Cimarons

Originating from Jamaica, the Cimarons relocated to Britain in 1967, arriving with a lineup that featured Franklyn Dunn on bass, Carl Levy on keyboards, Locksley Gichie on guitar, and Maurice Ellis on drums; vocalist Winston Reid came aboard after they reached London. In Jamaica they had worked chiefly as session players, supporting numerous acts such as Jimmy Cliff. Their debut album, In Time, appeared on Trojan Records in 1974 and contained a version of the O'Jays’ “Ship Ahoy” that purists dismissed as overly lush and phoney; the track “Utopian Feeling” drew similar criticism for sounding unrealistic, while the inclusion of the pop standards “Over The Rainbow” and “My Blue Heaven” further damaged their reputation. Two years later Vulcan Records issued On The Rock, a recording that leaned more toward roots material yet failed to register strongly on the charts. The group then moved to Polydor Records, which released Live At The Roundhouse in 1978; the set highlighted their vocal harmonies but left their reserved stage demeanor largely hidden. That same year Polydor put out Maka, an album widely regarded as their finest achievement and the first occasion on which they handled all songwriting and production themselves. The three subsequent releases—Freedom Street, Reggaebility, and On The Rock, Part 2—did little to raise their profile. After issuing a final album in 1983 the band remained inactive until 1995, when Lagoon Records brought out the compilations People Say and Reggae Time, both drawing on earlier material; Culture Press followed with The Best Of The Cimarons in 1999.