OLDIES SUNDAY: General Trees – Minibus (1985)

How are you doing today? It’s Oldies Sunday! Today’s selection goes out to those who are always on the move via public transportation. We go back in time to check out General Trees’ “Minibus“!

Produced by Jack Scorpio and released through his Black Scorpio label in 1985, General Trees deejays about a great shift in public transportation in “Minibus”. For years Jamaicans would travel on the “Jolly Bus” or “Country Bus“, but the advent of the Minibus gave way to a newer way to ride in the public transport system. General Trees’ gave an account of his experience traveling on one, and he detailed it from seeing how people behaved after the change in the public transport system, how he was treated before even taking a Bus in Kingston, and the various episodes he went through before arriving at his destination in Westmoreland. The song was originally previewed at a few of General Trees’ performances, and was instantly a favourite, prompting him to record the official version with Jack Scorpio. The song also borrowed from the 1955 modern-folk song “Where Have All The Flowers Gone?“.

“Minibus” created history since its release as it was the first Dancehall song to go number 1 in 1985 was awarded “Song Of The Year” by the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC), and its Llewellyn O’Reggio-directed music video was the first award-winning Jamaican music video (the video helped to birth a “Best Music Video” category for Jamaican award shows that followed). It was safe to say “Minibus” was quite the hit, and opened up the floor for General Trees to secure more hit songs. Since then, General Trees went on to have a following in the early 1990s, but was not able to match up the popularity from the 80s. He suffered a few health issues later down, but still made his presence be felt wherever he went. “Minibus” will continue to be one of his greatest works.