ROLL IS CALLED: TENOR SAW’S ENDURING DANCEHALL LEGACY
The great Jamaican emcee Tenor Saw’s prophetic anthem Roll Is Called envisions the glory of a dance in the afterlife. In it, he calls out the greats of his craft who had gone before him. The legendary rhythm section of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare laid down their distinctive groove on this timeless track.
Tragically, a hit-and-run driver cut short the life of Tenor Saw in Texas in 1989. Yet, his brief career had an outsized impact on the transition of Jamaican music from reggae to dancehall. Meanwhile, hits like Ring The Alarm, Roll Is Called, and Lots Of Sign have endured across four decades.
Musically, the artist had one foot planted firmly in the reggae tradition while keeping a streetwise ear to the culture of the moment. Similarly, his personal style perpetuated the iconography of the ’60s rudeboys before him. Like Derrick Morgan and Laurel Aiken, he revived the signature throwback bowler hat.
SAW HAD AN OUTSIZED IMPACT ON JAMAICAN MUSIC’S TRANSITION TO DANCEHALL
Now, VP Records has sourced a master mix of Roll Is Called from a 15-inch-per-second tape. The release includes the rare Sly & Robbie dub version, plus an extended edit to keep the dance rocking. Notably, this archive series draws from VP’s 40,000-track vault, processed using state-of-the-art high-definition conversion technology.
At the time, producer George Phang’s Power House label owned the 1980s Jamaican scene. Ultimately, the label captured the raw energy of dancehall’s sparser sound and launched a generation of fresh talent as Jamaica moved from analogue warmth to digital fire.
ABOUT TENOR SAW
Tenor Saw blazed through dancehall like a comet. Clive Bright arrived in Kingston in 1966 and soon emerged as digital reggae reshaped Jamaica’s sound. Then his 1985 breakthrough Ring the Alarm became an instant anthem. He voiced classics like Pumpkin Belly and Lots of Sign.
A hit-and-run claimed his life in 1988, at just 21. However, his compact catalogue remains essential, influencing generations from Buju Banton to Sizzla.
