Take it Easy

Recorded in late 1966 at Federal Records in Kingston, Jamaica, with Hopeton Lewis backed by Lynn Taitt and the Jets. The record was produced by Sam Mitchell. Released as one of the earliest rocksteady records, it helped define the new slower Jamaican sound and became the song most closely associated with the style’s arrival. Contemporary and retrospective coverage has treated it as a landmark cut in Jamaican music history. The track is widely cited as a rocksteady touchstone and has been covered and sampled by later artists, including Johnny Clarke and Desmond Dekker and The Specials. Its reputation as the genre’s breakthrough record has kept it central to reggae histories and compilations.