Desmond Dekker

[Ron Phillipchuk]

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1= Israelites
2= You Can Get It If You Really Want


Desmond Dekker (16 July 1941 – 25 May 2006) was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group the Aces (consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard), he had one of the earliest international reggae hits with "Israelites" (1968). Other hits include "007 (Shanty Town)" (1967), "It Mek" (1969) and "You Can Get It If You Really Want" (1970).

Early life
Desmond Adolphus Dacres was born in Saint Andrew Parish (Greater Kingston), Jamaica, on 16 July 1941. Dekker spent his formative years in Kingston. From a young age he regularly attended the local church with his grandmother and aunt. This early religious upbringing, as well as Dekker's enjoyment of singing hymns, led to a lifelong religious commitment.

Following his mother's death, he moved to the parish of St. Mary and later to St. Thomas. While at St. Thomas, Dekker embarked on an apprenticeship as a tailor before returning to Kingston, where he became a welder. His workplace singing had drawn the attention of his co-workers, who encouraged him to pursue a career in music.[2] In 1961 he auditioned for Coxsone Dodd (Studio One) and Duke Reid (Treasure Isle), though neither audition was successful. The unsigned vocalist then auditioned for Leslie Kong's Beverley's record label and was awarded his first recording contract.


Career
Despite achieving a record deal, it was two years before Dekker saw his first record released. Eventually in 1963 Kong chose "Honour Your Mother and Father" (written by Dekker and the song that Dekker had sung in his Kong audition two years earlier), which became a Jamaican hit and established Dekker's musical career.

This was followed by the release of the tracks "Sinners Come Home" and "Labour for Learning". It was during this period that Desmond Dacres adopted the stage-name of Desmond Dekker. His fourth hit, "King of Ska" (backing vocals by The Cherrypies, also known as The Maytals), made him into one of the island's biggest stars.

Dekker then recruited four brothers, Carl, Patrick, Clive and Barry Howard, as his permanent backing vocalists to perform with him under the name Desmond Dekker and The Aces.
The new group recorded a number of Jamaican hits, including "Parents", "Get Up Edina", "This Woman" and "Mount Zion". The themes of Dekker's songs during the first four years of his career dealt with the moral, cultural and social issues of mainstream Jamaican culture: respect for ones parents ("Honour Your Mother and Father"), religious morality ("Sinners Come Home") and education ("Labour for Learning").

In 1967 he appeared on Derrick Morgan's "Tougher Than Tough", which helped begin a trend of popular songs commenting on the rude boy subculture which was rooted in Jamaican ghetto life where opportunities for advancement were limited and life was economically difficult. Dekker's own songs did not go to the extremes of many other popular rude boy songs, which reflected the violence and social problems associated with ghetto life, though he did introduce lyrics that resonated with the rude boys, starting with one of his best-known songs, "007 (Shanty Town)".

The song established Dekker as a rude boy icon in Jamaica and also became a favourite dance track for the young working-class men and women of the United Kingdom's mod scene. "007 (Shanty Town)" was a Top 15 hit in the UK and his UK concerts were attended by a large following of mods wherever he played.


Dekker continued to release rude boy songs such as "Rude Boy Train" and "Rudie Got Soul", as well as mainstream cultural songs like "It's a Shame", "Wise Man", "Hey Grandma", "Unity", "If It Pays", "Mother's Young Girl", "Sabotage" and "Pretty Africa".  Many of the hits from this era came from his debut album, 007 (Shanty Town).
In 1968 Dekker's "Israelites" was released, eventually topping the UK Singles Chart in April 1969 and peaking in the Top Ten of the US Billboard Hot 100 in June 1969. Dekker was the first Jamaican artist to have a hit record in the US with a form and style that was purely Jamaican.

That same year saw the release of "Beautiful and Dangerous", "Writing on the Wall", "Music Like Dirt (Intensified '68)" (which won the 1968 Jamaica Independence Festival Song Contest), "Bongo Girl" and "Shing a Ling".  1969 saw the release of "It Mek", which became a hit both in Jamaica and the UK.  Dekker also released "Problems" and "Pickney Gal", both of which were popular in Jamaica, although only "Pickney Gal" managed to chart in the UK Top 50.

In 1969 Dekker took permanent residency in the UK.

[montage]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxtfdH3-TQ4



"Israelites" is a song written by Desmond Dekker and Leslie Kong that became a hit for Dekker's group, Desmond Dekker & The Aces, peaking in 1969.

Although few could understand all the lyrics, the single was the first UK reggae number one and among the first to reach the US top ten (peaking at 9th).

It combined the Rastafarian religion with rude boy concerns,  to make what has been described as a "timeless masterpiece that knew no boundaries".

[montage]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VGkmPF1CNo


"You Can Get It If You Really Want" is a famous late rocksteady song written and performed by the Jamaican reggae singer songwriter Jimmy Cliff. It was famously used in the 1972 film The Harder They Come. A version was recorded by Jamaican singer Desmond Dekker,becoming a hit in its own right as a single released in a number of markets, reaching number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. It was classified as number 27 on the 1970 Year-end Chart in the UK.

The UK's Jamaican origin reggae band The Cimarons released it as a single in 1974.

The song has been covered by a great number of artists including by Italian pop singer Sabrina (Sabrina Salerno) in her 1991 album Over the Pop and by Stiff Little Fingers on their 1999 album Hope Street where the song is retitled "You Can Get It (If Yu Really Want It)".

French singer Johnny Hallyday T'as le bonjour de l'amour realesed on his album Hollywood in 1979.

In 1990, the song was used in the cd "Sebastian from The Little Mermaid" as most of the songs were performed by Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian the crab. Wright also performed this version in Sebastian's Caribbean Jambore.

The Jimmy Cliff version was used in the soundtrack of the 1997 film Speed 2: Cruise Control.
Cliff version was used as a musical number in the inaugural episode of the British television musical comedy drama serial Blackpool whereas the Desmond Dekker version was also used in the soundtrack of the 2010 British film Made in Dagenham.

Jimmy Cliff included his own version of the song on his 2004 compilation album Reggae Night. The Dekker version on the other hand was included in the triple-disc compilation album released Now That's What I Call Reggae in June 2012.