Israel Vibration

With three distinctive voices and a shared affliction, Israel Vibration stand out within Jamaican reggae's celebrated vocal-trio tradition. After an early-’60s meeting at Kingston's Mona Rehabilitation Centre, where they were being treated for childhood polio, Lascelle "Wiss" Bulgin, Albert "Apple Gabriel" Craig, and Cecil "Skelly" Spence reunited in the early '70s, honed their harmonies, and eked out a living singing in the streets. Assisted financially by the Twelve Tribes of Israel Rastafari group, the trio released their debut single, "Why Worry?," in 1976, attracting fans like Dennis Brown and Bob Marley, for whom they opened shows. Their well-received debut album, The Same Song, came out in 1978; two more albums of conscious, spiritual music followed, before the group relocated to New York in 1982—only to break up soon after to pursue solo careers. They reunited in 1987 and released Strength of My Life, the first of a solid dozen albums on the RAS label backed by the powerful Roots Radics band. Following Craig's departure in 1997, Bulgin and Spence carried on as a duo, releasing Reggae Knights in 2011.