The Abyssinians

reggae

The Abyssinians are a Jamaican roots reggae group, famous for their close harmonies and promotion of the Rastafari movement in their lyrics. The vocal trio was originally formed in 1968 by Bernard Collins and Donald Manning. Their first song was Satta Massagana, which was strongly influenced by Carlton Manning's Happy Land. Satta Massagana is a Rastafarian hymn sung partly in the ancient Ethiopian Amharic language. They recruited a third vocalist, who was still at school and often unable to attend rehearsals; he was soon replaced by Donald's brother Lynford Manning, who had previously been a member of their brother Carlton Manning's group Carlton and The Shoes. Satta Massagana was first recorded for producer Clement Coxsone Dodd in March 1969, but he decided against releasing it, seeing no commercial potential for what he saw as a song constituting cultural subversion. In 1971, the group purchased the master tapes from Dodd for £90 and released it on their own Clinch label, the single becoming a massive success, prompting Dodd to release his own instrumental and deejay versions. The group released further takes on the song on Clinch by Tommy McCook, Big Youth, and Dillinger, as well as their own Mabrak, featuring the group reciting passages from the Old Testament. It has since been recorded by dozens of artists. The group's second release, Declaration of Rights, featured Leroy Sibbles on backing vocals, and like their first was a huge hit in Jamaica, (and subsequently in t...