1972

THIS IS REGGAE MUSIC * ZAP POW * TROJAN 7941 * UK

Zap Pow: Dwight Pinkney, guitar, vocals; Max Edwards, drums; Mike Williams, bass; Glen DaCosta, tenor saxophone, vocals; Joe McCormack, trombone; and David Madden, trumpet, were all associated with the band which formed some time in 1969/70 primarily as an instrumental outfit.

They had a massive hit with the laid back This Is Reggae Music recorded at Harry J studios; it was released at a time when the general public in the West were getting used to hearing and buying the music that was being made in Jamaica, and the smooth, stylish sound of This Is Reggae Music helped the record reach a far wider audience than the more earthy sound of much of the Roots music also emerging from the Caribbean at the time.   

The song is a sophisticated tautology that is ostensibly a didactic introduction to Reggae music while simultaneously being the thing it describes.

When released as the title track to a 'sampler' Island LP of the same name This Is Reggae Music became popular cut with the growing section of the audience for Reggae music in the West and was subsequently reissued in by Island Records on their Blue Mountain imprint in 1973 (see below).

THIS IS REGGAE MUSIC * ZAP POW * BLUE MOUNTAIN 1027 * UK

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