Young, Gifted, and Black: The Story of Trojan Records with CD (Audio) [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Michael de Koningh (Author), Laurence Cane-Honeysett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2003

Trojan Records started life in 1967 as an offshoot of Chris Blackwell's Island Records. By 1969 it had hit its stride, and for the next six years Trojan ruled the reggae roost, with over 30 charted hits. Luminaries like Gregory Isaacs, Inner Circle, and Dennis Brown were introduced by Trojan, and Bob Marley’s first UK album, Soul Rebels, was issued on the label. Trojan also issued the breakthrough Tighten Up compilations. What fans could not know were the cutthroat politics, cultural divisions, racism, and entrepreneurial pressures that drove the label’s success and ensured its demise. This book tells that story through rare interviews with surviving artists and musicians of the label. Dozens of photographs and a 12-track sample CD with notes are included.

Product Details

• Paperback: 311 pages
• Publisher: Sanctuary Publishing, Ltd. (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1860744648
• ISBN-13: 978-1860744648
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,519,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Sensational Book With A Ground-Breaking & Detailed Discography, May 25, 2008

By 

Mark Barry, Reckless Records, London (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Young, Gifted, and Black: The Story of Trojan Records with CD (Audio) (Paperback)

I've contributed large numbers of entries to the UK's 1400-page "Record Collector Price Guide 2008" - and to many of it's previous issues - and have worked in the rare record mail-order business for 'too' many years. Why do I say all this - because I can tell you that it's REGGAE MUSIC - and especially information about it 7" singles - that is so scarce, hard-to-find and problematic. Details are always sketchy. Sure, most of the Island Records and later Virgin Label Reggae stuff is now listed and documented, but you go off-the-beaten track a little bit and it's a whole different ballgame. Usually produced on a shoestring, pressed up as one-off pressings, then sold off vans to shops in the city that specialized in that music...98% of it never charted in the regular pop charts and is therefore something of a mystery. I've found that 'hard' info about reggae (LPs or 7"s) is in the mitts of a handful of dedicated collectors and dedicated shop sources (like the now sadly defunct and brilliant "Daddy Kool" in Berwick Street in London) and the general public never gets a shoe in on what's what. Which is why this book is such an absolute sensation.

After the main story of Trojan Records itself (which is a fantastic read), Pages 119 to 156 give you all the supplementary stuff - Lists of R&B, Motown and Pop Covers the label did, Musicland & Muzic City shops stocking Trojan from their incorporation in 1963 to their closure in 1976, pages of detailed Suggested Listening, then Suggested Reading, the Sources used to compile it all, Profiles of all labels under the Trojan umbrella, and then - wait for it - a discography that stretches from page 157 to 305! The detail and accuracy is astonishing and in many cases - first time info into the public domain.

It should also be noted that while the TROJAN name and label is well known, its subsidiary labels are not. The discography includes both singles & LPs of the following labels for the first time:
Amalgamated, Attack, Big, Big Shot, Black Swan, Blue Cat, Bread, Clandisc, Doctor Bird, Down Town, Duke, Duke Reid, Dynamic, Explosion, Gayfeet, GC, GPW, Grape, Green Door, Harry J, High Note, Horse, Hot Rod, Jackpot, J-Dan, Joe, JJ, Jump-Up, Moodisc, Pressure Beat, Pyramid, Q, Randy's, Smash, Song Bird, Spinning Wheel, Summit, Techniques, Treasure Isle, Trojan and Upsetter. Wow!

As if this isn't good enough, there's a superlative 12-track CD attached to the inside of the front sleeve with both rare and well known Trojan titles - its track list is:
1. Everything Crash by THE ETHIOPIANS, 1968 UK 7" single on JJ Records DB 1169
2. Pressure Drop by THE MAYTALS, 1969 UK 7" single on Trojan Records TR 7709
3. Poor Rameses by THE PIONEERS, 1969 UK 7" single on Trojan Records TR 698
4. Mr. Midnight (Skookiaan) by CLANCY ECCLES and THE DYNAMITES, 1969 UK 7" single on Clandisc CLAN 200
5. Shocks Of Mighty by Dave Barker & THE UPSETTERS, 1970 UK 7" single on Upsetter US 331
6. Skinhead Revolt by JOE THE BOSS, 1970 UK 7" single on Joe Records JRS 9
7. Shanghai by FREDDIE NOTE and THE RUDIES, 1970 UK 7" single on Trojan Records TR 7713
8. You Don't Know by BOB ANDY, 1973 UK 7" single on Green Door Records GD 4060 (Recorded in 1970, released in 1973)
9. Melody Maker by KEITH HUDSON, 1972 UK 7" single on Summit Records SUM 8541
10. (That's The Way) Nature Planned It by KEN BOOTHE, 1974 UK 7" single on Trojan Records TR 7910 (a cover version of The Four Tops hit)
11. Red, Gold & Green by I-ROY, 1973 UK 7" single on Trojan Records TRLS 63
12. Nice & Easy by SUSAN CADOGAN, 1974 UK 7" single on Trojan Records TR 9028 (a Lee Perry production)

Another really cool touch is that the singles discographies provide both the A&B side info, the Producer on almost each entry because that often determines the collectability of a single in the world of Reggae collecting - with each label presented in rising numerical order (those catalogue numbers that are unreleased, not known about or not yet found - are given a NYT entry - not yet traced).

I can't praise this book enough and its researchers extraordinary work. Stunning stuff and something I'll be dipping into for years to come.

I dragged out my 8 "Tighten Up" album compilations and have been petting them and playing them like a favourite child ever since!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For hardcore enthusiasts only, February 4, 2004

By 

S. Warren "A Level Head" (St. Catharines, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Young, Gifted, and Black: The Story of Trojan Records with CD (Audio) (Paperback)

Trojan Records was reggae's Motown. It's back catalog is vital listening. For the uninitiated, putting down your dollars for one of their great compilations, which usually contain extensive liner notes, would probably be a better place to start. YOUNG, GIFTED & BLACK is more or less a history of the inner workings of the Trojan Records label and staff rather than a document of the artists that it promoted so well. While the story is interesting, and it's a story you won't get anywhere else, the book would have been well served to spend more time discussing the music rather than the music business. The book is 300 pages long but the story ends about halfway through. The second half of the book is merely a printed catalog of all Trojan releases to date (which fills 150 pages!) and underlines the fact that YOUNG, GIFTED & BLACK was meant for avid collectors only. Too bad they couldn't have filled those last 150 pages with more tales of Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker, or the Maytals as all of theses artist are only cited in passing in the story. The CD which accompanies the book is great but it can be purchased seperately.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Continuation of the important story..., October 14, 2008

By 

A. Whitney (Silicon Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Young, Gifted, and Black: The Story of Trojan Records with CD (Audio) (Paperback)

From my review in Scoot! Magazine:
Tighten Up takes over where Young, Gifted and Black left off. While there is a small bit of overlap, Tighten Up covers the burgeoning reggae scene that arose in the UK in the 60s. The book focuses on the Pama label and its founders, the Palmer brothers. While Pama was not the only UK reggae record label, it was probably the most central and many other record labels enter and exit the main story of how Jamaican music infiltrated the UK music industry and became a major contributor to its musical identity.

Since reggae was an extension of ska, Tighten does share some common ground with Young. Several of the artists are the same and certain chapter seemed to echo what was said in the earlier book. I enjoyed Young more than Tighten, perhaps because the later covers more of the reggae that bridged the gap between the reggae I like more- the 70's and 80's dub styles. Like Young, Tighten has comprehensive appendixes that only true collectors will find most useful: a full listing of the dozens of reggae labels and a lengthy Pama discography. While I enjoyed the historical aspect of the book and the insider views of the many artists interviewed, I still found Young to be a more entertaining read. However, much can be learned from the book and it takes the story of Jamaican music in the UK even further. The book comes with a companion CD which features 12 reggae songs from 1962-1977 including artists such as Rico's Combo, Joe Mansano, and Pama Dice.