Beres Hammond, Damian Marley and Buju Banton THE 100 songs from which Jamaica will choose the island's greatest 40 songs have been selected. The announcement was made in a release from the Jamaica 40 Secretariat, which was sent to The Gleaner. The competition, dubbed 'Jamaica Top 40 - Great Songs From a Great Nation', is a part of the celebration of Jamaica's 40th year of independence.
The selection of the 100 songs, from which the public will choose, was made by persons in different aspects of the music industry. The list of persons includes musicians, musicologists, composers and producers. Producers on the list include Clement 'Sir Coxsone' Dodd of Studio One and Gussie Clarke from the Music Works label. Musicologist Bunny Goodison also contributed to the process.
Musicians Wayne Chin and Wayne Armond made their mark and so too did radio personalities Judith Bodley of Zip FM and Big A of Irie FM. Bobby Clarke, Brent Dowe, Bunny and Scully, Radcliffe Butler, Donovan Germaine, Clyde McKenzie, Louie Grant and T. Boots Harris also aided in the selection process.
The secretariat announced that the list of songs should cover all decades in the 40-year period, which was the reason behind the wide cross-section of persons making the selection.
The list of 100 songs is available to the public at all Bill Express outlets. Interested persons can select their top 40, based on the top 100 provided, and then place them in secure ballots at any Bill Express.
Voters will also be awarded for participating in the process. In the spirit of '40' There will be a raffle of $400,000 worth of prizes. When filling out their selections, persons will be asked to fill in their names and addresses to be a part of the raffle.
Songs which made their way to 100 include She Loves Me Now (Beres Hammond), Johnny Too Bad (The Slickers), It Was Written (Damian Marley, Capleton, Stephen Marley and Yami Bolo), Cottage in Negril (Tyrone Taylor), Wake the Town (U-Roy), Carry Go Bring Come (Justin Hinds and the Dominoes), Murder She Wrote (Chaka Demus and Pliers), No Woman No Cry (Bob Marley and the Wailers), Untold Stories (Buju Banton) and The Harder They Come (Jimmy Cliff).
