Music Records

Studio One is one of Jamaica’s most renowned record labels and recording studios, having been described as “the Motown of Jamaica.”

Studio One was involved with most of the major music movements in Jamaica during the 1960s and 1970s, including ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub and dancehall. The label was founded by Clement “Coxsone” Dodd in 1954, and the first recordings were cut in 1957 on Brentford Road in Kingston. Amongst its earliest records were “Easy Snappin’” by Theophilus Beckford, backed by Clue J and his Blues Blasters, and “This Man is Back” by trombonist Don Drummond. Dodd had previously issued music on a series of other labels, including World Disc, and had run Sir Coxsone the Downbeat, one of the largest and most reputable sound systems in the Kingston ghettos. The label and studio were closed when Dodd relocated to New York City in the 1980s.

Studio One has recorded and released music by (and had a large hand in shaping the careers of) artists such as The Skatalites, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Burning Spear, Toots & the Maytals, John Holt, Horace Andy, Ken Boothe, Freddie McGregor, Dennis Brown, Jackie Mittoo, Gladiators, Michigan & Smiley, Wailing Souls, Dillinger, Delroy Wilson, Heptones, Johnny Osbourne, Marcia Griffiths (of the I-Threes), Sugar Minott, The Abyssinians, Culture, Soul Vendors, Lone Ranger, and Alton Ellis. Noted rival Prince Buster began his career working for Dodd’s sound system, and the record producer Harry J recorded many of his best-known releases at Studio One.

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When recording music at home, use an electric condenser microphone and a pop filter to get the highest possible quality for vocals. Get a few tips on home recording with helpful information from a professional audio producer in this free video on recording music.

Expert: Gary Vandy
Contact: www.studiocentermiami.com
Bio: Gary Vandy of garvandy.com, has been doing professional audio production for more than 35 years, earning many gold and platinum album awards.
Filmmaker: Paul Muller

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(1982)

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From the 1981 LP: “I Love Rock ‘N Roll”
(Boardwalk NB1-33243)

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Take a brief tour of United Record Pressing plant in Nashville, Tennessee where company President, Cris Ashworth, explains how “music gets put onto a round piece of plastic.”

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An inside look at Reclaim Media’s (www.ReclaimMedia.com) analog-to-digital conversion and the fine people who make it happen. See behind the scenes of the KCRW Save The Music vinyl digitization project and other projects.

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I collect vinyl records for my music now and I have noticed on many occasions a hole has been punched right through the record’s cover.
Why was this done to record covers?

Have you ever heard of a cutout bin. For example, "look at that crappy boy band, I give them two years, then it’s the cut out bin!" Well, record labels take back things that don’t sell after a while, and something has to be done with the albums. The label would usually cut a very short slit in the records’s jacket, though they’d sometimes take a holepunch-type device to the cover. They also did this to casettes and CDs. Then, they’d go out to other stores to be sold againl. Think of it as tagging something as a refurb; it notes that its undesirable or a weak seller, and not intended to be sold at the regular price or EVER sent back to the record company. That’s part of it- they just didn’t want them back in exchange for other merchandise.

If you’re curious, I have more than a few LPs and cassettes like this; lots of promos, too. Now for the mystery of why popular artists get cutout records, too. Perhaps its because the labels discontinuing a format or reissuing the album remastered or with different cover art? I think that’s it.

The Beatles Sgt. Pepper in depth record album cover discussion. Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison.

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Yes there are a few but mainly just for dance music. There’s Central Station records and I think it’s called BPM on Goulburn St. There’s also some second hand stores like Reefer (Crown St) or Red Eye.

Is it possible to record music on vinyl records at home. this would be very useful for DJ’s. any advice?

Afraid not. At one time there were disc cutting machines made for home use; these were fairly popular in the 1940’s and early fifties, but tape recorders wiped them out. They didn’t record on vinyl, but on acetate-coated aluminum discs. The sound quality was only fair, and, of course, monophonic. A newly-engineered disc cutter that would give results acceptable to today’s standards and at the same time be suitable for home use would cost a small fortune.