Sings Studio One And More

• Track Listing

Lascelles Perkins was one of the first stars of the Jamaican music scene, Studio One's leading balladeer, and one of the most underrated singers from that time. Perkins sang sentimental ballads and scored massive local hits for Coxsone Dodd's Studio One label with tracks like Lonely Moments and Together Forever. Other big hits followed, including The Mighty Organ (a duet with Hortense Ellis, Alton Ellis's sister), Destiny, and a whole catalog of standards. Perkins could sing any song, make it seem effortless, and, at the same time, address it in his own unique style. Perkins was present at the birth of Studio One, at the initial sessions carried out in 1959 alongside the other big singers of the day, Alton Ellis and Basil Gabbidon. The session took place at Federal Studios and, as was standard at the time, the studio had one mic hanging down in the middle of the room. The singer would be nearest to the mic, and the musicians, depending on how loud their instruments were, would place themselves accordingly in the room, recording everything together in a single take. The singers and the musicians would have to be at the top of their game and would be paid for each side they cut. Doing things over would mean fewer songs finished. Time and money was tight, but this discipline made the great records we know today. This set includes Perkins on some lost tapes from producer Bunny Lee's archive, singing some of the big Studio One hits of the day, including Rain from the Skies, Stick by Me, Love Me Forever, and No Man Is an Island, alongside other great tunes from the time like Dancing Mood, Pledging My Love, Take My Hand, Never Never, and Dinner for One. CD includes five bonus tracks.

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