The Cimarons were a UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 band formed in 1967. They were the UK's first self-contained indigenous reggae band.

History

Jamaican natives, the Cimarons migrated to Britain in 1967 with a lineup consisting of Franklyn Dunn (bass), Carl Levy (keyboards), Locksley Gichie (guitar), and Maurice Ellis (drums); vocalist, Winston Reid joined in London. They were primarily session musicians in Jamaica, and backed many artists, including Jimmy Cliff. Their first LP In Time, on Trojan Records in 1974 featured a rendition of the O'Jays' "Ship Ahoy" which the purists ridiculed as lush and phoney; another track "Utopian Feeling" was labeled unrealistic, and two pop standards: "Over The Rainbow," and "My Blue Heaven" really tarnished their image. Vulcan Records released On The Rock two years later, while more rootsy, it didn't set the charts aflame either. They switched to Polydor Records waxing Live At The Roundhouse in 1978 which displayed the groups' harmonious sound without revealing their introverted stage presence. Polydor released Maka the same year, it's considered their utopia, and for the first time, they produced and wrote everything. Cimarons' next three albums: Freedom Street, Reggaebility, and On The Rock, Part 2 did nothing to improve their status. After the final LP in 1983, they didn't surface again until 1995 when Lagoon Records released People Say, and Reggae Time, both compilations of earlier albums; Culture Press dropped The Best Of The Cimarons in 1999.

Reid and Dunn continue to perform as The Cimarons.

Singles

• "Funky Fight" (1970) Big Shot
• "Oh Mammy Blue" (1971) Downtown
• "Holy Christmas" (1971) Downtown
• "Struggling Man" (1972) Horse (split 7" with The Prophets)
• "Snoopy vs. The Red Baron" (1973) Mooncrest (as Hotshots) UK #4
• "Talking Blues" (#1 in Jamaica)
• "Check Out Yourself" Trojan
• "You Can Get It If You Really Want" Trojan
• "Dim The Light" (1976) Trojan
• "Over The Rainbow" Trojan
• "Harder Than The Rock" (1978) Polydor
• "Mother Earth" (1978) Polydor
• "Rock Against Racism"/"Truly" (197?) Polydor
• "Willin'" (197?) Polydor
• "Ready For Love" (1981) Charisma
• "With a Little Luck" (1982) IMP
• "Big Girls Don't Cry" (1982) Safari
• "How Can I Prove Myself To You" (1982)
• "Be My Guest Tonight" (1995)
• "Time Passage" Fontana

The Cimarons also backed several singers on Trojan singles, often credited on the b-side with an instrumental version of the a-side.

Albums

• In Time (1974) Trojan
  Trojan Records
  Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name Trojan comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck that was used as Duke Reid's sound system in Jamaica...
  
  
• On The Rock (1976) Vulcan
• Maka (1978) Polydor
  Polydor Records
  Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
  
  
• Live (1978) Polydor
• Freedom Street (1980) Virgin
  Virgin Records
  Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
  
  
• Reggaebility (1982) Hallmark
• On De Rock part 2 (1983) Butt (recorded 1976)

• People Say (1991) Lagoon (compilation, recorded 1974-76)
• Reggae Time Lagoon (compilation)
• The Best of The Cimarons (1992) Culture Press (compilation)
• Maroon Land (2001) Rhino (compilation)
• Reggae Best (2004) Culture Press (compilation)
• Reggae Masters Creon