A 2019 documentary about Randy's Records and Studio 17 is now available to stream in the U.S. and features something special for fans of late reggae icon, Peter Tosh.
The film synopsis describes Randy's Records as:
"Formed by a Chinese-Jamaican couple in the early ‘60s in Kingston, Jamaica, Randy’s Records started as a used record store, then grew to house a reggae recording studio (Studio 17) in the upstairs part of the building," and further details the site as "the waterhole for Jamaican musicians in the first days of the country’s independence from Britain in 1962, its sudden shuttering due to political and military tensions in the 70s, and a remarkable final rebirth."
The son of the owners, Clive Chin, who also served as a producer to then-rising-stars Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Sly Dunbar, and Peter Tosh, returned to the decaying Studio 17 and discovered close to 2,000 original reel-to-reel tapes of music, much of which had never been released. Chin would go on to restore and digitize those tracks-- including a master recording of Tosh's "You Can't Fool Me Again".
Reggae producer Wayne Jobson said of Tosh in the doc:
“I’ve met every rock star in my life, lucky enough, all the Bonos, Jaggers, McCartneys, and the greatest rock star I ever met was Peter Tosh. As far as being a brilliant singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, revolutionary, great sense of humor. Nobody can match him as an all-around musician and an all-around genius.”
Studio 17 – The Lost Reggae Tapes was made in partnership with the BBC and is available to stream now on Qwest TV.
Check out the documentary's trailer...
Ready for more great music? wfpk.org/stream
