Dollar In the Teeth

The track was recorded in late 1968 for Lee “Scratch” Perry’s Upsetter operation, using the Upsetters studio band during Perry’s first major independent production period. It was issued in Jamaica on Upsetter and paired in the UK with “Return Of Django.” Released in 1968 in Jamaica and 1969 in the UK, the track became the double A-side partner to “Return Of Django,” which reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart. It helped establish Perry and the Upsetters as an international force in early reggae. The track remains one of the best-known early Upsetters instrumentals and a fixture of Trojan and Lee Perry anthologies. Its chart success helped introduce Perry’s Upsetter sound to British reggae audiences before his later Black Ark period.