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Keith Hudson (& Keith Hobson). The Rocksteady originals |
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 Shades Of Hudson |
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| The enigmatic Keith Hudson first made an impression
on the Jamaican music scene in the late 60's with vocal sides by Ken Boothe,
Delroy Wilson and John Holt. These early hits were enhanced by groundbreaking
early DJ sides by the likes of Dennis Alcapone and U Roy. By the early 70's the music was flowing thick and fast on his Inbidimits, Rebind and Mafia labels. Whilst much was on cuting edge Reggae rhythms a handful of tunes harked back to an earlier era by utilising older Rocksteady rhythms. Though how Keith Hudson came by these rhythms isn't exactly clear their source is. They originally came from the Olympic label which operated between 1967 and 1969 (many on blank/pre only) the producer is believed to be Carl Bryan but this is not positively confirmed at this time. The UK releases on Pama only serve to confuse matters concerning the true identity of the producer. Show Me The Way/What Can I Do by The Termites credits R.Bennett and Push It Up by The Termites credits H.Robinson as producer and Clancy Eccles as composer. |
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 Old Broom on the Rebind label |
 Shades Of Hudson by Dennis Alcapone |
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One of these rhythm tracks was also used by Keith Stamma Hobson who had a working relationship with Hudson. Hobson cut Golden Snake by Johnny Clarke and a number of other tunes on a Rocksteady rhythm initially re-used used by Hudson on his vocal; Smoke Without Fire.
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Many of the Keith Hudson and Keith Stamma Hobson sides mentioned are available on the excellent Trojan Records double CD compilation - The Hudson Affair, this gives a great overview of Hudsons work from the late 60's onwards and is highly recommended. The tracks not featured are Erotic Touch Of Hot Skin - Dennis Alcapone, Always - Al Brown, Old Fire Stick - Keith Hudson, Girl You Wrong - Heptones all of which are currently unavailable and Hot Stick Version - Phillip Samuel which is available on the now deleted Trojan CD Studio Kinda Cloudy. The Olympic sides are altogether more obscure. None are currently available nor does it seem likely that they will be unless some enterprising individual can positively confirm the identity of the producer and make contact with him. |
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 Old Fire Stick by Keith Hudson |
 African Bread, a Keith Stamma Hobson production |
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 Always
by Al Brown |
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Updated May 2006
