Burning Spear’s Birthday
Tomorrow is the birthday of reggae musician Winston Rodney who records under the name Burning Spear. He may be best known for his 1975 album Marcus Garvey about the Jamaican activist who died in 1940. Burning Spear is often credited with keeping Garvey’s memory from falling into obscurity by using music to remind Jamaicans about one of their greatest writers and orators.
Burning Spear has released some 30 albums since 1971. His most recent album, Jah Is Real, was released in 2008 and won a Grammy. I’ve only recently come around to really listening to and appreciating this great music, and I’m glad I’ve been paying attention.
Here’s a more recent video performance of the “Marcus Garvey” title track.
