Harlem Shuffle Records

26/09/2025

RELEASED TODAY is our scary good Horror Reggae single, the rare KING HORROR (aka Laurel Aitken) DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS + the never released GHOST HOUR on 7" vinyl single! This cracking killer single is on SALE NOW at https://www.harlemshufflerecords.com/ and all good record stores. Just in time for Halloween!

26/09/2025

Released today: NEVILLE GRANT “SICK AND TIRED” (the wicked vocal version of THE RETURN OF DJANGO!) + “BLACK MAN’S TIME” on 7" single. Both produced by LEE PERRY, these two cult tracks are the best of Neville Grant’s recordings and among Lee Perry’s very best productions of this era. Don't miss them. On SALE NOW at https://www.harlemshufflerecords.com/ and all good record stores!

25/09/2025

Check out these gorgeous Rocksteady beauties from The Paragons, The Gaylads, The Harmonizers, The Zodiacs and many more at https://www.harlemshufflerecords.com/

24/09/2025

More HORROR REGGAE from https://www.harlemshufflerecords.com/ with HAUNTED HOUSE and DOUBLE WHEEL by the mighty UPSETTERS, two wicked instrumental covers of the huge hit "Spinning Wheel" by Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1969.
Both tracks were produced by Lee 'Scratch' Perry and this single was the first release on the much looked after SPINNING WHEEL label in 1970. Only 10 singles have been released on this Trojan 's sublabel... Available at https://www.harlemshufflerecords.com/ and all good record stores!

23/09/2025

To celebrate the release of our new scary good horror reggae single - the super rare DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS + the never released GHOST HOUR by KING HORROR, we have put together the finest selection of vampires, monsters, ghouls and freaks on top of the grooviest Reggae riddims: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDICdvMOGfqAiW8l7xJXzTfuMo70r0uJc&si=WBQFC5BKNOUH6kqj
Although the genre is still extremely popular today with contemporary Ska bands, this selection focusses on original Reggae from the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s with the addition of a few outstanding contemporary tunes. From Prince Buster and Desmond Dekker to Bob Marley and Lee Scratch Perry, along with Jackie Mittoo, Max Romeo and Lone Ranger, they are all there as the Horror genre was very popular with artists and public alike.
The genre was fueled by a plethora of horror movies from the mid 1960’s such as “Dracula Prince Of Darkness” and later on, Blaxploitation greats such as “Blacula - Deadlier Than Dracula” in 1972 or "Blackenstein" in 1973.
When it comes to real scary Reggae, the king of Horror was without doubt… KING HORROR himself! Aka Lord Davey or Baldhead Growler and Young Growler, King Horror was initially a Calypso artist who recorded a few singles on a variety of Calypso labels including the Jump Up label in the early 1960s. King Horror recorded eight mythical and highly collectible singles between 1969 and 1970, all of them of the horror Reggae genre and most of them produced by Laurel Aitken, although DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS, the very first of the series, was produced by Joe Mansano.
Davey was not really singing on these singles, he was mostly toasting or more specifically "growling" and these singles all pretty much sound like a B horror movie soundtrack with a Boss Reggae background, a striking musical combo.
Confusingly, it appears that there is a different voice on some of these singles. The mystery singer or rather "growler" is widely believed to be Laurel Aitken (the producer), sometimes standing in for Lord Davey. Unless it was the other way around and it was Lord Davey who was standing in for Laurel Aitken.
Either way, enjoy!

18/09/2025

Here is a super cool video for our new scary good Horror Reggae single, the super rare KING HORROR (aka Laurel Aitken) DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS + the never released GHOST HOUR on 7" vinyl single! This cracking killer single is on PRESALE NOW at HarlemShuffleRecords.comand all good record stores. Official release September 26, 2025. Just in time for Halloween!

King Horror ~ Dracula- Prince Of Darkness

16/09/2025

The cult track SICK AND TIRED performed by NEVILLE GRANT and produced by LEE PERRY is in fact the reunion of two distinct and very different covers: the music, although slowed down, was otherwise taken completely from Lee Perry’s “RETURN OF DJANGO”, the massive early 1969 reggae instrumental hit. And the lyrics were taken entirely from the eponymous R’n’B song written and recorded by C.Kenner in 1957 and made into a hit by Fats Domino in 1958. The whole track actually sounds very much like a classic gritty RnB song and it rocks wonderfully!

11/09/2025

ABOUT BLACK MAN’S TIME by NEVILLE GRANT
Produced by: Lee “Scratch” Perry
Original release: 1972 on Upsetter
Predating the full bloom of the Black Ark sound, “Black Man’s Time” delivers a militant message of self-empowerment against inequality over a deep, rolling bassline, a blueprint for roots reggae to come.

Mixing message lyrics with nursery rhyme tunes may be eccentric, but Lee Perry had merged the serious with the surreal many times before starting with its very first hit “People Funny Boy” in 1968 with the sampling of a baby crying over one of the very first Reggae rhythm. He achieved a rare pinnacle though with 1973’s “Black Man’s Time,” where a lazy, simmering one-drop riddim is punctuated by brass blasting “Pop Goes the Weasel”! The song is a classic nursery rhyme, with the first known recording appearing in the United States in the 1850s.

The languorous groove creates a great backdrop for Neville Grant’s resolute demands for justice. “Why don’t you share the wealth and share it right?” he asks, calling out Jamaica’s elite. “We’ve been starving too long, it’s time we had a bite,” he warns insistently. Though the lyrics bear Perry’s signature wit and subversion, Grant’s sincerity makes each line land with undeniable weight.

This surreal protest song struck a chord at home and abroad securing its place early in roots-reggae history...

This single gets together two cult tracks from legendary producer Lee “Scratch” Perry with singer Neville Grant.
SICK AND TIRED, the vocal version of RETURN OF THE DJANGO, was released in 1973 on Downtown (DT.509) whilst BLACK MAN’S TIME was released in 1972 on the Upsetter label.
These two tracks feature on several compilations but are both quite rare as singles and highly collectable today. They are also in our humble opinion the very best of Neville Grant’s recordings and among the best of Lee Perry’s productions.

10/09/2025

ABOUT SICK AND TIRED BY NEVILLE GRANT
This single gets together two cult tracks from legendary producer Lee “Scratch” Perry with singer Neville Grant. SICK AND TIRED, the vocal version of RETURN OF THE DJANGO, was released in 1973 on Downtown (DT.509) whilst BLACK MAN’S TIME was released in 1972 on the Upsetter label.
These two tracks feature on several compilations but are both quite rare as singles and highly collectable today. They are also in our humble opinion the very best of Neville Grant’s recordings and among the best of Lee Perry’s productions.

ABOUT NEVILLE GRANT
Little is known about Neville Grant. He first started his musical career as a drummer in a church band at Emmanuel Apostolic Church in Kingston, where musical friends remember him as quiet, kind-spirited, and deeply devoted to his faith. In 1972 he stepped into the studio as a singer to record the great “Black Man’s Time” that instantly became a roots reggae classic and his breakthrough single “Sick And Tired” for Downtown in 1973, both featured on our single.
Across a brief run he recorded a handful of singles for labels like Hot Rod (“Standing In The Rain,” 1972), Quaking (“Bewildered,” 1973), and D.E.B. Music (“Lady Love” / “Pretty Looks”), even teaming with producer Sidney Crooks from The Pioneers on “Harry Hippie.”
As a drummer, he collaborated on a few albums before disappearing from the scene end of the 1970's.

ABOUT SICK AND TIRED
Produced by: Lee “Scratch” Perry
Original release: 1973 on Downtown (DT.509)
The cult track SICK AND TIRED pairs Neville Grant’s fiery vocals against marital woes with Perry’s signature Upsetter instrumental THE RETURN OF DJANGO!

It is in fact the reunion of two distinct and very different covers: the music although slowed down was otherwise taken directly from Perry’s “RETURN OF DJANGO”, the massive early 1969 reggae instrumental hit. And the lyrics were taken entirely from a R’n’B song written and recorded by C.Kenner in 1957 and made into a hit by Fats Domino in 1958!

The whole track actually sounds very much like a classic gritty RnB song and it rocks wonderfully...

03/09/2025

Coming up NEVILLE GRANT “SICK AND TIRED” (the wicked vocal version of THE RETURN OF DJANGO!) + “BLACK MAN’S TIME” on 7" single. Both produced by LEE PERRY these two rare killers are the best of Neville Grant’s recordings and among Lee Perry’s very best productions of this era. Don't miss them. On PRESALE NOW at https://www.harlemshufflerecords.com/ and all good record stores. Official release September 26, 2025.

29/08/2025

Coming up the super rare KING HORROR (aka Laurel Aitken) DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS + the never released killer GHOST HOUR on 7" vinyl single! This scary good single is on PRESALE NOW at https://www.harlemshufflerecords.com/ and all good record stores. Official release September 26, 2025. Don't Wait!

28/08/2025

Coming up is our new cracking Horror Reggae single, the super rare KING HORROR (aka Laurel Aitken) DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS + the never released killer GHOST HOUR on 7" vinyl single! This scary good single is on PRESALE NOW at https://www.harlemshufflerecords.com/ and all good record stores. Official release September 26, 2025. Dont' wait!!