|
|
| 1958 ~ |
| Place of Establishment |
Jamaica
Kingston
Ｎｏｒｔｈ Parade |
| Founder： |
Vincent 'Randy' Chin
|
| Co-founder： |
Patricia Chin
|
| Producer(s)： |
Vincent Randy Chin
Patricia Chin
|
| Engineer(s)： |
Graham Goodhall
|
| Main Studio(s) |
Randy's
Federal
|
|
|
|
|
Contrary to popular belief not everyone in Jamaica went to dances to hear the sound systems in the forties and fifties and, because very few people could afford radio sets, jukeboxes in Jamaica's bars, rum shops and ice cream parlours were always well stocked with rhythm & blues records. A businessman named Mr. Issa owned jukeboxes all over the island and one of his employees who collected the money and ensured that all the latest releases were featured on Mr Issa's jukeboxes was an enterprising young man named Vincent Chin(Vincent 'Randy' Chin).
In 1959 Vincent opened a small shop, named after Randy's Records in Gallatin, Tennessee, on the corner of East Street and Tower Street in downtown Kingston and started selling old records from the jukeboxes. The business expanded rapidly and, two years later, Randy's moved to new premises in Kingston's commercial district at 17 North Parade where Randy's Record Mart soon established itself as one of Jamaica's leading retail outlets. Vincent started to produce his own recordings and, in the summer of 1962, Jamaica declared its independence to the sound of Lord Creator's 'Independent Jamaica' produced by Vincent Chin and released on Randy's Creative Calypso label. Vincent also produced some superlative ska sides, including The Maytals' incredible tribute to Cassius Clay 'He's The Greatest', but for the rest of the decade he concentrated on his retail and wholesale interests and consolidated Randys reputation as Jamaica's foremost purveyor of music. If your record was not played in Randy's it was unlikely to be a hit and Vincent and his wife Pat played a vital role in the promotion and distribution of local "domestic and ethnic" product.
"Randy's was like the Jamaican Motown: we released people's tunes right, left and centre. If your tunes not distributed by Randy's it ain't going nowhere!" Clive Chin
In the spring of 1969 Vincent opened Randy's Studio 17 above the shop on North Parade and the first hit recording to come down the stairs was 'Them A Laugh And A Ki Ki' by The Reggae Boys (The Pioneers) for producer Joe Gibbs(Joel Gibson). It was not long before everyone who was anyone in Kingston's musical scene including Glen Brown(Glenmore Brown), Bob Marley & The Wailers, Niney The Observer(Winston 'Niney' Holness), Bunny Striker Lee, Augustus Pablo and Lee Perry began recording upstairs at Randys. The studio became a byword for roots rock rebel reggae and many of the music's most enduring classics from this period were recorded at 17 North Parade.
Kingston's musicians and artists would congregate outside Randy's shop (and in Chancery Lane at the side of the shop) waiting for the chance of a session or listening out to hear if their records were being played in the shop. Chancery Lane was such a popular meeting place for Kingston's musical fraternity that it became known as 'Idler's Rest' and Studio 17 was now known as the place where the hits were made. When Vincent's son Clive entered the family business Randy's began to make hits there too. Clive Chin's first hit production, a melodica instrumental entitled 'Java' from Horace 'Augustus Pablo' Swaby(Horace Swaby), was released on the Impact! Label and was voted 'Top Instrumental Record' for 1972. Clive and Pablo followed up 'Java' with one of the best debut albums ever made: 'This Is Augustus Pablo'.
Released on Impact! in a very limited pressing 'Java, Java, Java, Java', also known as 'Java Dub', was one of the first ever dub albums and was masterminded by Clive and mixed by Randy's resident engineer Errol Thompson. Errol was arguably the most gifted recording engineer in the history of Jamaican music. His technical and musical innovations were at the forefront of reggae's commercial breakthrough and his contribution to the sound of reggae can never be overstated. In 1975 Errol became one of 'The Mighty Two' when he moved to 24 Retirement Crescent to work with Joe Gibbs in his new sixteen track studio.
Apart from a short stay in America in 1975 making music at Randys was Clive's occupation. He produced records such as Alton Ellis' reworking of The Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose's 'Too Late To Turn Back Now' one of Alton's biggest ever hits, Dennis Brown's 'Cheater' and The African Brothers' 'Hold Tight'. Because of Randy's reputation and location he had first choice of Kingston's musicians for his recording sessions and would choose and use players from Skin, Flesh & Bones and The Soul Syndicate in combination with the Barrett brothers.
Carl Malcolm gave Randy's an uncharacteristic crossover hit in the autumn of 1975 when 'Fattie Bum Bum', one of three hit records he made with Clive, reached Number Eight in the U.K. National Charts. Carl's impassioned voice had been perfect for the role of lovelorn suitor on 'No Jestering' and he followed it up with 'Miss Wire Waist' which was just as fragile, just as good... and just as popular. The third record proved to be the biggest hit of all when it was picked up for English release on the UK label.
The studio closed down in 1978 when the Chin family moved to Queens in New York to set up VP (for Vincent & Pat) Records. Now the largest and most important reggae distributor and label in the world VP have been instrumental in making reggae music an integral part of the American musical vocabulary in the twenty first century. Clive is actively involved in VP's extensive reissue programme and the Randy's tradition continues in Kingston where the studio space is now used for retailing records. Randy's Record Mart and Studio 17 provided a central focal point for Jamaican music in the sixties and seventies and their role in the history of reggae can never been replaced. |
| Mar 25, 2010 Text by Harry Hawks
|
|
