Third World (band)

For other uses, see Third World (disambiguation).

Third World
Origin	Kingston, Jamaica
Genres	Reggae fusion[1]
Years active	1973 (1973)–present
Labels	Cleopatra, Island, Columbia, Mercury, Third World Music Group
Associated acts	Inner Circle
Website	thirdworldband.com
Members	Stephen "Cat" Coore Richard Daley Tony "Ruption" Williams Maurice Gregory Norris "Noreiga" Webb AJ Brown
Past members	Michael "Ibo" Cooper Irvin "Carrot" Jarrett Carl Barovier Milton "Prilly" Hamilton Bunny Rugs Willie Stewart Rupert "Gypsy" Bent III Leroy "Baarbe" Romans Mikel Wallace Herbie Harris Robbie Lynn Pablo Stewart

Third World is a Jamaican reggae fusion band formed in 1973. Their sound is influenced by soul, funk and disco. Although it has undergone several line-up changes, Stephen "Cat" Coore and Richard Daley have been constant members.

Contents

• 
  1 History
  


• 
  2 Musical style
  


• 
  3 Members
  


• 
  4 Discography
  
  
  
  • 
    4.1 Singles
    
  
  
  • 
    4.2 Albums
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  5 References
  


• 
  6 External links
  

History

Third World started when keyboard player Michael "Ibo" Cooper and guitarist (and cellist) Stephen "Cat" Coore (son of former Deputy Prime Minister David Coore), who had originally played in The Alley Cats and then Inner Circle, subsequently left to form their own band along with Inner Circle singer Milton "Prilly" Hamilton.^[2][3] They recruited bassist Richard Daley, formerly of Ken Boothe's band and Tomorrow's Children, and added drummer Carl Barovier and former Inner Circle percussionist Irvin "Carrot" Jarrett before making their live debut in early 1974.^[2]

After recording some tracks with Geoffrey Chung which were not released, the band's first single was the self-produced "Railroad Track" (1974).^[2] In their early days they played primarily in Kingston's hotels and nightclubs and (along with The Wailers) supported The Jackson Five when they played at the Jamaican National Stadium.^[2]

They were soon signed by Island Records and toured Europe with The Wailers.^[2] The band's self-titled debut album was released in 1976. The album included a cover of "Satta Massagana", originally performed by The Abyssinians, which became a local hit. Hamilton and Barovier were replaced by two more former Inner Circle members, singer William "Bunny Rugs" Clarke and drummer Willie Stewart, before the recording of their second album, 96° in the Shade (1977), which included several local hits. Notable among its eight tracks were "1865 (96° in the Shade)", a reference to the 1865 Morant Bay rebellion, "Rhythm of Life" and the album's only cover, "Dreamland", written by Bunny Wailer.^[2] They played in front of 80,000 people at the Smile Jamaica festival in 1976.^[2]

In 1977 the band collaborated with psychiatrist Frederick Hickling on the Explanitations show that was performed at Kingston's Little Theatre early the following year.^[4]

Third World's greatest success came in the late 1970s and early 1980s, peaking with their cover version of The O'Jays' "Now That We Found Love" from their third album Journey to Addis. After its initial recording, the single was remixed at the behest of Island Records Special Projects division head, Alex Masucci,^[5] with new vocals and an uptempo beat. "Now That We Found Love" became a hit single on both sides of the Atlantic in 1978, reaching the top 10 in the UK.^[2]Journey to Addis became a top thirty hit album in the UK.^[2] They had first met Stevie Wonder in Jamaica in 1976, and the single prompted him to perform with them at the Reggae Sunsplash festival in 1981 in the wake of Bob Marley's death, playing his tribute to Marley, "Master Blaster".^[2][6] Third World went on to perform several times at the festival, and they also took part in the "Reggae Sunsplash USA" tour in 1985.^[7] Wonder also wrote, along with Melody A McCully, their 1982 hit "Try Jah Love", which brought them further exposure in North America.^[2][8][9] They were also guests during the third season of SCTV.

Amid claims of artistic differences "Carrot" split from the band in the mid-1980s.^[2] The resulting five-piece band then went on to record more commercial tunes such as "Sense of Purpose", "Reggae Ambassador", "Forbidden Love" and "Committed".

Their version of "Now That We've Found Love" was used as the basis of Heavy D's 1991 hit rap version.^[10] In 1992 they returned to work with Stephen Stewart and Geoffrey Chung on the album Committed.^[10]

In 1983, Third World had cross-over success on the UK Jazz Funk scene with their reggae single 'Lagos Jump' largely thanks to Robbie Vincent ^[11] and Jeff Young who played the 12" version on their Radio London shows. The track also became popular on the London club scene and in particular at Flicks in Dartford.

Telstar Records released a double-album compilation in 1983 which collected up all the mainstream club extended versions and remixes by artists and groups that had enjoyed relatively good UK chart success between 1981 and 1983. Entitled 'In The Groove', the compilation's lead track on Part Two was Third World's extended version of 'Dancing on the Floor (Hooked on Love)'.^[12] The track had originally been released in 1981 in 7" edited and 12" extended versions, and included on Third World's impressive 'Rock The World' album. With the release of the Telstar compilation, this brought about an upsurge of interest in Third World's dancefloor output and certainly paved the way for the next two years recordings with Columbia Records (CBS).

In 1985, the group's focus steered by a shifting music scene, brought about a stylistic change in musical direction with the release of "Sense of Purpose". The single was released as a 7" edit and 12" extended version and later was reissued as a Shep Pettibone club remix.^[13] Whilst the single was popular, it only made the lower ends of the UK charts. The 12" extended version was released with an instrumental plus the full length version of their 1983 cross-over hit 'Lagos Jump' which almost certainly boosted the sales of 'Sense of Purpose'.

Also in 1985, "Now That We've Found Love" was back in the UK charts again as Paul Hardcastle decided to release a club remix but as with the case of his D-Train remix ^[14] putting the Hardcastle signature sound of electronic keyboards on the track and reverbing the opening vocal. Whilst the remix was a UK hit, the remix had seemingly lost its reggae roots and the Hardcastle remix has since largely been forgotten in the decades that have followed. The result being that most DJs and radio stations have returned to the original reggae version.

Despite several more line-up changes, including the departures of Cooper and Stewart, and a decline in mainstream success, the band is still recording and performing up to the present day, including in front of a television audience at the Cricket World Cup 2007 Opening Ceremony in Trelawny.

In 2008 the band received a lifetime achievement award from Charles Drew University.^[15]

In January 2013, the group was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival in Montego Bay as they celebrated their 40th year in music.

In 2013 the group completed a 40th anniversary world tour; Illness forced Clarke to miss the European shows, with AJ Brown standing in as lead vocalist.^[16]

William "Bunny Rugs" Clarke died on 2 February 2014 in hospital in Orlando, Florida, while battling cancer. Brown was announced as Bunny Rugs' replacement.^[17]

The album Under the Magic Sun is due to be released in June 2014 on Cleopatra Records, featuring vocals from Bunny Rugs, Brown, Coore, and Maurice Gregory.^[18]

Irvin "Carrot" Jarrett died on 31 July 2018, aged 69.^[19]

Musical style

While the band played roots reggae, they have also incorporated other styles into their music, and it was the initial influence of The Wailers that prompted the formation of the band to take on a new direction that combined reggae with other genres.^[2] The pop-oriented sound has given rise to criticism of the band over the years, with reggae purists uncomfortable with their incorporation of American soul and R&B into their sound.^[6][8][20] The band have played also folk-pop, hard rock, bossa nova, rap, light pop-jazz, doo-wop and calypso.^[9][21][22] Their style has been described as reggae fusion.^[10][23] Singer Bunny Rugs described the band's sound: "Strictly a reggae band, no. Definitely a reggae band, yes."^[10] Guitarist Cat Coore said of their music: "The hybrid of various types of music is a natural thing because, by growing up in Jamaica, we know the direct roots of reggae and ska. At the same time we live in a country where you get to hear Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and all the R&B artists."^[6] Bassist Richard Daley said "we took roots reggae music and put branches on top of it".^[6]

Members

Current members

• Stephen "Cat" Coore – guitars, cello (1973–present)
  


• Richard Daley – bass (1973–present)
  


• Tony "Ruption" Williams – drums (1997–present)
  


• Norris "Noriega" Webb – keyboards (2007–present)
  


• Maurice Gregory – keyboard (2010–present)
  


• AJ Brown – vocals (2014–present)
  

Former members

• 
  Michael "Ibo" Cooper – keyboards (1973–1997)
  


• Irvin "Carrot" Jarrett – percussion (1973–1989)
  


• Carl Barovier – drums (1973–1976)
  


• Milton "Prilly" Hamilton – vocals (1973–1976)
  


• 
  Bunny Rugs – vocals (1976–2014; his death)
  


• Willie Stewart – drums (1976–1997)
  


• Rupert "Gypsy" Bent III – guitars, keyboards, percussion, vocals (1989, 1994)
  


• Leroy "Baarbe" Romans – keyboards (1997–1999)
  


• Mikel Wallace – keyboards (1999)
  


• Herbie Harris – keyboards (2002–2010)
  

Discography

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions

Title	Year	Label	Peak chart positions
			UK	US
"Railroad Track"	1975	Island	–	—
"96º In The Shade"	1977	Island	—	—
"Now That We Found Love"	1978	Island	10	47
"Cool Meditation"	1979	Island	17	—
"One Cold Vibe (Couldn't Stop Dis Ya Boogie)"	1979	Island	—	—
"Tonight for Me"	1979	Island	—	—
"The Story's Been Told"	1979	Island	—	—
"Talk to Me"	1979	Island	54	—
"Always Around"	1979	Jah's Music/Island	—	—
"Street Fighting"	1980	Cav Lip	—	—
"Now That We've Found Love"	1980	Mango	—	—
"Rooths With Quality"	198?	Observers	—	—
"Dancing on the Floor (Hooked on Love)"	1981	CBS	10	—
"Standing in the Rain"	1981	CBS	—	—
"Try Jah Love"	1982	CBS	47	101
"You're Playing Us Too Close"	1982	Columbia	—	—
"Ride On"	1982	CBS	—	—
"Love Is Out to Get You"	1983	CBS	—	—
"Lagos Jump"	1983	CBS	—	—
"Sense of Purpose"	1985	CBS	—	—
"One More Time"	1985	CBS	—	—
"One to One"	1985	Columbia	—	—
"Now That We Found Love" (re-issue)	1985	Island	22[24]	—
"Hold on To Love"	1987	CBS	—	—
"Over Due"	1987	Jah's Music	—	—
"The Spirit Lives"	1987	Columbia	—	—
"It's the Same Old Song"	1989	Mercury	—	—
"Forbidden Love"	1989	Mercury	—	—
"Live in the Balance"	1991	Jah's Music	—	—
"Committed"	1992	Mercury	—	—
"Talk To Me"	1994	Great Jones	—	—
"Now That We Found Love" (re-issue)	1996	Big Time International	—	—
"Dem Man Deh"	1996	Taxi	—	—
"Baltimore"	1997	Taxi	—	—
"Reggae Party" feat. Shaggy	1999	Eagle	—	—
"Dread Eyes"	2000	Reggae Blitz	—	—
"Ya Ya Ya Jamaica"	2001	BMG	—	—
"96 Degrees Cover (2nd Generation)" feat. Stephen & Damian Marley	2011	Third World Music Group	—	—
"Loving You Is Easy"	2018	Ghetto Youths International	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Albums

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions

Title	Year	Label	Peak chart positions
			UK	US
Third World	1976	Island	—	—
96° In The Shade	1977	Island	—	203
Journey To Addis	1978	Island	30	55
The Story's Been Told	1979	Island	—	157
Arise in Harmony	1980	Island	—	206
Rock the World	1981	CBS	37	186
You've Got the Power	1982	Columbia	87	63
All the Way Strong	1983	CBS	—	137
Sense of Purpose	1985	CBS	–	119
Hold on to Love	1987	Columbia	–	—
Serious Business	1989	Mercury	—	107
Rock the World	1990	Columbia	–	—
Committed	1992	Mercury	–	—
Live It Up	1995	Bud Music	–	—
Generation Coming	1999	Déclic Communication	–	—
The Story's Been Told	1999	Island	–	—
Ain't Givin' Up	2003	Shanachie	–	—
Riddim Haffa Rule	2004	Music Avenue	–	—
Black Gold Green	2006	Nocturne	–	—
Patriots	2010	Third World Music Group	–	—
Under the Magic Sun	2014	Cleopatra	–	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

^[24]

Live albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions

Title	Year	Label	Peak chart positions
			UK	US
Prisoner in the Street	1980	Island	—	186
Dedicated To Stevie Wonder	1982	Buccaneer	—	—
Third World Live	2001	Tabou 1	–	—
Live in Hawaii & Jamaica	2002	Tabou 1	–	—
Music Hall in Concert	2007	Membran Music	–	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Compilations

List of albums, with selected chart positions

Title	Year	Label	Peak chart positions
			UK	US
Reggae Greats	1985	Island	–	—
Reggae Ambassadors	1994	Chronicles	–	—
The Best of Third World	1993	Sony	–	—
25th Anniversary	2001	BMG	–	—
Now That We've Found Love	2004	Charly	–	—
Tuff Mi Tuff	2006	Noble Price	–	—
The Best of Third World: The Millennium Collection	2007	Island	–	—
Greatest Hits			–	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

References

1. 
   ^ https://books.google.com/books?id=hxAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15
   


2. 
   ^ ^{abcdefghijklm} Thompson, Dave (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   ISBN 0-87930-655-6, pp. 278-280.
   


3. 
   ^ Barow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn, Rough Guides,
   ISBN 1-84353-329-4, p. 148.
   


4. 
   ^ Hickling, Frederick W. (2012), Psychohistoriography, Jessica Kingsley,
   ISBN 978-1849053570, pp. 74-78.
   


5. 
   ^ Sandler, Adam (1997) "Masucci tops new Island Latin label", "Variety", 16 April 1997, retrieved 30 March 2017.
   


6. 
   ^ ^abcd Darling, Cary (1982) "Third World Is Spreading Reggae", Billboard, 3 April 1982, pp. 34, 37.
   


7. 
   ^ Bishop, Pete (1985) "Third World shines in 'Reggae Sunsplash'", The Pittsburgh Press, 16 April 1985, p. B10, retrieved 8 September 2012.
   


8. 
   ^ ^ab Griffin, John (1982) "Third World spread reggae's message with lots of love – and a little Wonder", Montreal Gazette, 2 July 1982, p. D1, retrieved 8 September 2012.
   


9. 
   ^ ^ab Holden, Stephen (1982) "Reggae: The Third World at the Ritz", The New York Times, 28 March 1982, retrieved 8 September 2012.
   


10. 
    ^ ^abcd McAdams, Janine (1992) "Third World Puts Reggae on Top", Billboard, 25 July 1992, p. 15, retrieved 8 September 2012.
    


11. 
    ^ Robbie Vincent Saturday Show, Radio London, 5 May 1983
    


12. 
    ^ Telstar Records, 'In The Groove' Part Two, UK Cat Number STAR 2228-B
    


13. 
    ^ CBS Records, 1985, UK Cat Number TA4993
    


14. 
    ^ Island Records (Mango) 12IS 219, 1985
    


15. 
    ^ Cooke, Mel (2008) "'Ambassadors' Honoured – Golden State lauds veteran reggae group Third World Archived 24 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine.", Jamaica Gleaner, 20 October 2008, retrieved 8 September 2012.
    


16. 
    ^ Walters, Basil (2013) "Third World wraps world tour", Jamaica Observer, 26 August 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
    


17. 
    ^ Campbell, Howard (2014), "Bunny Rugs's final set", Jamaica Observer, 9 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
    


18. 
    ^ "New Album from Third World", Jamaica Observer, 16 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
    


19. 
    ^ "Carrot Jarret's funeral set for Wednesday", Jamaica Observer, 5 August 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018
    


20. 
    ^ van Vleck, Philip (2003) "Third World Ain't Givin' Up", Billboard, 31 May 2003, p. 60, retrieved 8 September 2012.
    


21. 
    ^ Wartofsky, Alona (1990) "Third World, From Reggae to Rap", The Washington Post, 16 April 1990, p. B9.
    


22. 
    ^ Bordowitz, Hank (2004) Noise of the World: Non-Western Musicians in Their Own Words, Soft Skull Press,
    ISBN 9781932360608, p. 5.
    


23. 
    ^ Saunders, Michael (1988) "Third World Turns from Reggae to Pop", Sun-Sentinel, 4 August 1988, p. E9.
    


24. 
    ^ ^ab
    Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 556. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
    

External links

• Third World official website

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