Albert Bailey and Clifton Howell made up the vocal duo Earth And Stone. During 1972 the pair turned up at the regular tryouts held at Studio One, then spent the next twelve months at the renowned Brentford Road facility before walking away, frustrated by stalled advancement under Coxsone Dodd. In 1973 they shifted allegiance to brothers Ernest and Joseph ‘Joe Joe’ Hookim, recording at the Channel One studio where they cut a blend of lovers and roots material that included the enduring ‘Jah Will Cut You Down’ and ‘Three Wise Men’. Issued on the Hitbound imprint, the sides drew fire from purists who accused the producers of simply recycling vintage Studio One rhythms; the Hookims openly acknowledged the practice of reviving earlier tracks, an approach later recognized as forward-looking because it remains standard today. Bailey and Howell alternated between lead and harmony duties, a formula that resonated strongly enough to prompt the Hookims to assemble the 1978 collection Kool Roots. Drawn from the Maxfield Avenue sessions that began in 1973, the set reached the top of specialist charts around the world and featured such tracks as ‘Jail House Set Me Free’, ‘Free Black Man’ and ‘Once Bitten Twice Shy’. When the Hookims moved operations to New York by 1980, Earth And Stone slipped from view. Pressure Sounds revived interest in 1997 by re-releasing the duo’s album and appending the corresponding dub sides, mirroring the earlier edition. Although they never matched the commercial reach of the Mighty Diamonds or the Jays, their role in shaping Channel One’s output is viewed as equally foundational.
