Carlton & The Shoes

Led by falsetto singer Carlton Manning, the brother of the Abyssinians founding member Donald Manning, Carlton & His Shoes took a harmonious, soft rock approach to reggae. Although their debut single, recorded for Sonia Pottinger, flopped, the trio achieved success after switching to producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's Supreme label in 1968. Their first single for Dodd, "Love Me Forever" and "Happy Land," was an early reggae hit with "Happy Land" subsequently inspiring the Abyssinians' 1971 hit "Satta Massa Gana." Manning and his brothers, Donald and Lynford, who joined him in Carlton & His Shoes, worked together on several musical projects. In the early '70s, they recorded for producer Lee Perry as the Carltons. When the Abyssinians founding member Bernard Collins left the group in 1976, Manning took his place. Although this lineup transformed the the Abyssinians' set into one of the high points of the 1979 Reggae Sunsplash, they disbanded shortly afterwards. ~ Craig Harris