Product Overview
Simmer Down uncovers the real story behind the early Wailers' rise to fame and just as importantly, it's also a celebration of the music that continues to inspire successive generations of reggae fans from around the world. Although the last to appear, it completes the author's trilogy of books about the Wailers. This one starts from the very beginning around the time of Jamaican Independence, and examines how the original trio of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston changed the face of reggae music before splintering apart amidst growing differences and betrayal. Its a tale set against a backdrop of Kingston shantytowns, rude boys, gang wars, political violence, Black Power, police harassment and Rastafari. Insider quotes many of them previously unpublished reveal little-known accounts of the Wailers early lives in Trench Town and their adventures with Coxsone Dodd, Rasta elder Mortimo Planno, Lee Scratch Perry, Johnny Nash and Chris Blackwell among others, including Bob's wife Rita Marley. New light is shed on the groups inner dynamics and how they were tested to the limit by Marleys solo ambitions, which threatened to obliterate the original Wailers' legacy. John Masouri has written extensively on reggae music for over thirty years. His previous books include an authorised biography of Wailers' band members Wailing Blues: The Story Of Bob Marleys Wailers and Steppin Razor: The Life Of Peter Tosh, both published by Omnibus Press.
