Redux

It all began in the 1960s when two youths met in the Washington Gardens area of Saint Andrew Parish, a Kingston suburb, where they discovered a common passion for music and especially for the music of post-independence Jamaica. Keith Rowe and Texas Dixon quickly put together that magical combination of guitar and piano and two exceptional voices that would catapult them to fame. After failed auditions for Prince Buster, Studio 1 and Duke Reid they met Derrick Harriott who spotted their talent and provided the opportunity they needed. From this meeting flowed the rich vein of singles that made Keith and Tex s rocksteady rep. As the sharp rhythms of ska simmered down and rocksteady emerged, the duo came into their own with a series of self-penned 7s. But it was a cover that gave them their 1967 international smash: the Spanishtonians ska hit Stop That Train. The relationship ended in 1970, leaving a short but sweet selection, now reissued and remastered on CD and vinyl by France s Soulbeats imprint.