mento | Musicosity

mento

The Jolly Boys

A mento quartet from Port Antonio, Jamaica, formed 1955. They perform with bongos, banjo, rhumba box & kalimba / finger-piano. In the 50s, they were popular at The Trident Hotel & parties for 'the rich'n'famous', e.g. at Errol Flynn's residence. During the late 80s, they received renewed interest, when Jules Shear heard them playing at the Trident - he returned later & produced Pop 'N' Mento & other albums. A new album - Great Expectation - is slated for release, late 2010. http://Furious.com/perfect/JollyBoys.

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Stanley Beckford

Stanley was born February 17, 1942 in the parish of Portland. He was orphaned as a child and wound up living in Kingston. Taking a path that other Jamaican recording artists followed, he began singing in church, and then gained prominence by winning on the Vere Johns radio talent competition. Stanley recorded reggae as Stanley & The Turbines and in The Starlites. Although clearly reggae, his music had a tinge of mento, displaying a country sound, especially due to Stanley's mento style vocals. When the mento influence was stronger, his recordings could best be described as "mento-reggae".

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