Mr. Bruce
We were staying in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and flew down to Charlette Amalie on St Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands for a few days. My wife and I went into a tourist trap shop and there was a record player spinning up on a shelf. The music was amazing. I asked the clerk what that music was. Her response was that it was Rag-gay with an implicit “you fool” included in her reply. I got the name of the album and singer from her. We walked outside and I asked a couple of local guys if there was a music shop around where I could buy some Rag-gay records. They pointed down the street so we headed down that street into the non-tourist part of the town. On the corner was a big record shop so we went in. The proprietor was very knowledgeable and professional and provided an education about Reggae music, the top artists, and a few local musicians who he thought were talented. I bought about ten albums; first Reggae vinyl purchased; Peter Tosh, Equal Rights. Over the years, we escorted a number of visitors to St Thomas for shopping, eating, drinking, touring, and sweating and I always made a stop at the shop. I had a fine collection of Reggae tunes when we left Puerto Rico. (Hey, it’s my bio, I can write what I want!)