The Wailing Souls

The Wailing Souls are a Jamaican reggae group that begins in 1965 as a three-piece called the Renegades, featuring Winston “Pipe” Matthews, George “Buddy” Haye and Lloyd “Bread” McDonald. In the late 1960s, Matthews and McDonald record with singers Oswald Downes and Norman Davis for Coxsone Dodd’s Studio One label, working under both the names The Classics and The Wailing Souls.

Early line-ups and label history

In the early 1970s the group moves to Bob Marley’s Tuff Gong label and uses the name Pipe and The Pipes to avoid confusion with The Wailers. In 1974, Haye returns to the group in place of Downes and Davis, and the band works with producer “Jo Jo” Hookim on the Channel One label. In 1977 they start their own Massive label.

The Wailing Souls later become a familiar quartet when Rudolph “Garth” Dennis, formerly of Black Uhuru, joins the group. This line-up remains stable for around ten years. During that period the group records with producers including Sly and Robbie, “Junjo” Lawes and Linval Thompson. The group splits in 1984.

Albums and recordings

The Wailing Souls’ recorded output includes Wailing Souls on Studio One in 1976, Wild Suspense on Massive in 1979, and a run of early 1980s releases such as Firehouse Rock, Wailing, Soul & Power, Baby Come Rock, Inchpinchers, On the Rocks and Stranded. Later albums include Lay It on the Line, Kingston 14, Stormy Night, Reggae ina Firehouse, All Over the World, Live On, Face the Devil, Tension, Equality and Souvenir from Jamaica.

Several releases collect or reissue earlier material, including Best of Wailing Souls and The Very Best of the Wailing Souls. Other compilation-style releases include Reggae Legends Volume 1 and Classic Souls. A 2004 release, At Channel One, gathers extended mixes and versions from the group’s Channel One-era recordings.

Style and recurring material

The group is associated with roots reggae and dub, and many of their recordings appear repeatedly across different releases and reissues. Titles that recur in the discography include “War,” “Very Well,” “Fire Coal Man,” “Things and Time,” “Back Out,” “Baby Come Rock,” “Run My People,” “Who No Waan Come,” “Jah Jah Give Us Life,” and “Firehouse Rock.”