''The Wailing Wailers'' is the 1965 eponymous debut studio album by the Wailers, later known as

Bob Marley and the Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as the Wailers and prior to that the Wailing Rudeboys, the Wailing Wailers and the Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Robert ...

. Released on the Studio One label, the album is a compilation of various recordings made between 1964 and 1965 by Neville "Bunny" Livingston (

Bunny Wailer Neville O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. ...

), Robert Nesta Marley (

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

) and Peter McIntosh (

Peter Tosh Winston Hubert McIntosh (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band Bob Marley and the Wa ...

). It compiles what Clement Coxsone Dodd considered the best Wailers recordings from this period. They were accompanied by the Studio One backing band, the Soul Brothers. It is not a studio album in the conventional sense but was the first full-length LP released of the band's work. The album has remained in print since its release, but after the first release (which has a different cover) each release of the album was newly overdubbed to fit with musical trends of the time. The album had never been released on CD with the original track listing or cover until May 2016.

Music

The songs " Simmer Down" and "

Rude Boy Rude boy is a subculture that originated from 1960s Jamaican street culture. In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms ''rude boy'' and ''rude girl'', among other variations like ''rudeboy'' and ''rudebwoy'', being used t ...

", recorded in 1964 and 1965, were youth anthems which established the Wailers as the leaders of the new movement.Dick Hebdige -Cut 'n' Mix: Culture, Identity, and Caribbean Music – 1987 Page 57 "And Roland Alphonso released an early ska record in 1962 which dealt with the rude boys. However, it wasn't until 1966, when the Wailers produced Rude Boy for Clement Dodd, that the cult really took off inside Jamaican pop music."

Influence

The band photo from the front cover of the 1971 re-issue (also used on various subsequent re-issues), with Bunny Wailer standing on the left, Bob Marley standing in the middle and Peter Tosh standing on the right, was also an inspiration for Walt Jabsco, the logo for

2 Tone Records 2 Tone Records was an English independent record label that mostly released ska and reggae-influenced music with a punk rock and pop music overtone. It was founded by Jerry Dammers of the Specials and backed by Chrysalis Records. History J ...

; the drawing was created by

Jerry Dammers Jeremy David Hounsell Dammers GCOT (born 22 May 1955) is a British musician who was a founder, keyboard player and primary songwriter of the Coventry-based ska band the Specials (also known as the Special A.K.A.) and later the Spatial AKA Orch ...

and

Horace Panter Stephen Graham "Horace" Panter, (born 30 August 1953) also known professionally as Sir Horace Gentleman, is the bassist for the British 2 Tone ska band The Specials. Early life Panter was born in Croydon, Surrey and spent most of his formativ ...

and is based on

Track listing

All songs written by

, except where noted. Side one #"(I'm Gonna) Put It On" (Marley, Clement Coxsone Dodd) – 3:06 #"I Need You" (1964 version) – 2:48 #"Lonesome Feeling" (Marley,

Bunny Livingston Neville O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh ...

) – 2:50 #"

What's New Pussycat? ''What's New Pussycat?'' is a 1965 screwball comedy film directed by Clive Donner, written by Woody Allen in his first produced screenplay, and starring Allen in his acting debut, along with Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capuc ...

" (

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David was born and raised in New ...

) – 3:02 #" One Love" – 3:20 #" When the Well Runs Dry" ( William Bell) – 2:35 Side two #"Ten Commandments of Love" (

The Moonglows The Moonglows were an American R&B group in the 1950s. Their song " Sincerely" went to number 1 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and number 20 on the ''Billboard'' Juke Box chart. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. ...

) – 4:16 #"

" – 2:20 #"It Hurts to Be Alone" (

Junior Braithwaite Franklin Delano Alexander "Junior" Braithwaite (4 April 1949 – 2 June 1999) was a reggae musician from Kingston, Jamaica and the youngest member of the vocal group, The Wailing Wailers. Early career The Wailing Wailers was a vocal group B ...

) – 2:42 #"Love and Affection" – 2:42 #"I'm Still Waiting" – 3:31 #" Simmer Down" (Marley, Dodd) – 2:49

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wailing Wailers, The Bob Marley and the Wailers albums 1965 debut albums Studio One (record label) albums Albums produced by Coxsone Dodd