3. Johnny Clarke, “None Shall Escape the Judgment”
An end-of-days warning originally written and recorded by a singer called Earl Zero, with Johnny Clarke as the backup singer, Johnny jumped at the opportunity to re-record this song after producer Bunny Lee lost the original vocals in a tape transfer. An instant hit, this song immediately launched the career of Johnny Clarke and it also introduced a different style of hi-hat playing called the flying cymbals, that dominated over the usual ska piano. Jacob Miller and his band inner Circle later recorded a version of “None Shall Escape” that became very popular in Jamaica but never captured the essence of judgment and fire like Johnny Clarke’s version.