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Why Reggae Won't Be the Next Big Thing

Wayne Robins, The Village Voice, 16 December 1974

FOR A WHILE it appeared that reggae was Pop Salvation. This was determined by a small number of white music taste makers who'd seen Jimmy Cliff in that tale of a young Jamaican's rise to number one on both the record charts and the most wanted list, The Harder They Come. The soundtrack introduced a new kind of black music that combined the impact of rock n roll and the innate vitality of the blues with a culture that held dope smoking as a near sacrament. Big name rock musicians began looking for spice in the studios of Kingston, making it virtually certain that the "Jamaican Sound" would be the sound of the '70s. It hasn't happened.

Total word count of piece: 1684

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