Coxsone really set up his first sound system round about 1954 playing boogie-woogie tunes, jazz rhythm & blues records that he imported from the United States. Coxsone Dodd mostly imported his records from Rainbow Records store situated in New York. Harlem which proved to be a beneficial and a real productive source where good music could be found, not only that Coxsone had the good fortune to find a record store in Brooklyn that could supply all his musical needs! Coxsone made Willis Jackson's Later For Gator which became Coxsone most cherished tune that he used as his opening theme tune known to other sound systems as the Coxsone Hop It was quite a number of years before any sound system proprietor could obtain the Coxsone Hop for themselves. Duke Reid was the man who eventually got the Willis Jackson tune nine years after Coxsone. A much sort after tune. At the height of the sound system trend and clashes; Coxsone had as many as five sound systems operating each night at different venues! | | When supply of R & B records began to decrease, Coxsone and other sound system operators were forced into the recording industry to record their own tunes by Jamaican artists to satisfy the dance crowd and those early recordings were reserved for the sole use of the sound systems, but once it had become apparent that there was a growing market for Jamaican productions, Coxsone Dodd rapidly formed his own recording studio! U-Roy was solely a Duke Reid deejay and who was one of the most successful toaster. Never once did he operated as disc jockey for Sir Coxsone! |
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