Bob Marley's Impact: Pressing Matters In Jamaica

Jamaica was once a country inhabited with outstanding musical talent including the legend Bob Marley, fancy recording studios, and large factories to press vinyl, however it is now only a rebuilding process for the island country. The great recording legend Bob Marley was a huge influence to the rise of the vinyl industry and now independent artists and vinyl companies like Tuff Gong are responding to the resurgence of vinyl music, once again.

Jamaica was once a country inhabited with outstanding musical talent including the legend Bob Marley, fancy recording studios, and large factories to press vinyl, however it is now only a rebuilding process for the island country. The great recording legend Bob Marley was a huge influence to the rise of the vinyl industry and now independent artists and vinyl companies like Tuff Gong are responding to the resurgence of vinyl music, once again.

Mitchie Williams of Rocker’s International is one of the few people that are helping to reconstruct the industry by opening up a local vinyl store, but will need the help of a once-booming local factory, Tuff Gong, to spark up the business again. “If you want to press a record right now, definitely would have to be outside of the island. Hopefully soon Tuff Gong would step up.” Williams says. Part of the reason why factories went out of business is because of the overseas competition, but the people responding to the resurgence are trying to change that.

Carl Lauder of Randy’s Records takes us through a mini tour of the studio where Bob Marley recorded song of his songs. In the video you can see vinyl records laying around everywhere looking lifeless with recording equipment also laying around collecting dust. He hopes to make this place a museum one day as a place to hold Bob Marley’s archived music.

“Music is so important here. Music is the thing. It’s not sports. It’s not football. It’s not cricket. It’s the music,” says Earl “Chinna” Smith.