John Lennon on How Reggae Shifted the Culture of British Music
TL;DR:
- John Lennon liked the classic reggae song “Israelites” by Desmond Dekker and the Aces.
- He said it was an example of the funky music that skinheads embraced in the late 1960s.
- “Israelites” was a top 10 hit once in the United States and twice in the United Kingdom.
John Lennon was a fan of a classic reggae song. In addition, he said the song’s success represented how much listeners’ musical tastes had changed since the early 1960s. Notably, John felt that the popularity of reggae could be a force for good.
John Lennon was a fan of the classic reggae song ‘Israelites’
The book Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon includes an interview from 1969. In it, John discussed the musical tastes of skinheads, referencing the subculture of largely working-class British men that rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s.
“They’ve got some good music going, the skinheads,” he said. “They go for that reggae beat, West Indian thing. It started off as blue beat a few years ago, but it’s gotten a bit more subtle now. And it’s pretty funky stuff now. I think ‘Israelites’ [by Desmond Dekker and the Aces] is one that made it in the States, and there’s some pretty good music coming out in the West Indies.”
The Beatles explained why reggae’s popularity could be a force for good in the world
John Lennon said reggae’s popularity among skinheads showed Britain’s musical tastes had shifted since The Beatles’ early days. “When Beatlemania was on, we had mods and rockers, and they’re not around now,” he said. “The mentality is always there, and the skinheads are grooving.”
John said he was a fan of the modern reggae scene. He hoped that genre could build bridges between people of different cultures. Despite this, he admitted his vision might be naive.
How ‘Israelites’ performed on the pop charts in the United States and the United Kingdom
John Lennon’s reggae appreciation mirrored the charts. “Israelites” became a big hit in the United States. It reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was an incredible feat for a reggae song at the time. Notably, it was a hit on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time The Beatles’ “Get Back” was on the charts.
According to The Official Charts Company, “Israelites” was even more popular in the United Kingdom. There, “Israelites” became Desmond Dekker and the Aces’ only No. 1 single. The song topped the U.K. chart for one week in 1969 and stayed on the chart for 15 weeks in total. The tune re-charted at No. 10 in 1975 and remained on the chart for another nine weeks.
The tune appeared on the album The Israelites. That album never charted in the U.K. However, Desmond Dekker and the Aces managed to have several other hit singles in the U.K., including “It Miek,” “Sing a Little Song,” and “You Can Get It If You Really Want,” becoming reggae legends in the process.
“Israelites” is an important song in the history of reggae music and it even impressed John.
