Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Third World


Artist:Third World

Song:Try Jah Love

Album:You've Got The Power





The Jamaican group Third World has been around for over 30 years. And their biggest hit came from a most unlikely source. The group was formed in 1973 by keyboardist Michael "Ibo" Cooper & guitarist Steven "Cat" Coore. Both were members of Inner Circle. They brought bassist Richard Daley with them along with percussionist Irvin "Carrot" Jarrett, singer Milton "Prilly" Hamilton and drummer Cornell Marshall. Because they were a self contained band, they had difficulty getting a record contract in Jamaica. So they went to England, signed with Island Records and went on tour with Bob Marley & The Wailers. Their 1977 album 96 Degrees In The Shade introduced new drummer Willie "Roots" Stewart & new lead singer William Clarke. Third World had a big R & B hit in 1979 with the O'Jays song Now That We've Found Love. At the 1981 Reggae Sunsplash festival, Stevie Wonder joined them on stage to perform Master Blaster. He liked them enough to write & produce a couple of songs for their next album. Try Jah Love was one of those songs and was a big R & B hit in 1982. Though Third World is categorized as reggae, Try Jah Love is more of an R & B song. They've strayed from reggae over the years and caught a lot of flack from purists. I find their music is uneven in quality but they are capable of great music and Third World is still around. Their most recent CD is 2005's Black Gold and Green. Try Jah Love is great summer music. Here's is Third World performing Try Jah Love at the 1983 Reggae Sunsplash festival.

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