This Is Reggae

For more than six decades, reggae legend Glen DaCosta has worked as a musician, songwriter and producer. As a session player, his distinctive sax sound backed many international reggae stars at Joe Gibbs’ Studio and Lee Scratch Perry’s Blackheart Studio. Twenty-two years in the writing, his revealing memoir gives an insider’s view of the Jamaican popular music industry, and recounts his fascinating childhood and years on the road with Bob Marley and the Wailers and Zap Pow.

Glen DaCosta lives in St. Mary, Jamaica.

Dave Peters lives in San Antonio, Texas.

Glen DaCosta with Dave Peters

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 151
Bibliographic Info: 27 photos, appendices, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9164-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4980-1
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction: King of Reggae 1
1. The Alpha Boy 7
2. Work and Family 13
3. The Army and Independence 18
4. A History of Jamaican Music 24
5. Zap Pow 29
6. Session Man 37
7. In the Studio with Bob Marley 40
8. The Day They Shot Bob Marley 46
9. Exodus and Kaya 52
10. The Survival Tour of 1979 59
11. Whatever Happened to Zap Pow? 74
12. Becoming a Reggae Ambassador 83
13. Zap Pow, Again 88
14. The Legend of Bob Marley 93
15. Within Reach 105
Appendix 1. A Glen DaCosta Discography 115
Appendix 2. A Conversation with Bob Marley’s Childhood Friend, Joe James 123
Appendix 3. The Sledge Exchange 129
Index 141

• “Saxophonist/songwriter/producer DaCosta, as a member of Zap Pow and of Bob Marley and the Wailers, is legendary in the reggae genre. His memoir, told with the help of Dave Peters, is also the story of modern Jamaican music from ska to the popularity of reggae in the ’70s. … The book is filled with behind-the-scenes anecdotes about Bob Marley and the Wailers and the world of Rasta. Liberally illustrated with photographs, this book is an intimate account of DaCosta’s life, and it centers the birth and popularity of reggae music. … Of particular interest to reggae fans; a good addition to large music collections.”—Library Journal
• “Revealing…fascinating”—Reggaeville