Rivers of Babylon - The Melodians (1970)

"The Melodians were a rocksteady harmony trio composed of Tony Brevett, Brent Dowe, and Trevor McNaughton. There was a fourth member, Robert Cogle, but he apparently contributed to the group only as a songwriter, not as a singer. After singing in various amateur talent shows from 1960 on, they recorded for Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd in 1966, and had a series of hits for the producer Duke Reid in 1967-68. They then recorded several songs for Sonia Pottinger before working with Leslie Kong in 1969-70. They recorded an album's worth of material for Kong, notably hits like 'It's My Delight' and 'Sweet Sensation' (which were released in the UK on a Trojan 45 at the time and were later covered by the British reggae band UB40 in the 1980's and 1990's), but it was 'Rivers of Babylon,' a Rasta-influenced hymn-like song, that was to prove their biggest hit. ..." 

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