The Meditations

Even by Jamaican standards, the Meditations trace an intricate path to formation, with Ansel Cridland and Danny Clarke each pursuing established careers long before uniting. Born in 1951, Cridland relocated to Kingston during childhood, trained as a jockey, and took assorted employment until committing to music; he assembled the Linkers vocal group amid the rocksteady period. Although personnel shifted frequently, the Linkers issued nearly a dozen singles without notable public impact. Clarke, born in Kingston, performed briefly alongside the Flames, Alton Ellis’s backing ensemble. Fellow Flame Sweet P connected Clarke with Cridland, and the pair quickly bonded. By the early 1970s both recorded as soloists yet favored harmony vocals. Momentum built in 1974 when they auditioned jointly at Channel One for label chief JoJo Hookim during Junior Delgado’s session. Hookim was struck by “Woman Is Like a Shadow,” as was aspiring vocalist Winston Watson, who immediately contributed falsetto parts.

The nascent trio stood complete yet unlaunched. Hookim declined to issue the recorded “Woman.” The singers persisted in composing and rehearsing. Late in 1975, Clarke and Watson attended Federal Studios auditions hosted by Dobby Dobson; Clarke presented “Babylon Trap Them” and Watson “Woman Piabba,” both captured by Dobson and issued under solo credit despite Cridland’s backing vocals. In 1976 the three recorded Cridland’s “Tricked,” released as Ansel & the Meditations. The single earned television exposure and secured their first Caribbean tour alongside Culture, the Tamlins, Carl Dawkins, and Leroy Smart. By year’s end the group had formally adopted the Meditations name.

Steady work with Dobson yielded Message from the Meditations, a striking debut whose every track appeared or would soon appear on 45, ranging from “Woman Is Like a Shadow”—retrieved by Dobson from Hookim, who then released it himself—through their initial Dobson sides and Cridland’s landmark “Running from Jamaica” to the buoyant “Changing of the Times.” In 1977 they shared Madison Square Garden with Calypso Rose, then prepared their sophomore set at home. Wake Up arrived in 1978, again anchored by hits such as “Fly Natty Dread,” “Turn Me Loose,” and its title track; the album also revisited “Nyah Man Story,” a composition originating with Cridland’s Linkers.

Dissatisfied with compensation from Dobson, the trio ended that partnership. Lee “Scratch” Perry, impressed by earlier Black Ark sessions for Message, sought to produce their next album. Although the group withheld full control, they supplied singles for him—“No Peace,” “House of Parliament,” and “Think So”—the last achieving British notice when Island paired it with Cridland’s own “Life Is Not Easy.” Perry facilitated an introduction to Bob Marley, resulting in the Meditations’ harmonies on “Rastaman Redemption,” “Blackman Redemption,” and “Punky Reggae Party.” Throughout the late 1970s they lent vocals to numerous artists, among them Jimmy Cliff and Gregory Isaacs.

As the decade closed, prospects brightened further. Marley’s Tuff Gong label scheduled a new album and issued the buoyant “Miracles” single, supported by several Wailers; additional sessions followed. A dispute between Cridland and Tuff Gong’s manager halted the project, yet the trio performed two songs at Marley’s invitation during the landmark Peace Concert. Guidance finally emerged in 1980, again stocked with enduring material, though international reggae interest was receding and Jamaican audiences favored deejays.

Three years later the group resurfaced with No More Friend, elegantly supported by the Roots Radics and produced by Linval Thompson, who had earlier guided several singles including 1982’s “Sit Down & Reason.” In 1984 they cut further tracks such as a re-recorded “Quiet Woman” and its flip “Reggae Crazy,” both propelled by the Revolutionaries. By year’s end the original lineup dissolved: Cridland continued as Ansel Meditations while Clarke and Watson persisted as the Meditations duo.

Cridland maintained a solo trajectory through singles and the albums Thunder on the Mountain (1988) and African Vengeance (1990); he later collaborated with Yami Bolo on the acclaimed Tribute to Marcus Garvey. Meanwhile Clarke and Watson gained U.S. traction, touring successfully and signing with Heartbeat Records, which released the 1988 album For the Good of Man, portions of which Cridland oversaw. Their rift had been largely geographic—Cridland remained in Jamaica while his partners favored the United States—so the trio reunited in 1990 and documented the occasion with 1992’s Return of the Meditations. Subsequent compilations have kept their catalog available, and the group came to be revered as foundational figures of the roots era they helped shape. Danny Clarke died on July 27, 2024, at the age of 72.