Who: The Jolly Boys, who’ve been playing mento (the music of Jamaican dancehalls before ska, rocksteady, and reggae came along) for more than 60 years. Yup. Count ’em. (Lead singer Albert Minott is 72.) What the members of this irie Buena Vista Social Club lack in teeth, they make up for in sheer gumption: The boys are pushing mento towards a more modern sound with the new record Great Expectation, out May 3 via EOne Music and Geejam Recordings. On it, they cover Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” (check the video, below). At which point they’ll crisscross the world opening for Sade. You know. Standard retiree stuff.
Reminds us of: Old-school reggae in the vein of Freddie Notes, Desmond Dekker
Download this: “Emmanuel Road” mp3
