The Abyssinians
Vocal group
- Kingston, Jamaica
- 1968 onwards
Bernard Collins and the brothers Donald and Linford Manning made one of the most important records in roots reggae and then spent years trying to get it released.
Satta Massagana was cut at Studio One at the end of the 1960s. Dodd sat on it. The group eventually put it out themselves, and it became foundational: a minor key hymn, partly in Amharic, about a far country the singers had never seen.
Their harmony singing is close and slightly austere, with none of the sweetness of the rocksteady groups. It suits the subject.
Go and listen
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