People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry [Paperback]

David Katz (Author), Rainford Hugh Lee Perry (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 2001

Lee "Scratch" Perry is arguably the most influential force in Jamaican music and People Funny Boy, the only biography of the man ever written, delves behind the myth to give a fuller examination and "a comprehensive account of the idiosyncratic dub pioneer" (books of the Year, The Times [London]).

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In reggae music, only Bob Marley rivals Lee "Scratch" Perry in importance. Scratch collaborated on some of the Wailers' best early stuff, and indeed, Marley's "career was largely shaped by creative interaction with Perry." Katz spent years sifting Perry's true story from the legends about him. Confusion about his birth date is to be expected, for public record keeping has not been a high priority in Jamaica, but Perry further muddled matters by claiming to hail from Jupiter, the sky, and Africa, as well. And then, "it is worth noting that the regular use of ganja . . . result[s] in short- and long-term memory loss." Ganja is, of course, a leitmotif of Perry's biography, and fans of Timothy White's Bob Marley book, Catch a Fire (rev. ed., 1995), will appreciate Katz's further exploration of the ganja-permeated world of reggae. Collections serving world music and pop music fans should consider this piece of reggae history absolutely essential. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

David Katz has written about the sounds and culture of Jamaica since 1984. His work has appeared in The Guardian, MOJO, Uncut and The Wire. He has annotated CDs for several record labels and contributed to The Rough Guide to Reggae. He is also a musician, broadcaster and photographer. Originally from San Francisco, he currently lives in London. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 538 pages
• Publisher: Payback Press (May 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0862418542
• ISBN-13: 978-0862418540
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,939,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in San Francisco but long resident in London, David Katz is author of Solid Foundation: An Oral History of Reggae. He also contributed to The Rough Guide to Reggae, A Tapestry of Jamaica, and Keep On Running: The Story of Island Records. His writing and photographs have appeared in many international periodicals and music books, and he has co-ordinated and annotated over 100 retrospective collections of Jamaican music. He has also co-hosted reggae radio programmes on three continents, released original records in the UK and France, and contributed to various radio and television documentaries and feature films, while his Dub Me Always deejay nights continue to be a regular feature of London's musical landscape.

http://www.davidkatz.r8.org

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars People Funny Boy:, March 5, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry (Paperback)

A must read for anyone who thought that they know about Reggea, Rock Steady, Ska - Jamaican music in general. This book must be the ultimate documentary of music as well as the music scene in Jamaica during the 60's,70's, and 80's. It's not just a book about Scratch; it is a book about all Jamaican musicians, singers and procuders of the period. It's the best documented piece of Jamaican history. Someday it will become the most sought after Jamaican history book!

David Kratz ensures that the reader lives moment by moment with almost every musician, producers, and Jamaican artist of the period - some of whom have long been forgotten. He takes you into the studios, delves into the background of each and every artist mentioned in the book, takes to the UK and US with Scratch and Bob Marley, then brings you back to the Black Art Studio where Scratch produced some of the most revolutionary and influential Jamaican music.

Any Jamaican who reads this book will certainly say: "Me know da music deh, but me didn't know sey a Scratch do it." The reader will soon learn that Scratch is the greatest Jamaican music producer. No other producer will ever come close to matching his skill and artistry of Scratch in the studio. Nuff respect to Scratch. He is a true genious! And hat's off to David Katz. He certainly knows how to "ride de rythm". The book is a master piece!

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite reggae book, reference or otherwise ..., March 12, 2010

By 

Kelly Maurice "Eight For Eight" (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry (Paperback)

This is a serious book about reggae music - a history of the music in a way, from the perspective a single individual (Scratch). Entertaining and yet filled with facts, and especially for collectors, this book contains lots of clues and actual references to various obscure tracks that one might otherwise miss. I call it the Atlas Roadmap since I use it frequently for my various projects. Well written and thoroughly researched, we have a quality piece of work that Mr. Katz has put all of his energy into and that deserves much praise.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Tedious, May 16, 2009

By 

Bruce "fworld" (Hong Kong, Hong Kong) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Revised Edition (Paperback)

I love Lee Perry, and reggae, and reading, but not this book. While it is undoubtedly a useful historical document listing nearly all the musicians who played on nearly every song recorded by Perry, i found it so tedious that i couldn't finish it. If you are keen to know who played on which songs you will find it interesting, but if you are hoping for a well written biography, there is not much in here. Katz is very sympathetic to Perry, has obviously done an enormous amount of research, and spent hundreds of hours sifting fact from fiction, not to mention tolerating the mania of one of the 20th century's greatest artists, but what he hasn't done is written a book that could hold my attention.

I think the book is a disaster and cannot understand how anyone could call it a masterpiece. If you don't have them, you would be far better off spending your hard earned cash on Arkology or Dub Triptych. And if you do have them just play them again and wait until someone writes a better book than this. Doctor On The Go.