Peter Tosh- The Freedom Fighter.
Jamaican popular music has rarely stood still. Surviving and thriving on the crest of a wave, it’s hardly stagnant. Working the handful of committed producers that forged the music into new directions. Jamaica has exceeded all expectations of a small country, which harbors such an array of music on the musical practices that are popular around the globe. I even heard the melodic harmonies of Bob Marley and The Wailers a village near Kolkata. Formally Calcutta in India.
No doubt you have listened to Bob Marley and the Wailers. In your wildest dreams have you ever thought of PeterTosh, as the driving force behind scenes.?
“Peter Tosh was preaching against powerful forces and societal brainwashing and misinformation. The so called downpressorman or Babylon. He fought against these forces, with bravado, undaunting passion, and an arrogant open style that many people did not know how to deal with. He had a strong conviction of what he viewed as right and wrong. When he saw something as unjustified watch out. He attacked his viewed oppressors with the veracity of an attack dog. As reggae artist of international superstar status, this was a dangerous thing, because he reached the masses.” https://debate.uvm.edu/dread.”He also found the true power of the word “Bumbaclot” as a way to counteract the powerful demons and evil spirits of Whites and a cadre of light skinned blacks as oppressors.
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
||||
| 1976 | Legalize It
|
200 | – | ||
| 1978 | Equal Rights
|
137 | – | ||
| 1978 | Bush Doctor
|
123 | – | ||
| 1979 | Mystic Man
|
104 | – | ||
| 1981 | Wanted Dread and Alive
|
91 | 40 | ||
| 1983 | Mama Africa
|
59 | 49 | ||
| 1987 | No Nuclear War
|
– | – | ||
| “—” denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||
Creative and productive, the late Peter Tosh has left a very powerful legacy.
The Wailing Wailers recorded more than 30 sides for Sir Coxsone Dodd, (Reggae Royalty.) Tosh and other reggae artists it went beyond reggae music to rise up against the conditions in the so-called ‘Third World.’
In the book Reggae Bloodlines: In Search of the Music and Culture of Jamaica, Stephen Davis and Peter Simon cited: Tosh for his “brilliant musical charisma,” noting that the singer-songwriter was more radical than [reggae icon], and some scholars of the music believe that ultimately Tosh will be remembered longer.”
In the 60s all the Wailers turned to Rastafarianism, a somewhat mystical belief in which Rastas believe in “Babylon.” An end to the oppressive White rulers. In Great Britain, The Wailers caused a stir (singing songs) as did the whole world.
In 1969 Lee “Scratch” Perry decided to work with the Wailers. He engineered their first albums, Soul Rebel and African Herbsman. It was his decision to accent Marley’s vocals and reducing Tosh’s contributions, to merely harmonizing. Tosh was featured, however, on the songs “400 Years,” an attack on slavery, “No Sympathy,”and “Downpresser.”
Then we have an the incident with exploiter, Chris Blackwell whose ‘Island label’ was alarmed when he was also relegated to play second fiddle to Bob Marley. This was beyond the pale.
Tosh makes his point simple,
As he says in his own word, “a man of the past, living in the present, walking in the future.” In addition to that, Bob Marley was the preferred candidate because of his complexion that was much lighter than that of Peter Tosh. To make White folks more comfortable. Bob Marley went from natty dreadlocks to a more acceptable imagery of actual dreadlocks. Natty dreads were more menacing than actual dreadlocks.