Daily noise that works faster and harder than any stimulant

18 April 2023

Soul/ska/reggae artist DESMOND DEKKER was born Desmond Adolphus Dacres
in Kingston, Jamaica 16 July 1941 and passed away in England, on 25 May 2006,
aged 64.

His most famous cracker ISRAELITES occupied
the top seat of the UK Charts 55 years ago today.

The song’s title has been the source of speculation but most settle on
the Rastafarian Movement‘s association with the Twelve Tribes of Israel. In
the 1960s, Jamaican Rastafarians were largely marginalized as “cultish” and
ostracized from the larger society, including by the more conservative Christian
church in Kingston. Destitute (“slaving for bread“) and unkempt (“Shirt them a-tear
up, trousers is gone”), some Rastafarians were tempted to a life of crime (“I don’t
want to end up like Bonnie and Clyde”). The song is a lament of this condition.

“Get up in the morning, slaving for bread sir
So that every mouth can be fed
Poor me Israelites, ah”

DESMOND DEKKER: Bio – Discography