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material was yet to come. Against the group s protests, the album was re-
leased. However, before Kong could reap any benefits, he died of a massive
heart attack at age 38.
18 BOB MARLEY
LEE SCRATCH PERRY
Again disillusioned by the Jamaican record industry, Bob planned an-
other trip to Delaware to make enough money to launch his own record
label and thereby retain control over the Wailers music. In the spring of
1969, Bob again went to live with his mother. This time Bob worked at
a Chrysler automobile plant in addition to holding down several other
jobs. When he returned to Jamaica several months later, the money that
he had made went to supporting his family. Nevertheless, Bob was ready
to return to the studio and took the Wailers back to Studio One to work
for Clement Coxsone Dodd. The second series of recordings with Dodd
was even better than the first, as Dodd had employed a new sound engi-
neer, Lee Scratch Perry (b. 1936).
The union of the Wailers and Perry proved to be a good one and to-
gether they produced a unique sound. The production was rougher than
it had been with Kong, Bob s vocals were left raw, and the bass and the
drum were the lead instruments. The guitar played offbeat chocked-chord
chops and the sounds was more reminiscent of the Wailers rude boy days.
The backing band was Perry s studio group called the Upsetters (the Up-
setter was another of Perry s nicknames). Two members of this band ended
up playing with Bob until he died. The Barrett brothers, Aston ( Family
Man ) on bass, and Carlton ( Carlie ) on drums, became the rhythm sec-
tion for the Wailers.
In late 1969 and early 1970, the Barrett brothers, Perry, and the Wail-
ers worked in the studio to create the classics Duppy Conqueror and
Mr. Brown. Both songs were released as singles with their own dub
versions on the B-sides. The Jamaican practice of dubbing referred to
making a single that had the original song on the A-side and the song
without the lyrics on the B-side. This was done so that a DJ at sound
system parties could toast, or supply his own words, over the lyric-less
side to whip the crowd into a frenzy and then turn the record over and
play the song in the complete version. The sound systems were giant
mobile stereos that were used at parties around the island.
At the beginning of the 1970s, the Wailers again launched their own
record label. Called Tuff Gong, after Bob s nickname, the new label failed
as fast as the Wail N Soul M imprint had. Perry, who had separated himself
from Dodd and opened his own record shop and label, invited the Wailers
to work on his new Upsetter imprint. The material created by the Wailers
with Perry was some of the band s best early material, including Small
Axe, Corner Stone, Don t Rock My Boat, and It s Alright. The
Wailers/Perry collaboration lasted through the early part of the 1970s and
OUT OF THE GHETTO, INTO THE LIMELIGHT 19
yielded over a hundred tracks. Mature Wailers/Perry material reflected
the group s Rastafarian interests with songs such as Lively Up Yourself,
Kaya, and 400 Years. Trench Town Rock was released in 1971 and
again put the Wailers on the Jamaican charts.
In 1971, the Wailers finished their work with Perry. The group was look-
ing for another creative outlet. Bob learned that Nash was going to work
on a movie soundtrack in Sweden and Nash asked Bob to come with him.
On the way, Bob dropped Rita and the children off at his mother s, and
Rita found work as a nurse in a Delaware hospital.
After Bob and Nash s work on the Swedish film score was complete,
the pair traveled to London, where Nash was trying to broker a recording
contract with the CBS. When the deal was struck, Bob brought the rest of
the Wailers to London, where he believed that Sims was working a similar
deal for the Wailers. The Wailers recorded in the CBS studios, where they
worked as Nash s backing band. While a separate deal did not materialize
for the Wailers, they did get more recording experience and returned to
Jamaica with high hopes for future English success.
Back in Jamaica, the Wailers recorded at Harry J s studio and Dynamic
Sounds. For Harry J s owner Harry Johnson, the Wailers recorded at a vig-
orous pace for four months. At this time, the Wailers included Bob, Peter,
and Bunny plus the Barrett brothers and a 15-year-old keyboard player
named Tyrone Downie. An unofficial member of the band was added in
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