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Desmond Dekker
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Desmond Dekker (b.July 16, 1941. d.May 25, 2006), was a Jamaican ska and reggae singer and songwriter. Together with his backing group, The Aces (consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard), he had the first international Jamaican hit, 
Israelites. Other hits include 007 (Shanty Town) (1967) and It Mek (1968). Before the ascent of Bob Marley, Dekker was the best-known Jamaican musician outside of his country, and one of the most popular within it.
Early days
He was born Desmond Adolphus Dacres in St. Andrew, Jamaica and grew up in Kingston, where he attended the Alpha Boys’ School. After his mother took ill and died, his father moved him to St. Mary’s, and then to St. Thomas, where he apprenticed as a tailor before returning to Kingston and taking a job as a welder, singing around his workplace while his co-workers encouraged him. In 1961 he auditioned for Coxsone Dodd (Studio One) and Duke Reid (Treasure Isle). Neither were impressed by his talents, and the young man moved on to Leslie Kong’s Beverley record label, where he auditioned before Derrick Morgan, then the label’s biggest star.
Early recording career
With Morgan’s support, Dekker was signed but did not record until 1963 because Leslie Kong wanted to wait for the perfect song, which “Honour Your Father and Mother” was felt to be.
Israelites. Other hits include 007 (Shanty Town) (1967) and It Mek (1968). Before the ascent of Bob Marley, Dekker was the best-known Jamaican musician outside of his country, and one of the most popular within it.Early days
He was born Desmond Adolphus Dacres in St. Andrew, Jamaica and grew up in Kingston, where he attended the Alpha Boys’ School. After his mother took ill and died, his father moved him to St. Mary’s, and then to St. Thomas, where he apprenticed as a tailor before returning to Kingston and taking a job as a welder, singing around his workplace while his co-workers encouraged him. In 1961 he auditioned for Coxsone Dodd (Studio One) and Duke Reid (Treasure Isle). Neither were impressed by his talents, and the young man moved on to Leslie Kong’s Beverley record label, where he auditioned before Derrick Morgan, then the label’s biggest star.
Early recording career
With Morgan’s support, Dekker was signed but did not record until 1963 because Leslie Kong wanted to wait for the perfect song, which “Honour Your Father and Mother” was felt to be.
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Israelites
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Israelites: The Best Of Desmond Dekker
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Gold
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Top Tracks
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Israelites
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007 (Shanty Town)
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You Can Get It If You Really Want
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Pickney Gal
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Beautiful And Dangerous
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Unity
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Honour Your Mother And Father
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Sabotage
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Shoutbox
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Luba_Lvenok wrote:
I like it)))))
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KnowsMyMind wrote:
beautiful
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jinxnscooter wrote:
the absolute icon/iconic person in "rocksteady" dearly missed r.i.p. desmond
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DrSikor wrote:
lol Desmond ADOLPHUS Dacres. the coolest Adolph ever i guess, respect
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saranellas wrote:
bravissimo..
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vmasud wrote:
Beautiful music, it puts me at peace
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teddyrubmyskin wrote:
Not a rude boy, but can totally agree on tunes like these!
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Tvistyyy wrote:
♥ ♥
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Himmelhost wrote:
Israelites is damn catchy!
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mathanretik wrote:
oh ohhhh sevennnnnn
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thegreatgrigsby wrote:
Happy birthday!
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chiftelos wrote:
come back, oh baby come back!
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Tickserliese wrote:
oarh i love it ...so damn classic and genious
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thatianah wrote:
PERFECT.
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robertfjr wrote:
I was surprised to see no shouts on Dekker's Fu Man Chu!! My favorite of his songs.
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scalamalx wrote:
...on a stick...
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PxUnit wrote:
Uhg, I finally got good versions of Desmond Dekker songs. I had ones that had a bunch of white space between the songs that they wouldn't scrobble. My grandmother loves this guy, hah. Especially Israelites.
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Psycho_Benny wrote:
genial
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puella_1906 wrote:
Israelites <3 I love this song.
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Delikatesike wrote:
good. very good!
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Recent Activity
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ZiFF33, xMAKAVELLEx, Sangreaal and 4 other people added Desmond Dekker to their libraries. 10 hours ago
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neorxna_wong tagged Desmond Dekker with roots reggae and reggae. Wednesday afternoon
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petic wrote about Desmond Dekker in My Jamaican compilation. Tuesday morning
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buracosnacidade tagged Desmond Dekker with jamaican reggae, jamaican ska, black music and 12 other tags. Saturday morning
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piadepredio tagged Desmond Dekker with rocksteady and ska. Friday evening
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