More Info on The MelodiansSimilar Undetermined MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
Refimprove|date=December 2010 The Melodians were a rocksteady band formed in the Greenwich Town area of Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston , Jamaica in 1965, by Tony Brevett ( nephew of The Skatalites bassist , Lloyd Brevett ),cite web|url= http://www.erasingclouds.com/0204skat.html |title=erasing clouds |publisher=erasing clouds |date= |accessdate=2012-04-16 Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton. Renford Cogle assisted with songwriter|writing and arrangement|arranging material.
Career
In 1966 The Melodians made their sound recording and reproduction|recording debut with Coxsone Dodd 's Studio One (record label)|Studio One record label|label with the releases "Lay It On" "Meet Me", "I Should Have Made It Up" and "Let's Join Hands (Together)." From 1967 to 1968 they had a number of hit record|hits on Duke Reid 's Treasure Isle record label|label , including "You Have Caught Me", "Expo 67", "I'll Get Along Without You", and "You Don't Need Me." After recording "Swing and Dine" for record producer Sonia Pottinger , they recorded their biggest hit, " Rivers of Babylon " for Leslie Kong . This song became an anthem of the Rastafarian movement, and was featured on the The Harder They Come (soundtrack)|soundtrack for the film|movie , The Harder They Come .cite book | first= John | last= Tobler | year= 1992 | title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years | edition= 1st | publisher= Reed International Books Ltd | location= London | page= 242 | id= CN 5585 After Kong's death in 1971, they recorded for Lee "Scratch" Perry|Lee Perry and Byron Lee 's Dynamic Studios. In 1973, Brent Dowe left the group for a solo (music)|solo career. The group reformed briefly a few years later, and again in the early 1980s.
Band revival
The Melodians regrouped again in the 1990s as part of the roots reggae|roots roots revival|revival and continue to perform and record. In 1992 they recorded "Song of Love", which was issued on the Tappa Zukie label. Throughout the later 1990s they continued concert tour|touring internationally, including appearing at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in California in 2002. In November 2005 The Melodians embarked on a West Coast of the United States|West Coast tour.
On the evening of 28 January 2006, after a rehearsal in preparation for a performance to take place the following weekend at the Jamaican Prime Minister’s residence, Brent Dowe suffered a fatal myocardial infarction|heart attack at the age of 59. The remaining original members Tony Brevett and Trevor McNaughton continued touring in Europe and the United States|U.S. backed by the Yellow Wall Dub Squad.
