People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry (Paperback)

by David Katz (Author)

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

Product Description
Lee "Sratch" Perry is arguably the most influential force in Jamaican music. He was the producer that took Bob Marley and the Wailers from a local rock-steady band to world-famous reggae superstars. He has worked for and with the entirety of reggae's heavyweight community as well as many international musicians. Centering on extensive interviews with family members, fellow artists, friends, enemies, and proclamations from the man himself, People Funny Boy delves behind the myth of Perry to give a riveting and revealing account of his life and work.

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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: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,345,623 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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

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!

1.0 out of 5 stars Tedious, May 16, 2009

By	B. eaton "fworld" (Raining in Hong Kong) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

4 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very, very Upsetting!, July 24, 2001

By	Ras Jordan (Memphis) - See all my reviews

Scratch your Lee Perry itch. I am awed to have in my hands 536 pages of all things Upsetting. Buy this book, if a so a so.