Curtis Mayfield's Last Concert Performance - NICE ONE!

This is a beautiful show from one of American Music History's BEST Artists.  Sadly his FINAL concert but great performance to exit the stage with.


Curtis Mayfield  -  July 7, 1990 - Summerstage in Central Park

1. Superfly
2. Its Allright
3. I'm So Proud
4. Freddie's Dead
5. Pusherman
6. Billy Jack
7. We've Gotta Have Peace
8. People Get Ready
9. Give Me Your Love
10. band intros> Do Be Down
11. To Be Invisible
12. Don't Worry, If There's A Hell Below (We're All Gonna Go)
13. When Seasons Change
14. audience cheering & fade out

Curtis' last show ever.. On August 14, 1990, he became paralyzed from
the neck down when a lighting rig fell on top of him at a concert in
Brooklyn, NY. He died December 26, 1999 at the age of 57.

Enjoy this and zillions of great vibes at www.VitalVibes.com

RasJohnMon Calling ALL Reggae Music Fans in South Florida

Looks like South Florida is going to be the place for LIVE Reggae Music for a few weeks in early 2012.  The annual Marley Family Bash is taking place on Key Biscayne on March 3.  The weekend before you can catch Third World and Inner Circle at Knight Concert Hall in Miami.  BUT they saved the BIG Show for Last.  The finale of this trio of great Reggae Music shows will be on March 11 just west of Fort Lauderdale at the Central Broward Regional Park:  Ali Campbell's UB40 and Toots and The Maytals will headline a full day of music and food and fun in the sun.

UB40 must have hit South Florida sometime in the past because they have been everywhere over a career that has sold over 70 million records.  Ali Campbell is a founding member and lead singer on most of the band's many big hits.  Their version of "Red Red Wine" is probably the best known but they have a deep catalog of well established material with many of the hits remakes of classic Reggae tracks.  Great music and high energy performances have put them on the biggest stages in the world including their classic performance at LIVE 8.  Ali Campbell recently split off on his own seeking to freshen things up.  His new incarnation of UB40 brings renewed energy to the band's music and some choice new material.  Ali is one of the top champions of Reggae Music and it is going to be very exciting to see him here in a beautiful outdoor venue at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill.

If it was only Ali Campbell's UB40 it would be a great show but you also have one of the true icons of Reggae Music, Toots Hibbert (Toots and The Maytals) also performing.  Toots is a contemporary of Bob Marley and he is generally credited with naming the Reggae Music genre with his 1968 song "Do the Reggay".  His band's performance in the Jimmy Cliff movie, The Harder They Come, elevated him to International stardom and he has never stopped.  Recent years have seen the release of several big selling albums and his 2005 "True Love" won the Grammy for Best Reggae Album of the Year.  I have seen him at Reggae SumFest in Jamaica and a few years back at the Lagerado Music Festival just a few miles from where he will be playing on March 11.

Add to that massive invasion of talent all kinds of great food and craft vendors plus more BIG names in Reggae Music - you're going to be sorry if you miss this show.  Gates open at 12 noon on Sunday, March 11 and the music will start at 2pm.  If you are a fairly big Reggae Music fan you will know most of the other performers:  U-Roy, John Holt, Wailing Souls, Ambelique, Mical Rustle (the Ali Campbell of Grammy winner Black Uhuru), Dancehall Diva Lady Saw, Etana and The Code Red Band. Google any of these artists and you'll see, if you don't already know - this is BIG time.  IRIE Mon is all I can say!  It's happening and it's going to be right here, just a short drive from anywhere in South Florida - a whole day of body moving, uplifting, soulful, rockin' Roots Reggae!

Advance tickets are only $30 for the next couple of weeks - Ticketmaster.com has them.  Don't miss this show - it's going to be an awesome Sunday in the park.  Bring the whole family!  Kids under 12 are FREE - you probably won't be able to find a more enjoyable day in the park the rest of the year!  See you there.

More info at www.IconsOfReggae.com.

Rockin with Toots & The Maytals

Toots and The Maytals have been really kicking it for the last few years and you can be lucky enough to catch them with Toots in top form in L.A. at the Key Club on May 16, 2010 just a couple of days before the release date of his new album - you couldn't ask for a better shot of drum and bass driven Reggae Music from a living legend!

“Flip & Twist” Toots latest album - released 4/20/2010 - features Toots singing, R and B, funk, gospel, blues and country in his own inimitable Jamaican style. Toots the inventor of the word “reggae” was voted by Rolling Stone Magazine one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time in 2009…when you hear “Flip & Twist” you will see why. Visit the site www.TootsAndTheMaytals.com to purchase and maybe even get a free track.

www.REGGAE.com has put up a really nice concert recording from The House of Blues in Chicago from April 2, 2010 - find it on the Toots Artist Feature page at www.REGGAE.com/artists/toots

Toots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are considered legends of ska and reggae music. Their sound is a unique, original combination of gospel, ska, soul, reggae and rock. Frederick “Toots” Hibbert, the leader of the group, was born in May Pen in the Parish of Clarendon, Jamaica. He was the youngest of seven children. He grew up singing gospel music in a church choir, but moved to Kingston in 1961 at the tender age of sixteen.

In Kingston, Hibbert met Henry “Raleigh” Gordon and Nathaniel “Jerry” McCarthy, forming a group whose early recordings were attributed to “The Flames” and, possibly, “The Vikings”. Having renamed the group the Maytals, the vocal trio recorded their first album, “Never Grow Old – presenting the Maytals”, for producer Clement “Coxsone” Dodd at Studio One in 1962-63. With musical backing from Dodd’s house band, the legendary Skatalites, the Maytals’ close-harmony gospel singing ensured instant success for the 1964 release, overshadowing Dodd’s other up-and-coming gospel trio, The Wailers. The original album augmented by studio out-takes from the Studio One sessions was re-released by Heartbeat/Rounder Records in 1997, and is essential listening for Maytals and Skatalites fans.

After staying at Studio One for about two years, the group moved on to do sessions for Prince Buster (released in 1974) before recording their second album produced by Byron Lee in 1965 . However, the band’s musical career was rudely interrupted in late 1966 when Hibbert was arrested and imprisoned on drugs possession charges.

Following Hibbert’s release from jail towards the end of 1967, the band officially changed their name to Toots and the Maytals and began working with Chinese-Jamaican producer Leslie Kong, a collaboration which produced three classic albums and a string of hits throughout the late sixties and early seventies – “Do the Reggay”, a 1968 single widely credited with coining the word reggae, “Pressure Drop”, “54-46 was my number” and “Monkey Man”, the group’s first international hit in 1970 . The group was featured in one of reggae’s greatest breakthrough events – The Harder They Come, the 1972 film and soundtrack starring Jimmy Cliff, named as one of Vanity Fair’s Top 10 Best Soundtracks of all time.

Following Kong’s death in 1971, the group continued to record with Kong’s former sound engineer, Warwick Lyn; produced by Lyn and Chris Blackwell of Island Records, the group released three best-selling albums, and enjoyed international hits with Funky Kingston in 1973 and Reggae Got Soul in 1976.

Toots and the Maytals’ compositions would be given a second airing in 1978-80 during the reggae-punk and ska revival period in the UK, when The Specials included “Monkey Man” on their 1979 debut album and The Clash produced their version of “Pressure Drop”. Having toured throughout the world for many years, Toots and the Maytals disbanded in the early 1980s, but reformed in the early 90s to continue touring and recording successfully. Sublime recorded cover versions of some Maytals songs in the 1990s as well.

The band recently won the 2005 Grammy award for best reggae album True Love, an album consisting of re-recorded versions of their classics alongside popular and legendary musicians such as Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, and Keith Richards, as well as popular artists today such as No Doubt, Ben Harper, The Roots, and Shaggy.

Toots and the Maytals remains a relevant influence on today’s global music scene with artists from Amy Winehouse to Sublime re-recording classic tracks. Toots recieved another Grammy nomination for his 2008 release “Light Your Light. In recent years Toots has toured with The Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow and Los Lonely Boys.

Always recording when not touring “Flip & Twist” will be release on 4/20/10 on Toot’s own D & F Music label. Look for Toots on the road spring and fall in the US and summer in Europe.

Third World on-line Rehearsal coming up May 8

THIRD WORLD BAND PERFORMS IN ANTIGUA DURING "SAILING WEEK!"


At 9:00 pm on Thursday, April 29, 2010, blue and red lights illuminate the streets as Antiguan police drove ahead of Third World Band, escorting them from their hotel to Shirley Heights where they were scheduled to perform at the "Sunset From The Heights" concert, one of the many activities planned for the 43rd Annual Sailing Week.

As the bus drove into the venue, which is perched on a hill and surrounded by beautiful blue water and lush greenery, the band was ushered to the back stage area. As they walked through the crowds, fans chanted "they are here," took pictures and clamored to touch their favorite band member. Once backstage the group prepared for their performance but not before autographing beach balls, which were provided by sponsor Ocean Potion, for fans.

Now 9:45pm, it was Showtime! The lights were dimed and the silent crowd, now realizing that the band was getting ready to go on, began clapping. Opening with "Feel A Little Better," the 4000+ voices at the venue sang along. Without pause they continued as the band sang "The Spirit Lives," a tribute to the people of Haiti. Long after the cameras have left the devastated country and people have return to "business as usual," the Reggae Ambassadors continue to honor the earthquake stricken country.

As the energy and temperature rose as they performed "96 Degrees" the signed beach balls were thrown into the crowd. While that was a pleasant surprise the highlight was when lead singer, Bunny Rugs brought on stage female reggae artists Nadine Sutherland, Timberlee and D'Angel - who attended the show to support the band - to assist in singing "Try Jah Love" and "Now That We Found Love." Also backstage enjoying the music was the Minister of Tourism, John Maginley.

The band wrapped up their performance with "Moving Up," leaving their fans with these encouraging words "we're moving up, Jah Jah children dem a moving up!"

Up next, the informal online only rehearsal which will be streamed live on www.ination.tv/thirdworldbandlive and www.thirdworld.com on Saturday, May 8, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. EST for Caribbean and U.S. audiences, and re-broadcast May 9, 2010 at 1:00 a.m. EST for audiences in Europe and Africa.

The live-streamed broadcast will feature the worldwide premiere of the video for their new single, "The Spirit Lives," a dedication to the people of Haiti and a preview of the making of the video for single "By My Side," featuring Tessanne Chin. Fans will also get a behind the scenes look at the band's rehearsal, receive information of their upcoming performances and more. As an added bonus, the band members will interact with fans via special chat rooms. Additionally, fans will be able to enter to win an all expense paid trip to Third World's December 27, 2010 concert in Kingston, Jamaica.