Earth, Roots and Water was a Canadian reggae band from Toronto, Ontario, active in the 1970s. A house band for Summer Records, the group collaborated with several notable Jamaican reggae musicians.
Earth, Roots and Water | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1970s |
| Labels | Summer Records |
| Past members | Adrian "Homer" Miller Anthony "Base" Hibbert Colin "Zuba" Subban Matt Shelley Tony "KB" Moore |
History edit
Earth, Roots and Water was founded in the mid-1970s as a house band for Jerry Brown's Summer Records studio, built in the basement of his Malton, Ontario home.[1][2] The band was composed of Adrian "Homer" Miller (vocals), Anthony "Base" Hibbert (bass), Colin "Zuba" Subban (drums), Matt Shelley (guitar) and Tony "KB" Moore (keyboards).[1] The members were described as "mostly from Jamaica, but also a few Jamaicans from England and even one local kid."[2] The band provided a dub-heavy sound for several prominent reggae musicians, including Jackie Mittoo, King Jammy, Johnny Osbourne and Stranger Cole.[2][3][4]
In 1977, Earth, Roots and Water's album, Innocent Youths, was released on Summer Records.[3] Although only 500 pressings of the album were made, one copy was given to Sting when the band opened for The Police in Toronto.[2] As a live band, Earth, Roots and Water gained notoriety in Toronto's reggae and punk scenes.[3] In 1978, the band received recognition from Billboard, who called their sound "disco-reggae".[5]
In 2008, Light in the Attic Records released a remastered version of Innocent Youths, which received positive reviews from music critics.[2][3][4]
Discography edit
- Innocent Youths (1977)
References edit
- ^ a b "Earth, Roots, And Water". Light in the Attic Records. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Tangari, Joe. "Earth, Roots and Water – Innocent Youths". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Pratt, Jerry. "Earth, Roots And Water – Innocent Youths". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- ^ a b Anderson, Rick. "Earth, Roots & Water – Innocent Youths". AllMusic. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- ^ "Disco-reggae is the music for Summer Records of Toronto. The label's first album features Earth, Roots and Water and is being retailed primarily in local r&b diskeries". Billboard. March 25, 1978.