1976 sure was an unusual year for popular music. So many changes were taking place that it was impossible to predict what might happen next.

Was rock and roll growing up or was it dying? Was it becoming ‘sophisticated’ (i.e., ‘yacht rock’), or maybe it was dying (i.e., the onset of ‘punk’ rock)? Was the ‘southern rock’ trend and/or the ‘glitter’ trend now obsolete? If so, why did everything seem to be losing its relevance at the same time? And if everything as we knew it was turning into a jumbled mess of obsolescence, where did this leave us?

Just a few years earlier, it would have been a safe bet to say that reggae music was, at best, destined to remain on the periphery of America’s musical interests. Yet, by 1976, Bob Marley somehow landed on the top 10 album charts! Only in 1976 could a third world cultural music style become one of the hottest commercial sounds on American radio.

Perhaps it happened because there was a musical void as large as a chasm, or maybe it happened because reggae - Bob Marley in particular – filled a void that we barely recognized. Through Marley, music felt like it had a purpose, both politically and philosophically, which speaks volumes compared to what the vapid commercial rock and roll status quo stood for. In comparison, finding truth and real meaning in pop music made a haystack needle seem like a trend. Bob Marley fixed that with a heart that rang true and music that resounded his spirit. As it turned out, 1976 wasn’t so bad after all.

Feature Tracks:

Positive Vibrations

Root, Rock, Reggae

Johnny Was

Cry to Me

Want More

Crazy Baldhead

Who the cap Fit

Night Shift

War

April 1976 - Billboard Charted #8