The Itals

One of Jamaica's signature harmony groups, The Itals were chiefly responsible for keeping the sound and spirit of roots reggae alive well into the dancehall era. They didn't get as much attention as other great vocal trios from the roots era (Culture, The Mighty Diamonds, The Wailing Souls, etc.), partly because their '70s releases were confined to 45-rpm singles. When they finally made the leap to LPs in the '80s, they attracted highly positive notices from many reggae aficionados, even despite the fact that roots was rapidly growing passé in Jamaica with the advent of dancehall reggae. After recording steadily during the '80s, they remained a productive touring unit into the '90s, still releasing the occasional album.

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