Stop the War in Vietnam

Annotation — European Songs

Laurel Aitken, born in Cuba in 1927, moved to Brixton, London in 1960. He released the reggae track "Stop the War in Vietnam" - obviously a protest song from the title, which is repeated over and over, on the obscure and hard to find album Scandal in a Brixton Market (Economy # ECO-8).

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Notes

Economy ECO-8, mono, 33⅓ r.p.m., "A Pama Records Production", Beverley Music; distributed by Pama Records Limited, 78 Craven Park Road, London N.W.10, printed and made by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd. The front cover, credited to Girlie and Laurel Aitken, is a red, black and white drawing of a crowded Brixton street market under striped awnings. Side two (orange label) lists Run Powel Run, Teddy Bear, Mr. Soul and Woke Up This Morning by Laurel Aitken, and Babelon and Stop the War in Vietnam (track 6) by Reco & Laurel Aitken. The back carries "Short Story Bout Brixton by Raglan Gungo Peas", a comic patois tale (marked "Fiction") of a market-day fight between "Larel" and his wife Girly, which mentions Pama's "Woppi King" record and closes by recommending "de crazy Reggae Beat of Girlie and Laurel Aitken". [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Confirmed: "Stop The War In Vietnam" is track B4 of the compilation "Laurel Aitken - Woppi King: The Early Reggae Years 1968-1969 Vol. 1" (1997), credited to Laurel Aitken featuring Rico Rodriguez - "Reco" being the early-career spelling of the Jamaican trombonist. Laurel Aitken (1927-2005), the "Godfather of Ska", was born in Cuba, raised in Jamaica, and based in the UK from the early 1960s. Rico Rodriguez (1934-2015) was likewise Cuban-born, raised and trained in Jamaica (Alpha Boys School), and UK-based from 1961. The original single dates from the late-1960s Jamaican/UK scene, c.1968-69.…

Themes

Anti-War

In collections

European Songs · Latin & Central American, & Caribbean Music · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]