About Reggae Playground

1 Johnny Dread • Rootsman Dread • (USA/Cuba)
2 Eric Bibb • Turning World • (USA)
3 Alain Schneider • Le Vieil Éléphant • (France)
4 Judy Mowatt • Let's Dance • (Jamaica)
5 Mousta Largo • Mon Petit Bonhomme • (Morocco)
6 Tony Q Rastafara • Pat Gulipat • (Indonesia)
7 The Burning Souls • Here Comes the Sun • (Jamaica)
8 Marty Dread • Mouse in the House • (Hawaii/USA)
9 Jessica • Ying Yang • (Reunion)
10 Kal dos Santos • As Meninas dos Meus Olhos • (Brazil)
11 Asheba • Reggae Lullaby • (Trinidad)
12 Rita Marley • Harambe • (Jamaica)
13 Toots and the Maytals • Take Me Home Country Roads • (Jamaica)

This joyous collection for kids and their families from Putumayo Kids features a festive selection of tunes that reflect the crossover appeal and worldwide influence of reggae – a genre that is beloved all over the globe.
As Jacob Edgar, Putumayo’s resident ethnomusicologist notes,“Reggae is one of the most adaptable and influential styles. People can really blend the reggae vibe with their local music to create something that is influenced by reggae but has its own unique flavor.”

Reggae Playground presents renowned artists from reggae’s birthplace of Jamaica. Judy Mowatt, a former backing vocalist for Bob Marley and respected solo artist, invites listeners to get moving with her rousing “Let’s Dance.” We hear about the importance of respecting our differences and the need to work together in Rita Marley’s classic anthem “Harambe.” The Jamaican reggae arrangements of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by the legendary Toots & the Maytals and the Burning Souls’ rendition of “Here Comes the Sun” demonstrate the adaptability of this infectious beat to almost any tune.

Asheba, an artist who hails from Trinidad and is known for his Caribbean songs for young children, performs a soothing “Reggae Lullaby.” Even parents will be lulled by the refrains of “Oooh Baby,Don’t Cry / Rest now and wipe your weeping eye.”