“Israelites” by Desmond Dekker

E593589

“Israelites” by Desmond Dekker is a pioneering late-1960s Jamaican rocksteady/reggae song that became an international hit and one of the first reggae tracks to achieve widespread global popularity.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Israelites 0

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf single
song
achievedInternationalSuccess true
artist Desmond Dekker NERFINISHED
associatedPlace Kingston, Jamaica NERFINISHED
chartingCountry Canada NERFINISHED
Germany NERFINISHED
Netherlands NERFINISHED
South Africa NERFINISHED
United Kingdom NERFINISHED
United States NERFINISHED
countryOfOrigin Jamaica
decadeOfPeakPopularity 1960s
genre reggae
rocksteady
hasBside The Man NERFINISHED
hasCulturalContext postcolonialJamaica
hasCulturalImpact true
hasEnduringAirplay true
hasFormat 7-inch single
hasLyricalPerspective firstPersonNarration
hasMusicalStyle offbeatRhythm
syncopatedBassLine
hasRhythmicFoundation rocksteadyBeat
hasVocalStyle callAndResponseElements
helpedPopularize reggaeMusicWorldwide
influencedGenre reggae
inspiredLaterArtists true
isFrequentlyIncludedIn reggaeCompilations
isOneOfFirstReggaeHits true
isReferencedAs pioneeringReggaeTrack
isSignatureSongOf Desmond Dekker NERFINISHED
language English
notableFor distinctiveVocalDelivery
earlyGlobalReggaeSuccess
useOfJamaicanPatois
originalReleaseYear 1968
performedByBackingBand The Aces NERFINISHED
performer Desmond Dekker NERFINISHED
producer Leslie Kong NERFINISHED
recordedInDecade 1960s
recordLabel Pyramid Records NERFINISHED
Trojan Records NERFINISHED
theme poverty
struggle
workingClassLife
writer Desmond Dekker NERFINISHED
Leslie Kong NERFINISHED

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Leslie Kong produced “Israelites” by Desmond Dekker