In the 1970s, Toronto became a major hub for live reggae music, as Jamaican superstars such as Jackie Mittoo, Leroy Sibbles and Ernie Smith, who became the leader of Roots Revival, migrated north. “After having written ‘Jah Kingdom Go to Waste,’ Ernie Smith knew his life was in danger,” says Wilson. As Roots Revival guitarist Paul Corby recalls, everyone who was anyone showed up. Corby and the remaining members carried on with the gigs they had booked, with Jojo Bennett as provisional band leader. Smith, who now lives and jams back home in Jamaica, remains an icon of Toronto’s reggae heyday.

Source: thestar May 02, 2021 09:11 UTC