We’ll see how that goes. I wanted to give my man Larry from Funky 16 Corners a shout. He was just featured as on of WFMU’s top 6 MP3 blogs, and gave me a mention. Many thanks my dude, always nice to see a member of the AP 45 Sessions Crew get some press. Here is a bit of that heavy dose of reggae he was mentioning. This is another haul from Psyche Dave, from 1974, straight from Jamaica, Sugar Minott with “Vanity Part 1” on the Studio 1 label.

Born Lincoln Barrington Minott in Kingston, Jamaica in 1956. Starting off at an early age, he became a selector in the Sound of Silence Keytone which later gave way to his own Gathering of Youth Sound System. He’s team up with one of my favorites Tony Tuff and Derrick Howard in 1969 to form The African Brothers. This Roots trio would eventually be associated with the Micron Music (run by Mick Johnson and Ronny Burke of Sunsplash fame). The band released a hand full of singles, and even started their own Ital record label. It was short lived and the three band members would go on to persue solo careers eventually. In 1974 Minott would link up with the famous Jamaican producer Coxsone Dodd and the Studio One label. It was here he would release this record, the first Studio One offering with Coxsone. Vanity was followed by “Mr DC”, “House is not a Home” and “Hang on Natty”. He would also gone on to be a session player at S1, loaning his talents as a drummer and guitarist. His first solo album “Live Loving” followed after, but in a few short years he would leave, only to form his own Black Roots label in 1979. This was the beginning of Dancehall and The Sound Youthman Promotion, Minott’s new crew, was ushering this new genre in. Black Roots would go on to be associated with Junior Reid, Yami Bolo, Don Angelo, Tenor Saw (RIP), Nitty Gritty, Garnet Silk, Tony Rebel, Daddy Freddy, Johnny Osbourne, and many more. Minott would not only dabble in Dancehall and Roots, he’d be associated with Lovers Rock, and work with many well known producers and performers throughout his career. He’d be involved in projects with Prince Jammy, Tappa Zukie, Gregory Isaacs, Scientist, Leroy Smart and Joe Gibbs. The list goes on and on, but you get the picture. This veteran was an integral part of Jamaican music in many levels, as a producer, artist, talent scout, and ambassador. He continues to keep the legacy going strong today.

This record is straight up Roots from start to finish. With Coxsone at the helm, like the captain of a ship, he was steering Sugar in the right direction. It’s interesting because the sound quality of this record, while the vinyl is in decent shape, the sound quality is not. It fades in and out, pops and tweaks, but still has that Studio 1 vibe to it. Sugar talks in nursery rhymes, and Coxsone still makes a child’s nursery rhyme sound like gold. I do not have enough good things to say about Studio 1. These 45s are few and far between in the field, so when you see them, scoop them up. I’ll be back over the weekend with some more tales from the dusty crates. Keep Diggin’!