UNEARTHED ON VINYL: RARE RANDY’S SESSIONS THAT BUILT MODERN REGGAE
A revelatory survey of 1960s Jamaican music from Randy’s Record Mart arrives on vinyl for the first time, offering vinyl collectors a tangible piece of reggae history. 17 North Parade announces Randy’s 50th Anniversary: Reggae Anthology – Chapter One, a landmark double LP chronicling Vincent ‘Randy’ Chin’s groundbreaking productions from 1960 to 1971.
These recordings laid the foundation for modern reggae and dancehall powerhouse VP Records.
The compilation traces Jamaican music’s evolution through an extraordinary era. Lord Creator’s independence anthem Independent Jamaica kicks things off with joyful ska energy.
The tracklist reads like a who’s who: Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Toots & The Maytals, The Skatalites, John Holt, and Alton Ellis all feature.
First issued on CD in 2008, this collection of rare recordings now receives the vinyl treatment it deserves. This first volume of a two-part anthology series comes complete with extensive sleeve notes by Blood & Fire’s Steve Barrow, alongside inner sleeves featuring rare photographs.
ITS TRACKLIST READS LIKE A WHO’S WHO: BOB MARLEY, PETER TOSH AND JOHN HOLT ALL FEATURE
Vincent Chin opened his first shop in 1958 using salvaged jukebox records. By 1961, he’d moved to 17 North Parade in downtown Kingston. Seven years later, he opened a studio above the shop. That modest venture eventually became VP Records, now based in New York.
Randy’s 50th Anniversary Reggae Anthology preserves the raw energy of downtown Kingston in one of its most fertile periods. These tracks from its opening chapter capture the spontaneity, studio experimentation, and pure creative voltage that transformed local sound system culture into a global force. This is where it all began.
CHAPTER ONE TRACKLIST
SIDE A
1. Independent Jamaica – Lord Creator
2. Let Me Dream – Alton & Eddie
3. Since You’re Gone – Roy & Paulette
4. Rico Special – Rico Rodriguez
5. We Will Be Lovers – Norma Fraser & Lord Laro
6. Don’t Stay Out Late – Lord Creator
SIDE B
1. Goodbye Peggy Darling – Roy Panton
2. Make Hay – Cornell Campbell
3. Royal Charlie – Charlie Organaire
4. Blow Roland Blow – Joanne Gordon & R. Alphonso
5. Portrait of My Love – Baba Brooks
6. Malcolm X – The Skatalites
SIDE C
1. Mouth A Massy – Alton Ellis
2. Rum Bumpers – John Holt & Alton Ellis
3. John and James – The Maytals
4. Yagga Yagga – Delroy Byfield
5. Machine Shop – Don Drummond
6. Home Home Home – Stranger & Ken
7. Such Is Life – Lord Creator
SIDE D
1. Sugar Sugar – Bob Marley & The Wailers
2. You Can’t Fool Me Again – Peter Tosh
3. Wha She Do Now – The Gaylads
4. Warfare – Count Matchuki
5. End Dust – Impact All Star
6. True Man – The Ethiopians
ABOUT 17 NORTH PARADE
17 North Parade serves as the archival heartbeat of Randy’s legacy. Named after the original Kingston shop address, the imprint reissues vault tapes, alternate takes, and unreleased mixes documenting ska’s evolution into roots and dub.
Releases showcase producers like Clive Chin and Lee “Scratch” Perry alongside Soul Syndicate sessions, capturing the spontaneous cross-pollination and tape echo experiments that defined Randy’s Studio during Kingston’s most creative period.
