Lovers rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid-1970s.
History
The roots of lovers rock lies in the last days of the rocksteady era and early days of reggae, with Jamaican and American singers such as Ken Boothe, Johnny Nash and John Holt enjoying international hits with versions of well-known love songs.
A style suited to the London reggae scene, lovers rock represented an apolitical counterpoint to the conscious Rastafarian sound dominant in Jamaica at the time, a continuation of the soulful and commonly love-themed rocksteady style, based on singers like Alton Ellis, who were not very optimistic about the rise of rastafarian reggae. It combined the smooth soul sounds of Chicago and Philadelphiasoul with rocksteady and reggae bassline rhythms. Rooted in the sound systems of South London, the style had particular appeal amongst women and produced many female stars including Carroll Thompson. Louisa Mark was aged 14 when she had a major lovers rock hit with her version of Bobby Parker's "Caught You in a Lie" in 1975. This spawned the distinctive young girl female sound associated with early lovers rock. Simplicity formed in 1975 and released their first hit "To Be in Love" produced by Coxson; the B-side was the Emotions classic, "A Feeling is a Feeling". They were headhunted by Neville King who produced their hits "Loving Kind", "Waiting" and "Black is our Colour". This was followed by the husband and wife production team of Dennis and Eve Harris who then had a big hit with T.T. Ross's "Last Date". Dennis Harris then set up a new record label, Lover's Rock, at the south east London premises on Upper Brockley Road along with John Kpiaye and Dennis Bovell, which gave the new genre a name.
Lovers Rock is the fifth studio album by English band Sade, released on 13 November 2000 by Epic Records. Following the release of Love Deluxe (1992), the band began an eight-year hiatus, during which time some band members began recording with American musician Maxwell and produced his debut album, Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite. Following the group's Love Deluxe World Tour, Stuart Matthewman, Paul Denman and Andrew Hale formed the group Sweetback. During the eight-year hiatus Sade would experience media scrutiny and would later go on to give birth to her first child.
Lovers Rock was titled after a style of reggae music known as lovers rock, noted for its romantic sound and content, which Sade listened to in her youth. Lovers Rock was seen as a departure from the band's previous use of jazz elements, opting instead for a wider use of musical elements from soul music, R&B, soft rock, folk music, dub, reggae and lovers rock. The album's production has been characterized as spare, with simple arrangements and reggae flourishes. A concept album, the lyrics focus on both the positive and the negative sides of love, the album's lyrical content also touches upon political themes.
LOVER'S ROCK WRITER DAVE BURGESS Now there's a little place that I know about I go there with my baby everytime I take her out We park by the rock and watch the lights down below And I tell her things that she ought to know They call it Lover's rock, they call it Lover's rock Well, everybody's rockin' and there's very little talkin' Just a-huggin' and a-kissin' goin' on I just can't wait for Saturday night We'll park by the rock in the pale moonlight I'll grab my baby and steal a kiss and then I know she'll be stealin' it right back again They call it Lover's rock, they call it Lover's rock Well, everybody's rockin' and there's very little talkin' Just a-huggin' and a-kissin' goin' on Well, everybody's got a little place they call their own Where they can always go when they wanna be alone Lover's rock is the best around It's a short way up but it's a long way down They call it Lover's rock, they call it Lover's rock Well, everybody's rockin' and there's very little talkin' Just a-huggin' and a-kissin' goin' on Huggin' and a-kissin' goin' on
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Hania Aamir is leaving fashion lovers spellbound with her stunning ethnic diaries. The Pakistani actor has been rocking back-to-back traditional outfits by Indian designers, turning her Insta feed into a goldmine of fashion inspo.
Lodge won acclaim amongst music lovers for incorporating traditional Maori instruments, rock music and computers into his compositions ... Lodge won acclaim amongst music lovers for incorporating ...
He’s in reel trouble now ... Lovick was convicted following a week-long trial in December of attempted murder, assault and gun charges for shooting a 51-year-old man outside the Lover’s Rock bar in Bed-Stuy on June 15, 2023 ... sources ... Gregory P.
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York News-Times
09 Jan 2025
York News-Times
09 Jan 2025