The Wailing Souls & The Itals
The Wailing Souls are part of the small surviving group of reggae and roots originators still musically active today. The legendary group dates back to the late 1960s. The Wailing Souls members got their start learning from reggae icon Joe Higgs in Jamaica’s Trench Town yards and sung alongside other emerging groups at the time including Bob Marley & The Wailers. By the ’70s The Wailing Souls attracted interest from preeminent reggae producer Coxson Dodd and began a fruitful recording career. Four decades later the group has amassed three Grammy nominations, has been critically lauded for albums released by Island, Tuff Gong and CBS Records and gained a widespread international following.
The Wailing Souls saw large success in the early ’90s featuring songs on soundtracks including the certified gold album for Disney’s film Cool Runnings. Their 1992 album All Over The World also achieved a great deal of success for the group, selling over 800,000 copies.The Wailing Souls pushed the musical limits of the reggae genre with that release, blending sounds of funk, r&b, and country into their roots tradition, securing their reputations as pioneers in the genre.
Fusing the harmonies of Motown with the roots and dancehall sounds of reggae, The Wailing Souls have ridden the crest of Jamaica’s music for more than four decades. Nominated for Grammy awards three times, the group scored hits with classic roots reggae tunes, War and Bredda Gravlicious, Firehouse Rock, and 1992 album and title track, All Over The World. Additionally, the group scored number one hits with Things and Time, Jah Jah, Old Broom, and Shark Attack. The Wailing Souls’ recording career has been nothing short of historic. Vocally trained by Bob Marley and the Wailers’ teacher, Joe Higgs, they worked with legendary reggae producers including Coxson Dodd of Studio One, Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes, Channel One Studios, Delroy Wright, Lloyd ‘King’ Jammy’s, as well as recording several early tunes at Bob Marley’s Tuff Gong Studio. The Wailing Souls attracted global attention when their music was featured in the 1993 Disney film, Cool Runnings. The soundtrack album was an international hit, selling nearly half a million copies worldwide. The Souls had three songs on this soundtrack including the hit, Picky Picky Head. Formed in Trench Town, Kingston, Jamaica, in the late-1960s, The Wailing Souls have experienced numerous transformations. Their discography (over 26 albums to date) includes singles recorded as The Renegades, Pipe & the Pipers, and Atarra. Sly & Robbie and the Roots Radics are only a few of the stellar musicians who have worked with The Wailing Souls. Still one of the most powerful forces in Reggae, The Wailing Souls continue to tour globally and record new songs with the vigor that they had singing in Kingston’s Trench Town decades ago. On Feb 12, 2021, The Wailing Souls released their long awaited album Back A Yard on Greensleeves label.
The Itals are a Jamaican reggae vocal group formed in 1976 by Alvin “Keith” Porter, Lloyd Ricketts, and Ronnie Davis(formerly a member of The Tennors), all of whom had previously also recorded as solo artists. All three had worked together in the late 1960s in The Westmorelites. The group recorded several albums through the late 1970s and 1980s, with Ronnie Davis going on to a successful solo career in 1997 as Ronnie Davis and Idren.
The Itals’ debut single, “In A Dis Ya Time”, is regarded as the group’s finest work, and topped the Jamaican chart. 1987’s Rasta Philosophy was nominated for a Grammy Award as Best Reggae Album. The line-up has changed over the years, with former solo artist David Isaacs joining in 1987 when Ricketts was sentenced to a prison term, preventing him from traveling to the United States. Davis left the group in 1994, and was replaced by Porter’s daughter Kada.
The Itals continued to tour in 2009 in support of the newly released “Let Them Talk”. In 2011 original member Lloyd Ricketts was able to obtain a work permit and performed two shows with Keith and Ronnie before his death. Ronnie Davis stepped away from The Itals again in 2012 and reunited with the Rocksteady group The Tennors, but Keith continues to tour with two of his children, Darien Porter and Kada Porter, providing harmonies.
In July 2015, Keith released “Mind Over Matter”, the remastered compilation of 22 early Itals songs and a solo album of reggae covers of classic R&B songs, called “Let’s Get it On”. Presently, Keith Porter is working on a new album to be released in Autumn of 2022.
