Talk:Desmond Dekker

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[edit] Importance in History

I once heard that "Israelites" was the first ever reggae song to be in the US Top 40. Anyone know if this is true? If so, it ought to be mentioned, no? Sholom 18:41, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Now done. Derek R Bullamore 15:45, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

No, The First Reggae song Was "Do the Reggay" by The Maytals. BareNakedMike 19:15, June 5 (UTC)

"Do the Reggay" by The Maytals. The first reggae song in the US Top 40 ? Really, because that counteracts what I have read. Probably the first song with the word 'raggay' / 'reggae' in the lyric, more like. Tell us more, please.

Derek R Bullamore 21:13, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

Technically speaking, "Israelites" was the first-ever reggae song to hit the US Top 40, because earlier songs weren't "reggae." (I think "My Boy Lollipop" might have charted in the U.S., and maybe "Jamaica Ska"--I avoided making any pronouncements about chart positions in my essay because the information on these figures is notoriously error-ridden.) "Do the Reggay" never reached the American charts, so far as I know, and I'm not even sure if it came out before "Israelites"--both were issued in 1968 in Jamaica. If it's important, I'll try to track down all the chart information on Dekker's songs, but the only reliable source in America requires a subscription to Billboard.

By the way, I made one correction to this entry: I changed Dekker's birthplace to where he was born. See interview linked in my essay. Thanks for doing this. -- Pete Scholtes