The Heptones
Wikimp3 information about the music of The Heptones. On our website we have 67 albums and 31 collections of artist The Heptones. You can find useful information and download songs of this artist. We also know that The Heptones represents Reggae genres.
Biography
[Edit]One of the definitive rocksteady vocal groups, the Heptones were also one of the few to successfully make the transition to the reggae era. The group was fronted by Leroy Sibbles, who was not only an exquisite singer but also a talented songwriter, arranger, and session bassist at the legendary Studio One. Penning much of its own material, the group boasted one of the deepest catalogs of its time, full of high-quality numbers that were widely imitated for their close-harmony vocals, and widely recycled for their loose, liquid, melodic instrumental grooves. The Heptones were formed in Kingston in 1965, with a lineup of Sibbles, Barry Llewellyn, and Earl Morgan. At first they called themselves the Hep Ones, but a one-word name seemed to make more sense to fans, and the change was made accordingly. They made their first recording for Ken Lack's Caltone label that year, a strange ska adaptation of "The William Tell Overture" titled "Gun Men Coming to Town."
Things started to take off for the group in 1966 when they caught on at Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's Studio One, the pre-eminent hit factory of the rocksteady era. Dodd helped train the group in the art of harmony singing, and also guided budding songwriter Sibbles, who developed a sly, sarcastic sense of humor to underpin his tales of broken-hearted lovers. The Heptones had their first hit later that year with "Fattie Fattie," a ribald paean to large women that was banned from Jamaican radio but sold briskly nonetheless. They went on to record vast amounts of material for Dodd over the next five years, including their first-ever LP, On Top, in 1970. As the hits piled up, Sibbles became a staff songwriter and arranger, played bass with the Studio One house band on a multitude of recordings, and worked as an assistant producer and talent scout as well. However, by 1971, a Rastafarian social consciousness was emerging in his writing, and he had grown tired of the boundaries of working in Dodd's studio system; that sense of confinement led to an acrimonious split with Dodd.
Over the next few years, Sibbles took the Heptones on a virtual tour of Jamaica's top producers, cutting material for Joe Gibbs, Harry J, Augustus Pablo, Rupie Edwards, and many others. In 1973, they moved briefly to Canada, but soon returned to Jamaica. The Heptones signed a major-label deal with Island in 1975 and released their label debut, Night Food, the following year; it was produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry and featured mostly new versions of old Studio One material. The follow-up, 1977's Party Time, followed a similar blueprint, and also included an eye-opening cover of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released." It proved to be the group's biggest-selling album in the international market, but the 1978 follow-up, Better Days, sold disappointingly by comparison, and Sibbles departed for a solo career not long after.
The remaining Heptones replaced him with Naggo Morris and soldiered on with 1979's Joseph Hoo Kim-produced Good Life. They continued to record and perform during the '80s, though without the success they had enjoyed with Sibbles out front; gradually, other members drifted through the ranks, including Glen Adams and Joseph Forester. The original trio of Sibbles, Llewellyn, and Morgan finally reunited in 1995 for the album Pressure!, produced by Tappa Zukie.
Title: The Meaning of Life - Best of the Heptones (1966-1976)
Artist: The Heptones
Genre: Reggae, Roots Reggae
Title: Peace and Harmony: The Trojan Anthology
Artist: The Heptones
Genre: Reggae, Roots Reggae, Ska
Title: Peace & Harmony: The Trojan Anthology
Artist: The Heptones
Genre: Alternative Rock, Reggae, World Music, Latin, Ska
Title: The Heptones Meets The Paragons
Artist: The Paragons, The Heptones
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Reggae
Title: Heptones Dictionary (Disc 1)
Artist: The Heptones
Genre: Reggae, Roots Reggae, Dub, World Music
Title: Three Coins In The Fountain
Artist: The Heptones
Genre: Tech House, Hip Hop/R&B, Rock, Reggae, Roots Reggae, Dub, Ska
Title: The Meaning of Life: Best of the Heptones 1966-1976
Artist: The Heptones
Genre: Reggae, World Music, Latin
Collections
Title: Reggae Archives Vol. 2 (CD2)
Genre: Reggae, Roots Reggae
Title: Reggae Versions 2019
Genre: Reggae, World Music
Title: Ska For Life 2019 (CD1)
Title: Reggae Greatest Hits 2019
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rock, Reggae, Roots Reggae, Dancehall, World Music, Ska, Funk, Folk
Title: American Tunes: Songs By Paul Simon
Genre: Soul, Rock, Punk Rock, World Music, Country, Pop, Folk
Title: Down In Jamaica 40 Years Of VP Records (CD1)
Genre: Electronica
Title: Version Dread
Title: Ultimate Reggae & Ska Legends (CD5)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Blues, Ska
Title: Exotic Dub Reggae (CD2)
Genre: Reggae
Title: Play On Mr. Music - Lee Perry Black Ark Days
Genre: Reggae, Roots Reggae, Dub
Title: Best Of Reggae 2021 (CD1)
Genre: Rock, Reggae, Roots Reggae, Dub, Lovers Rock, World Music, Pop, Ska
Title: Reggae Box 2021 (CD1)
Title: Reggae Box 2021 (CD4)
Title: Joe Gibbs Presents Freeedom To The People (CD1)
Genre: Reggae
Title: Joe Gibbs Presents Freeedom To The People (CD2)
Genre: Reggae
Title: Classic Reggae Deep Cuts 2022 (CD1)
Genre: Reggae
Title: Old Time Reggae From G. G's
Genre: Reggae
Title: Reggae Endless Rhythms (CD2)
Genre: Reggae
Title: Party Time - The Best Of Sunshot Records Chapter II
Genre: Reggae
Title: Many Mood Of Reggae
Genre: Reggae, Roots Reggae
Title: Out & About With Friends
Genre: Reggae, Roots Reggae
Title: Sharpe Edge 2023
Genre: Reggae, Roots Reggae
Title: Big Things 2023
Genre: Reggae, Roots Reggae
Title: Blouses An Skert
Genre: Reggae, Roots Reggae
Featuring albums
Title: Reggae Greats: Lee "Scratch" Perry
Artist: Lee Scratch Perry
Genre: Reggae, Roots Reggae, Dub
Title: Produced and Directed By the Upsetter
Artist: Lee Scratch Perry
Genre: Reggae, Roots Reggae, Dub
Title: Paint It Black: A Reggae Tribute To The Rolling Stones
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Reggae, World Music
Title: The Upsetter Selection: A Lee Perry Jukebox
Artist: Lee Scratch Perry
Genre: Reggae, World Music, Latin
Title: Reggae Anthology - Joe Gibbs: Scorchers From The Early Years (1967-73)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Reggae, World Music, Latin
Title: Reggae Anthology: Niney The Observer - Roots With Quality
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Reggae, Roots Reggae, World Music, Latin
Title: Blood & Fire: Hit Sounds From the Observer Station 1970-1978
Artist: Niney
Genre: Electronica, Dancefloor, Reggae, World Music, Latin
Title: Lee 'Scratch' Perry & the Upsetters: Super Ape & Return of the Super Ape
Artist: Lee Perry
Genre: Reggae, World Music, Latin
Title: Fire Down Below: Scorchers from Studio One
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Reggae, Alternative
Title: Blood & Fire (Hit Sounds From The Observer Station 1970-1978) (CD1)
Artist: Niney
Genre: Reggae
Title: Blood & Fire (Hit Sounds From The Observer Station 1970-1978) (CD2)
Artist: Niney
Genre: Reggae