As a way of placing the spotlight on the many influential women who embody its synonymous sound, the iconic Trojan Records/BMG has completed a project titled Love Is All I Bring: Reggae Hits & Rarities By The Queens Of Trojan, a compilation of hits and rarities by the queens of Trojan.
Scheduled to be released on Friday, October 25, the collection features a stellar array of hand-picked tracks sung by a selection of some of reggae music’s greatest females. Love Is All I Bring showcases the talented female performers of Trojan Records, and featuring vocals from the likes of Millie Small, Althea & Donna, Marcia Griffiths, Phyllis Dillon, and Susan Cadogan, plus productions by Sonia Pottinger. This all-female record also includes personal album notes from musician Rhoda Dakar, who played a pivotal role in bringing the concept to life.
“I have been privileged to see some of these great artistes live and thank them for the music,” Dakar said.
PAYING HOMAGE
Split across two LPs/discs (extended version), with hits on one and rarities on the other, this release comprises some of the greatest reggae tracks, while highlighting the importance and talent of Jamaican female artistes. Uptown Top Ranking, Althea & Donna; Girlie Girlie, Sophia George; I Shall Sing, Judy Mowatt; Steppin’ Out Of Babylon, Marcia Griffiths; Perfidia, Phyllis Dillon, and Words (Are Impossible), Cynthia Schloss, are among the 25 classics on Disc 1.
In a male-dominated industry, Love Is All I Bring pauses to “pay homage to the leading female figures who paved the way for today’s reggae artistes, all while shaping and defining the Trojan story through powerful, meaningful music that continues to resonate at the core of reggae culture and across the globe,” a release from Trojan stated.
Founded in 1968, as part of a deal with Island Records, British record label, Trojan’s mission was to bring Jamaican music to the world. Over the subsequent half a century it has released many of the defining albums of ska, rocksteady, dub and reggae from artistes including The Upsetters, Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker, The Maytals, Dennis Brown, John Holt, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, and Bob Marley and the Wailers. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group.