This was an eventful year: American Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon in June, while Woodstock, the mother of all music festivals, took place in New York two months later.

Jamaican popular music came of age that year. The Abyssinians, a roots-reggae group from Trench Town, recorded the song Satta Massagana at Studio One, operated by producer Clement Dodd.

The song featured an all-star cast of musicians including Leroy Sibbles on bass, Fil Callender on drums and guitarist Eric Frater. It would be two years before the song was released, but it was an instant hit for group members Bernard Collins, and brothers Donald and Linford Manning.

Reggae's anthem

Satta Massagana is regarded by fans internationally as a seminal song. Many hail it as reggae's anthem. Its fierce beat has been sampled by countless artistes and producers.

Also in 1969, singer Desmond Dekker and his backup group, the Aces, entered the British pop charts with Israelites, a powerful song about the challenges of urban life.

Israelites was one of the songs that broke Jamaican music in Britain. Other songs would follow, the best known being Young, Gifted and Black by Bob Andy and Marcia Griffiths, and Double Barrell which was done by Ansell Collins and Dave Barker.

Israelites was produced by Leslie Kong, a Chinese-Jamaican who also performed similar duties for Pomps and Pride, the song by Toots and the Maytals that won the Festival Song competition in the summer of 1969.

Toots Hibbert

The Abyssinians