"Herb and Legends" Preview
Preview "Herb and Legends" the new series where Award Winning Host Henry K brings insights gained from decades spent in Kingston, Jamaica. Part "Murder Mystery...Part, Music history" Henry highlights the rich oral traditions that permeate the music scene, emphasizing how these stories contain the heartbeat of the culture. Season 1 Peter Tosh "Wanted Dread or Alive" touches on the unresolved mysteries surrounding Tosh's murder, urging listeners to consider the deeper implications of these events beyond what is reported by mainstream media.
As the episode evolves, it transitions into a more intimate dialogue about personal experiences of grief and healing. Co-host Sia opens up about the recent loss of her friend Ann, providing a heartfelt narrative that resonates with anyone who has experienced similar pain. This segment not only humanizes the conversation but also serves as a reminder of the communal aspects of sorrow and recovery. Henry K shares how music, particularly the Peter Tosh song "Pick Myself Up can offer solace and strength during difficult times. The show concludes with a stirring rendition of the song 'Pick Myself Up', by the group Jakoostik a song that embodies the spirit of resilience, urging listeners to embrace life and move forward despite challenges. This powerful blend of music, storytelling, and personal reflection makes the episode a poignant tribute to the enduring legacies of reggae and its profound impact on the human experience
Featured music Pick Myself Up Performed By Jakoostik - YouTube
Transcript
The ties Righteousness govern the world.
Host: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.
Host:The red light is on.
Host:Your dial is set, the frequency in tune to the Roots Land podcast stories that are music to your ears.
News Reporter:Entertainer and reggae star Bob Marley, Rita Marley, and the manager of the Whalers, Don Taylor, are now patients in the University Hospital after receiving gunshot wounds during a shooting incident which took place at Marley's home at 56 Hope Road.
Sia:Tonight, how long shall they kill our prophets while we stand?
News Reporter:The passing of another Jamaican superstar, reggae dynamo Peter Tosh, one of the original Whalers.
News Reporter:And passed away by the gun, by.
Henry Kay:The.
Sia:Glory to John, let him be Praise.
Henry Kay:Because his righteousness govern the world.
Henry Kay:What was the real cause of Bob Marley's death?
Henry Kay:Who is behind the assassination of his bandmate Peter Tosh?
Henry Kay:And where in the world is Ms.
Henry Kay:Jean?
Henry Kay:Missing wife of late reggae icon Bunny Wailer and the rightful heir to his massive fortune and music catalog.
Henry Kay:I'm Henry Kay, host of the one music history podcast, Roots Land.
Henry Kay:I want you to lean in close and listen to what corporate media outlets only hint at, what the popular websites dance around, but never fully illuminate.
Henry Kay:On our new limited series, Herb and Legends.
Henry Kay:We're not just exploring murders and connecting missing pieces.
Henry Kay:We are preserving cultural mythology, capturing the oral traditions that ripple through ganja filled recording sessions and street corner domino games like late night ghost stories.
Henry Kay:After spending three decades living and working in Kingston, Jamaica, hearing these elaborate tales from some of music's most revered pioneers, I've learned there's a heartbeat beneath every song.
Henry Kay:The pulse of an untold story.
Henry Kay:Living archives of whispered secrets, unresolved tensions, and, yes, urban legends just waiting for someone to pull back the curtain and listen to what's been said.
Henry Kay:Maybe you're like me, drawn to the spaces in between the notes, the pregnant pauses where unspoken truth is revealed.
Henry Kay:Some mysteries were never meant to be solved.
Henry Kay:They're meant to be felt to resonate in that liminal space between shadows and light, between truth and legend.
Henry Kay:Urban legends.
Henry Kay:Where there's smoke, there's fire.
Henry Kay:Fire.
Henry Kay:Fire.
Henry Kay:Available on all podcast platforms.
Henry Kay: January: Henry Kay:Yes, Roots Land gang, welcome to a new year, new show, new vibe.
Listener: Happy: Henry Kay:Wishing you all the best, your best year yet.
Listener:Oh, and happy birthday, Henry.
Henry Kay:Yep, that's true.
Henry Kay:It is my birthday.
Listener:Wishing you so much success, prosperity and good health.
Henry Kay:Thank you, thank you.
Henry Kay:That's very kind of you.
Henry Kay:Well, I guess I'm old enough now that my advice can be considered ancient wisdom.
Henry Kay:Yeah.
Henry Kay:So everybody better pay attention, listen close.
Henry Kay:And speaking of new Sia, what's your take on our new show, Urban Legends?
Henry Kay:What do you think of that preview?
Listener:You know, I love all those kind of shows.
Listener:Cold case, unsolved mystery, 24 hours.
Henry Kay:No, that's not the name.
Listener:I think it's 48 hours.
Henry Kay:Yeah, 48 hours.
Henry Kay:But you have no patience, so you expect it in 24.
Henry Kay:And what about that show you love where the husbands and wives take vengeance on their cheating spouses?
Henry Kay:Or kill them for the insurance money?
Listener:Oh, dear.
Listener:Yeah, Snap.
Henry Kay:Yeah, that's.
Henry Kay:That's it.
Henry Kay:Snapped.
Henry Kay:Yeah.
Listener:Yeah.
Henry Kay:No wonder you can't sleep at night watching those shows before going to bed.
Listener:Never mind about me losing sleep, Henry.
Listener:Aren't you nervous about digging up all this dirt on Peter Tosh's killers?
Listener:You're gonna have to go around watching your back.
Henry Kay:No, I'm not worried, actually.
Henry Kay:Some of the most dangerous people, they're not behind your back, they're right in front of you.
Listener:I think it's both.
Listener:You gotta watch your back and you gotta watch your front.
Henry Kay:No, you watch your front.
Henry Kay:You're gonna need to ask a Jamaican what that means.
Henry Kay:I got to pick my.
Sia:Myself start all over again.
Henry Kay:So, as you know, Sia, back in October, I was honored to attend the Peter Tosh Fest in Westmoreland, Jamaica, the birthplace of the reggae superstar.
Henry Kay: ,: Listener:Didn't you drive from Kingston with the twins?
Henry Kay:Yes, I drove with the twin of twins.
Henry Kay:And the entire way from the rolling red hills on the outskirts of Kingston to the sea drenched shores of Belmont, we talked about the murder of Peter Tosh.
Henry Kay:How nobody on the streets of Jamaica, including us, ever bought into the mainstream media's narrative that his murder was some kind of robbery gone wrong.
Henry Kay:The twins grew up in the Chisholm Avenue garrisons of Kingston 13, where that ghetto grapevine, along with the Rastafari elders, had plenty to say about the subject.
Henry Kay:And I remember the stories and urban legends that I heard in late night ganja filled recording sessions from musicians that told me what they really believed happened to Peter Tosh, Doc Brown and Free Eye Dickson.
Henry Kay:And you know something?
Henry Kay:By the time we reached Manderville, there was this majestic cloud of mist covering the mountains.
Henry Kay:As if the island was trying to say something.
Henry Kay:We realized that the true story behind the killing of one of Music's most revolutionary voices was covered in the same haze as those misty mountains never fully revealed.
Henry Kay:Little slices selectively handed out, just enough to cloud and confuse to create this move on, nothing to see here attitude.
Henry Kay:And to the credit of Peter Tosh, along with his childhood friend, fellow whaler Bob Marley, prophetically sang the words that not all that glitters is gold.
Henry Kay:Half the story has never been told.
Henry Kay:They both understood that the truth was ugly and dangerous and does not fit into neat little boxes.
Henry Kay:And people, for the most part, as the cliche goes, no, they can't handle the truth.
Henry Kay:Yet the truth is one of my musical heroes, Peter Tosh, didn't deserve to die like he did.
Henry Kay:And where is the justice for a man who spent his life fighting for equal rights and justice for others?
Henry Kay:I think it's time that the Jamaican government reopen the Tosh files, disclose to the public whatever pertinent information they've been hiding.
Henry Kay:Because until they do, all we really have are these urban legends.
Henry Kay:And all I can do is keep telling them and rootsland family, I hope you keep listening.
Henry Kay:So for me, new years are always about new beginnings, renewed dreams, second, third chances.
Henry Kay:Thanks, mom and dad.
Henry Kay:And yet some people find it challenging, even impossible, to move forward.
Henry Kay:Unable to let go of the past of loss, of pain, trauma.
Henry Kay:And I know this past year has been very difficult for one of our own.
Henry Kay:Right, Sia?
Listener:Yeah, it's been really tough.
Henry Kay:You lost one of your closest friends recently.
Listener:One of my closest friends, Ann.
Henry Kay:I know how much it hurt left you.
Henry Kay:Asking how such a beautiful woman of faith who had so much to live for, so much to look forward to, could be taken away so soon, so young.
Henry Kay:And you're not alone.
Henry Kay:We have listeners also struggling with loss.
Henry Kay:And not to put you on the spot, but I was thinking on behalf of everyone who lost someone they love, maybe if you said a few words about your friend Ann, it would connect with them, help your healing process.
Henry Kay:To talk about your friendship and what Anne meant to you.
Henry Kay:What do you think?
Listener:Hmm.
Listener:She was truly a great friend.
Listener:She meant the world to me.
Listener:A lot of times you don't realize how much someone means to you until you lose them.
Listener:I always knew she was special to me as I was to her.
Listener:So to say I'm devastated would not even do it justice.
Listener:I'm heartbroken.
Listener:At first, I was just in shock, numb, couldn't move.
Listener:But I'm very spiritual, and so was she.
Listener:And that is how I've begun to heal.
Listener:Understanding that at the end of the day, God is In control.
Listener:And that I look at it as he wanted her home with him, even though I wanted her here.
Listener:But it's helped me because I know that she's in a good place because of how she lived her life.
Listener:She's just exceptional.
Listener:She was always there when I needed her, and I miss hearing her voice.
Henry Kay:That is so beautiful.
Henry Kay:Siya, thank you so much for sharing.
Henry Kay:I told you.
Henry Kay:While I was working on the new show, I spent many hours listening and re listening to Peter Tosh songs.
Henry Kay:The one that really stood out on constant repeat has become my official anthem for the new year.
Henry Kay:The song Pick Myself Up.
Henry Kay:I was actually surprised you didn't remember hearing that growing up in Jamaica.
Henry Kay:How do you like it?
Listener:Oh, I loved it.
Listener:It was beautiful.
Henry Kay:Yeah, I'm glad.
Listener:Really, what I needed to hear.
Henry Kay:That song is so honest, so heartfelt.
Henry Kay:Written at a time when Peter was experiencing deep financial troubles, suffering the physical and emotional scars of police beatings, of a debilitating car accident that killed the woman he loved.
Henry Kay:And yet, in this sweet and simple letter that he wrote to himself, he showed signs of hope even in his darkest hours.
Henry Kay:When he sings, I've gotta pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again, it's not just about getting back up on your feet.
Henry Kay:He's giving permission to feel sorrow and hope in the same breath.
Henry Kay:It's about remembering and honoring those who are no longer here with us by fully living our lives.
Henry Kay:Peter Tosh, who lost so much, wasn't suggesting that we forget our losses, but rather we carry them with us with grace while we continue our journey.
Henry Kay:You know that old Jamaican expression, rain I fall, but dutty tough.
Listener:Yeah, yeah.
Henry Kay:The rain falls sometimes hard, but the ground remains tough and strong.
Henry Kay:And, Siya, you are solid ground, forever weathering that storm.
Henry Kay:And I hope from the depths of my heart that in this new year, you and the entire Rootsland family remember when you pick yourselves up, it's not a solitary act.
Henry Kay:You're never alone.
Henry Kay:We have a community here, always ready to listen.
Henry Kay:When you dust yourself off, you also polish the legacy of the ones who made you what you are by never forgetting them.
Henry Kay:And when you start over again, no, you're not starting from scratch, but from a place enriched by their love.
Henry Kay:And while it's true that you may never find another friend like Ann, you can always be a friend like Anne.
Listener:Absolutely.
Henry Kay:The rock, the giver, the listener, the protector that she was.
Listener:A giver and a protector, a confidant.
Henry Kay:I'm going to end the show by playing a beautiful rendition of the Peter Tosh song Pick Myself Up.
Henry Kay:This version performed by the group Jacoostic, which features Donald waugh, Surette small and good friend to our show, Mr.
Henry Kay:Wayne Armand from the group Chalice on lead vocals.
Henry Kay:Everyone, please listen to the words.
Henry Kay:Get lost in the music.
Henry Kay:Concentrate on how you're gonna make this next year the most uplifting, positive and productive year of your life.
Henry Kay:No, not tomor right now.
Listener:Good thoughts right now.
Listener:Keep good thoughts.
Listener:Keep it positive.
Sia:Sitting in the morning sun Watching all the birds passing by oh, how sweet they sound oh, how I wish I could fly and I try oh, I try Judge I try Yes, I trust But I got to pick myself up and dust myself off and I start all over again Yes, I got to pick myself up industrial myself and I start all over again Sitting in the midday sun Wondering why my life is so hard not even little bread fetang not even little food I cry oh, I cry But I try Lord, I trust Still I got to pick myself up and dust myself up and down Start all over again Yes, I got to beating myself up and dusting myself up and I start all over again sa Sitting in the evening sun Watching all the birds passing by oh, how sweet they sounded oh, how I wish I could fly and I try oh, I try Giant oh, I try Yes, I try But I got to pick myself up and dust myself off and I start all over again oh, I got to pick myself up and dust myself off and I start all over again.
Listener:All the best to everyone.
Listener:I hope you are as blessed as I am to have a friend like I did.
