Bradley Miller, aka Johnny Ringo, was one of many talented deejays to rise to prominence during the dancehall revolution that swept over Kingston’s sound systems in the early 80s. Ironically though (seeing as he took his name from a legendary outlaw from the old west) he was one of the only top-ranking deejays to emerge from the city’s east side.
Dancehall Legend, released on Musical Ambassador, is essentially a rehash of Ringo’s 1982 Cool Profile LP. This featured Ringo toasting over impeccable Roots Radics riddims largely sourced from the Edi Fitzroy’s classic Youthman Penitentiary. With riddims of this quality it’s hard to go wrong, and for the most part he doesn’t.
Ringo’s lively, humorous deejay-style bears a definite resemblance to General Echo. But he’s not nearly as slack. In fact on the track Cleanliness, Ringo offers crucial advice on how to clean yourself up before heading out to your next big party. Ringo’s all too poignant message about the importance of personal hygiene is nicely augmented by a high stepping late-rockers period riddim.
School Days, on the Dreadlock Party riddim, is another winning track with a heartical message. Ringo sings the praises of working hard in primary school whilst lamenting his own lack of work ethic, ‘when I was a youth and going to school, I always prayed to be a man. But now I am a man I miss the good old school days – school days were the best days!’ Later in the song we sadly learn that Ringo spent too much time gambling away his lunch money and not enough time hitting the books.
Equally educational is Plan Up Yu Vineyard. Toasting upon the Work on, Mr Farmer riddim, Ringo provides us with some handy gardening tips. Suggesting we plant some Irish Potato along with a little chochu (a vegetable I’m not familiar with) and ‘last but not least, we plant the banana… and a lickle marijuana!’ Clearly Ringo was an early permaculture advocate.
As well as ten tracks taken from Cool Profile, the album includes five new tracks that Ringo recorded with Trevor Elliot (who produced both Cool Profile and Youthman Penitentiary). For the most part these tracks aren’t brilliant. Ringo’s digitally-recorded vocals sound a bit too exposed over some of the vintage riddims. However the track Some People Don’t Remember God is certainly a worthy addition to the album.
The album also features three spoken word tracks with fellow deejays Ray I, Ranking Trevor and Lone Ranger marking their respects to the one like Ringo.
Sadly Johnny Ringo left this earth in 2005, not long after recording the new tracks for this album. Unlike his gunslinging namesake, who legend has it was shot dead by Wyatt Earp, this Ringo’s killer was cocaine.
RIP Johnny Ringo – I’m sure you’re still nicing up the dances over in Zion.
Naram
