These recordings were made when Sir Coxsone ruled the dancehalls of Kingston in the late 1950s and early 1960s with his number one Downbeat Sound System, where songs were tested out on dub plates at a dance to see a crowd’s reaction - the most popular of which were then released commercially.
The music here spans a wealth of styles – Jamaican rhythm and blues, jazz, gospel, proto-ska, Rastafarian – all of which were drawn upon to create the future sounds of Jamaican reggae that Sir Coxsone and the artists featured would soon create at Studio One which opened its doors in 1963.

TRACKLISTING:

1. Roland Alphonso & His Alley Cats - Jerk Pork
2. Neville Esson - Lover's Jive
3. Monty & The Cyclones - Lazy Lou
4. Owen Gray - Get Drunk
5. Monty & The Cyclones - Dog It
6. Clancy Eccles - More Proof
7. Tommy McCook & The Skatalites- Exodus
8. Clue J And His Blues Blasters - Swanee River Rock
9. Delroy Wilson - Spit In The Sky
10. Roland Alphonso - Federal Special
11. Owen Gray - Grandma Grandpa
12. Don Drummond - Cuban Blockade
13. Theophilus Beckford With Clue J & His City Slickers - Little Lady
14. Tommy McCook - Away from You
15. Clancy Eccles With Hersan & His City Slickers - I Live And I Love
16. Roland Alphonso & His Alley Cats - Hully Gully Rock
17. Delroy Wilson - Lion Of Judah
18. Tommy McCook - Two For One
19. Toots & The Maytals - Sweet Sweet Jenny
20. Roland Alphonso - Grand National
21. Owen Gray With Hersan & His City Slickers - Sinners Weep & Mourn
22. Tommy McCook - Peanut Vendor
23. Toots & The Maytals - Shining Li
24. Lascelles Perkins with Clue J & His Blasters - Lonely Moments
25. Toots & The Maytals - Six and Seven Books Of Moses
26. Cecil Lloyd - It Happens
27. Bunny & Scully - Don't Do It
28. Don Drummond - Scrap Iron
29. Lascelles Perkins And Clue J & His Blues Blasters - Creation
30. Tommy McCook - Don't Slam The Door
31. The Rhythm Aces - Joybells Of Independence
32. Roland Alphonso - Jack Ruby
33. Toots & The Maytals - Hallelujah
34. Bob Marley & The Wailers - Habits
35. Frank Anderson & Tommy McCook - Wheel and Turn
36. Busty & Cool - Kingston to Mo'Bay
37. Don Drummond - Mr. Propman
38. Higgs & Wilson - Mighty Man
39. Tommy McCook & Roland Alphonso - Trotting In
40. Bunny & Skitter with Count Ossie and His Wareikas - Cool Breeze
41. The Mellow Larks - Light of My Life