"One Man Against the World"

Because righteousness governs the world.

Broadcasting live and direct from the rolling red hills on the outskirts of Kingston, Jamaica.

From a magical place at the intersection of words, sound, and power, the red light is on.

Your dial is set the frequency in tune to the roots land podcast stories that are music to your ears.

No one can stop me.

One man against the world.

One man against the world.

Well, happy holidays to the roots land gang.

Wishing health, happiness, positive vibes as we all head into a brand new year, brand new opportunities, new beginnings.

This is the final episode of season six, our special holiday edition.

One man against the world.

Excuse me, Henry.

Sia.

Excuse me, Sia.

We're recording.

What is it?

Oh, I'm sorry.

I didn't realize.

Well, yes, as you can hear, I'm joined at the Red Hills Cafe with my co host, Sia, who's sitting in on the show, and we're supposed to wait for her intro.

Sia.

Now, would you like to say something?

Say hello.

Oh, hello, everyone.

Happy holiday.

So?

So what?

Why are you interrupting?

What's the matter?

Oh, Henry, didn't you say this episode was gonna be a positive, uplifting episode?

Yeah.

Uh huh.

And so, one man against the world.

Sounds so heavy and dark.

Come on, Sia, you know how these shows flow.

You know my tempo, you know, they start out a little deep and heavy, but I do my thing, you know, I pivot, I'll lift it back up again.

Okay, fine.

But maybe you can do your thing a little quicker.

You know, 2023 was tough for everyone, for a lot of people.

Oh, so now you're gonna tell me about the roots land audience?

Well, I.

Listen, I'm the audience, okay?

Let's just move forward, okay?

You remember how much I always loved this studio, just hanging out with the musicians, you know, being part of that whole scene.

Oh, my God, don't even remind me.

You used to go down there all the time, even when you weren't working.

What were you doing down there?

I used to think you were flirting with all those pretty girls.

Oh, I remember.

But for me, it was always about the music.

When I first arrived in Kingston to work at Tough Gong Records back in 1989, I would spend hours at their record store, chilling out with singers, DJ's, artists, producers, many who were young guns like me, just breaking into the business.

Others established industry veterans who had been through the wringer, and they were thoughtful and generous enough to share their experiences with the rookies.

That year was a bumper year for product, as records were flying off tough gong shelves, not only bound for the islands, bustling record shops, but also for international buyers that would fly in from all over the world to purchase records in Kingston and bring them back home to sell.

Everywhere from Tampa to Tokyo, from Toronto to Toulouse, on every continent, in every country, every major city, there was a die hard reggae following that yearned for these hot new tracks from yard.

In the wake of Bob Marleys reggae revolution, the music had truly gone global.

One of the biggest records in 1989 was written and recorded by Jamaicas most prolific singer, known as the cool ruler, Gregory Isaacs.

The song one man against the World was released by DJ turned producer Tapizuki on his Tappa label, distributed by tough gong music.

Tapizuki just happened to be one of those producers always willing to take his time and explain the nuances and fundamentals of the business to those of us who are just starting out.

And that song, one man against the world, well, that became my personal anthem.

While living in Kingston, with its message of perseverance in the face of hardship, I felt like Gregory was singing it for me.

There I was on my own in Jamaica, a stranger in a strange land, looking to break into an industry where people were understandably skeptical and suspicious of my motives.

I felt like one man against the world.

And when I heard Gregory defiantly, confidently proclaim, I don't care where they're from or who they think they are.

They might win the battle, but they just won't win the war.

Well, as at the time, that's just what I needed to hear.

Gregory had me from the very intro of that song victory was mine.

In 1991, when I moved back to Kingston with Brian from Colorado, one man against the world was on heavy rotation at our place at armor Heights.

And as much as I loved the song, anytime it came on the radio, no matter where he was in the house, Brian appeared like magic, pumping up the volume on the boombox to eleven, and would sing along with Gregory like this was some kind of ragamuffin karaoke session.

It was only years after Brian's death that I really understood why he connected so deeply to that song.

It's because it wasn't only the song, it was the singer.

Besides an undying love of reggae music, Gregory Isaacs and Brian from Colorado had something else in common.

They were both addicts, both fighting a very similar battle, not only against the world, but against themselves.

It must have been so lonely, so exhausting for them, unable to understand how they could become so consumed and so dependent on a chemical substance.

Being that they were both such insightful, smart and determined individuals.

It's only now, decades later, that we finally understand that addiction is a disease, an illness that's almost impossible to treat or even figure out on your own, no matter how strong or resilient you are.

Some battles one man cannot fight against the world.

Not alone, because the world is going to win.

I met Gregory Isaacs for the first time in 1991.

Brian and I would drive over to the African Museum, a record store that Gregory opened up in 1973 with fellow singer Errol Dunkley in downtown Kingston and eventually would move up to Red Hills Road.

We would idle around the record shop for hours, just waiting for Gregory to show up.

And it took weeks before we actually connected with him.

And even then, the first encounter was anticlimactic.

A short, Curt hello and then Gregory went into his office.

Years later, when I was producing at Gussie Clark's anchor music, whenever I heard Gregory was at the studio, I would sneak into his session, just slip into a back corner and enjoy the moment.

Dream of a time when I'd get a chance to work with him.

Gregory Isaacs belongs on the Mount Rushmore of reggae.

So much more than an accomplished singer, he was one of reggae's most flamboyant personalities, credited with recording over 120 albums, with songs appearing on over 500 compilation records, about a dozen or so produced by me.

His defining work, his self produced 1982 masterpiece Night Nurse, considered to be one of the greatest reggae albums ever recorded.

Backed by the Roots radix band, the album is a cohesive collection of songs about loneliness, despair, longing, all which had become recurring themes in the cool rulers repertoire.

The albums title track, night Nurse, was once described by a critic as a slinky, sexy, salacious, nocturnal emission of a song.

Wow, that sounds more like an adult film review than a reggae record.

But those are the kinds of emotions that Gregory Isaacs was capable of stirring up in music fans.

Unfortunately, with a well known history of addiction and countless arrests for possession of drugs and unlicensed firearms overshadowed an unrivaled four decade career.

And by the time Gregory Isaacs died of lung cancer in 2010 at only 59, the years of abuse had already taken a heavy toll on the talented singer.

He was born in Fletchersland, a forsaken downtown slum.

He and his siblings were raised by a single mother in nearby Denham town, a West Kingston ghetto overrun with gang violence, unemployment and poverty.

Gregory could have ended up another statistic, like so many of his childhood friends, another victim of Jamaica's obscene murdery.

But God gave young Gregory a gift, a unique, one of a kind voice this wavering tenor with a smooth, debonair delivery that would allow him to transcend out of the violent slums of Kingston and see the four corners of the world as an internationally recognized music superstar.

At the peak of his popularity, there was no reggae singer that could electrify and have an audience eating out of the palm of his hand like Gregory Isaacs.

All you have to do is watch his 1984 live concert from London to see the power of his performance.

Dressed in a designer white silk suit, his dreadlocks tucked neatly into his trademark cashmere fedora hat, he struts on stage with style and swagger that had the ladies melting before he even sang a note, if I am guilty and Gregory the cool ruler was the envy of every rude boy and gangster in town, with a delivery so relaxed and laid back it felt like he was singing in the living room of his best friend.

The first opportunity I had to work with Gregory Isaacs was in 1997.

For reggae celebrates the Grateful Dead, volume two.

I chose the song sugary for him to record.

Like so many hunter Garcia compositions, its interpretation is left up to the listener, influenced by the cadence and the delivery of the singer, which is usually Jerry Garcia, but in this case, Gregory Isaacs.

The songs bridge begins with a passionate plea just one thing I ask of you just one thing for me please forget you knew my name my darling sugary is the singer trying to protect someone he loves, deeply, cares about, or is he just trying to protect himself?

And knowing Gregory Isaacs, im not sure if wed get an answer to that question, but I couldnt wait to hear him sing it.

I drove over to the african museum first thing in the morning.

I was nervous.

I still needed to convince Gregory to appear on the album and let him hear my idea.

He was alone in his office behind the desk, so I sat across from him and gave him a copy of the song and the lyrics.

Gregory put on his reading glasses and glanced at the song's title before placing down the paper.

He said the name out loud and nodded with approval.

Mmm, sugary latinium.

Enrique sin.

He placed the cassette in the tape deck and played the first track, which was the original Jerry Garcia version off his solo album.

Jerrys Sweet, subtle entry grabbed Gregorys attention immediately, and now he studied the lyrics a little more intently.

His eyebrows furled and he read along with Jerrys voice.

Gregory picked up a pencil and like a college professor correcting a term paper, he starts making annotations in the columns, adding punctuation marks, underlining words, crossing out others.

I was witnessing a master at work, deconstructing the song on the spot and reconfiguring it to fit his style, his rhythmical flow.

When it ended, he played it back from top, and by the time the first bridge kicked in, Gregory was singing along like he grew up in Haight Ashbury in the late sixties, listening to the Grateful dead, he found it.

He discovered the essence of that song and how it connected to him personally.

And that was perhaps his greatest superpower, his ability to take a song, adapt it and make it his own, regardless of the style or genre.

When the album came out, Gregory insisted that I release a promotional single in Jamaica for his song Sugary.

And when people heard it, everybody was convinced it was a Gregory Isaacs original, that he wrote it.

They refused to believe it was a cover.

Even when I played him the original Jerry Garcia version, they thought that was the COVID which in the end is the ultimate compliment not only for the singer, but also for the writers of the song.

Water down just one thing.

I dare fuck you.

I'd get a chance to work with Gregory Isaacs many times over the next decade.

Each session his physical decline was a little more apparent.

But even so, a diminished Gregory Isaacs was still capable of delivering a great performance and was just such a great presence to be around.

When he was on, he was on when he was off.

Well, thats a whole nother story.

Oh lord if im guilty then I will pay.

The last time we worked together was in the summer of 2010, just a couple of months before he passed away.

Just as witty and irreverent as ever.

There were rumors that he wasn't well, but they had been circulating for years.

He actually sounded pretty good for someone who I would later find out had stage four lung cancer.

When he was voicing the song, we recorded a cover version of the who's classic my Generation.

He came prepared to work, voiced the song in one take without even the lyric sheet, and then he cut and ran off to the next studio before I can even listen back to the take.

The funniest part of the session was when I played back the song.

I realized that he made a subtle but meaningful change to one of the lyrics, and it slipped right by me because it sounded so natural.

He changed the line I hope I die before I get old to they hope I die before I get old, which was so Gregory.

Always defiant, always me versus them until the very end.

But the sad truth is, it didn't have to be that way.

Gregory really wasn't one man against the world.

He was loved admired by many people.

His wife and family begged him many times over the years to seek help because offstage, his deep rooted insecurities and the difficulty he had in handling the pressures of fame and success led to a dependency on cocaine that had pretty much destroyed his life.

The quality of his voice suffered over time.

He became erratic in missed shows, alienating his friends and fans, eventually even losing his visa and unable to leave Jamaica to work.

His wife June and kids, they bore the heaviest burden for Gregorys addiction, often having to clean up his mess, straighten out his finances, and endure the heartache and uncertainty of having Gregory disappear for days at a time, not even knowing if he was even alive.

His wife stated many times publicly that her husband Gregory, had too much pride.

It was his ego that kept him from seeking the help he needed, and in the end, that cost him everything.

Does that sound familiar to anyone?

Pride, ego costing someone so dearly.

How many of us are so different than Gregory?

Scared to reach out for help, out of fear of being perceived as weak or worried about what others may think.

So we stay silent, hide or deny our problems, whether drugs, alcohol, food, toxic relationships, mental health struggles we all think were strong enough to handle it on our own.

We all have become one man, one woman, one other against the world.

And frankly, thats why the world is such a lonely place.

You know, buried within a myriad of year end government documents, statistics, and charts is a less publicized, yet very revealing 2023 report published by the Department of Health and Human Services.

It says the United States is in the midst of an epidemic of loneliness.

That's right.

The surgeon general and the us government probably spent millions of dollars and tapped countless resources to tell us what just about every middle school teenager already knows.

That it's lonely out there, that people have become detached and disconnected to the point we don't even feel like hanging out with each other anymore.

And once again, it doesnt take the surgeon general, or any kind of surgeon to understand the root causes of this crisis.

The lingering effects of being isolated during a global pandemic, an over dependence on social media and digital platforms to provide us what we believe to be unbiased news and information.

At the same time, those very same platforms in media companies profit off, keeping us bitter, angry, divided, and totally absorbed within our own echo chambers.

Believe me, I understand the natural tendency to want to lash out, fight against everything we fear, don't understand that we don't like.

But maybe instead of fighting against the world, we can all learn how to fight with the world.

Because the truth is the whole world isn't fighting against anyone.

Yeah, theres a small, powerful few doing their best to give the illusion that we are all out there on our own.

All one person against the world.

Because they want us to stop fighting.

They want us to give up, become cold and uncaring.

So we just hand over our humanity to become part of their machine.

You know, recently ive been hearing more than ever people I know, even friends, referring to other people as animals.

As animals.

But I believe the moment we stop seeing each other as human.

Is the moment we stop being human.

Henry, I thought you was gonna keep it light.

Oh, please, sia, not again.

Where are you going with this?

I was getting there.

I was getting there.

Just a little patience, okay?

Okay.

Remember, holiday festive.

Feel good.

Come on.

Let's go.

You don't change.

I don't want to.

Sia, you remember the name of the last episode, right?

No man is an island, right?

No man is an island, right?

Uh huh.

Yeah.

It was an homage to the poet John Donne's work, written over 400 years ago.

You know what the final lines of his meditation were?

He said, any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never sent to know for whom the bell tolls.

It tolls for thee.

Would you believe that those words, written back in 1624, hold the key to happiness, fulfillment and purpose for us today?

In 2024?

It turns out, if you want to live longer and be happier, physically and emotionally healthier, if you want to prevent heart disease and cognitive brain disorders, science has now discovered the best way to do it is listen to John Donne.

Become involved in mankind, make connections, human contact, real world interactions.

Now, I really suggest that everyone either read Dan Buettner's book or watch his series on Netflix on the blue zones.

Its about the five places in the world that have the most centurions, people who live over 100 years old.

First of all, its much better reading and infinitely more optimistic than the health and Human service report on the epidemic of loneliness.

But more important, it actually provides the cure and the antidote to the epidemic.

So it turns out that people who live the longest, healthiest lives around the world share something in common.

It's not location, not a specific diet or exercise or religion, although these are all deeply spiritual people who do share a strong belief in a higher power.

But the one thing that connects the longevity of these vastly different cultures is they're all invested in mankind, in devoting time to family, to friends, to community, to being engaged in various forms of social activities.

These are all societies that look out and respect their elders, make each other feel wanted, needed, loved.

It turns out this investment in mankind pays one dividend that money cant buy life and rootsland.

Family, I need you around as long as possible because I'm gonna keep doing this show as long as you keep listening.

Special big up to Patrick Gaynor and voice Box studios in Red Hills, Jamaica, Robbie Kay in the New Orleans Posse, Scott from New Hope, Daylyn Marley and Selah, Billy B.

In the Selassie School of Vision in Papine.

Beautiful, Jen J.

Dennis, wife of reggae great Garth Dennis.

And since he passed away, she's so lovingly carried on his legacy.

And of course, to my caribbean queen, Sia.

You wanna say something before we go?

Yeah.

I wanna wish everybody a blessed and happy holiday and a prosperous 2024.

Thank you for supporting our show, and I'm so happy to be a part of it.

And finally, just to take it back to Gregory Isaacs.

Before we go, one of my personal favorites that I produced with him over the years was a version of the Rolling Stone song wild horses.

It's a song about standing by someone you love through the good, through the bad, through the extremely ugly.

And even though they may be the biggest pain in the ass in the world, there's still your pain in the ass.

And there's something to be said for that.

Oh, that's so flattering.

Wild horses couldn't drag me away.

Couldn'T drag me away gonna ran you some days get rested child living it's easy to do things you wanted I bought them for you only, gracious lady, no I am I just couldn't let you slip through my hand my lord sees couldn't drag me away, no why no she couldn't drag me away now I want you suffer a dumpy dp now you decided you decided to show me the thing faith every broken teeth must be cry now you got your freedom till the end of time why no sister couldn't drag me away, no why no sin couldn't drag me away deep in the desert in old burning flee now it's all over I remember your.

Name.

Samsung cowboy filled with design but the candle glowing long after the time why no she couldn't drag me away while I said gonna ride you someday lord why I lost it couldn't drag me away I'm gonna write you some day yeah why don't you?

Couldn't drive me away why don't she come around.