The Meditations
are a reggae vocal harmony group from Jamaica formed in late 1974. They have released several studio albums and are still performing in the 2000s and today.
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THE MEDITATIONS TICKETS
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History
The Meditations were formed in late 1974, when Danny Clarke left
The Righteous Flames, recruiting Ansel Cridland (previously of The Linkers) and Winston Watson.
[1] After releasing singles credited to the individual members, they began recording as The Meditations in late 1976, shortly after which they released their biggest hit, "Woman Is Like a Shadow", which sold over 45,000 copies in its first month of release.
[2] They recorded in the mid-1970s for producers such as
Dobby Dobson,
Joseph Hoo Kim, and
Lee "Scratch" Perry, their righteously
Rastafarian style gaining comparisons with
The Mighty Diamonds.
Their first album,
Message From The Meditations
, was released in 1977.
The Meditations sang backing vocals on a number of
Bob Marley songs, including "Blackman Redemption," "Punky Reggae Party," and "Rastaman Live Up", as well as providing backing for
Gregory Isaacs,
Jimmy Cliff and
The Congos (on their
Heart of the Congos
album).
They appeared at the
One Love Peace Concert
in April 1978, officially a commemoration of the 12th anniversary of
Haile Selassie's state visit to
Jamaica, but more famous for the handshake between
Michael Manley and
Edward Seaga when they joined
Bob Marley on stage.
[5]
The Meditations 1983 album,
No More Friend
was produced by
Linval Thompson and featured
The Roots Radics, and saw them adapting to the prevailing
dancehall sound.
Cridland left the group, leaving Clarke and Watson to record 1988's
For The Good of Man
without him, but they were reunited for 1993's
Return of The Meditations
.
They have subsequently toured the
United States and
Europe. All three members are now based in the US - Clarke in
Phoenix, Arizona, Watson in
Seattle, Washington, and Cridland in
New York City.
Discography
Albums
- Message From The Meditations
(1977) Wild Flower (JA) / United Artists (US)
- Wake Up
(1978) Third World (UK) / Double-D (US/JA)
- Guidance
(1979) Tad's/Guidance
- No More Friend
(1983) Thompson Sound/Greensleeves
- For The Good of Man
(1988) Greensleeves
- Return of The Meditations
(1993) Sonic Sounds/Heartbeat
- Ghetto Knowledge
(1999) Easy Star
- I Love Jah
(2002) Wackies (recorded 1982)
- Stand In Love
(2004) 2Good / Meditations Music (US)
Compilations
- Greatest Hits
(1984) Shanachie/Greensleeves
- Deeper Roots: The Best of The Meditations
(1994) Heartbeat/Greensleeves
- Reggae Crazy: Anthology 1971-1979
(1997) Nighthawk
References
- The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae
- Germa, Romain & Maslowski, Nicolas (2007) ''Guidance'' sleeve notes from the Makasound release
- Reggae: The Rough Guide
- E A S Y S T A R * R E C O R D S
- Reggae & Caribbean Music