The Mighty Upsetter dub show, Flog, Firenze, Italy, 2009

The Upsetters was the name given to the house band for Jamaican reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. The name of the band comes from Perry's nickname of Upsetter, after his song "I Am the Upsetter", a musical dismissal of his former boss Coxsone Dodd.

History

The Upsetters were originally Gladdy's All-Stars, led by pianist Gladstone Anderson, and it was they who originally recorded the international hits "Live Injection" and "Return of Django". The double A-side release of "Return of Django" / "Dollar in the Teeth", peaked at No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1969.[1] When other commitments prevented the All Stars from participating, another band named The Hippy Boys were recruited to do the subsequent tour in the United Kingdom. This line-up remained the studio band that is most associated with the name, going on to eventually form the nucleus of Bob Marley's backing band The Wailers.[2]

The band included guitarist Alva Lewis, organist Glen Adams and brothers Aston "Family Man" Barrett and Carlton Barrett, on bass guitar and drums respectively. Under Lee "Scratch" Perry's direction, the band backed Bob Marley on a full-time basis, especially on the albums Soul Rebels and Soul Revolution Part II.[3]

By 1972 the Barrett brothers had joined The Wailers and Scratch brought in other musicians to replace them. The main Black Ark Upsetters became Boris Gardiner (bass), Mikey Richards, Sly Dunbar, Benbow Creary (drums), Earl "Chinna" Smith (guitar), Winston Wright (keyboards) and Keith Sterling (keyboards).

Discography

Albums
Contributing artist

References

  1. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 576. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. ↑ The Upsetters at Discogs.com
  3. ↑ Talevski, Nick (7 April 2010). Rock Obituaries: Knocking On Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857121172.
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