This Wednesday (April 11, 2012) The Jolly Boys were special in studio guests on RJR 94FMs weekly live music program ‘Wednesday Night Live‘. The mento maestros had the whole crew dancing and grooving to the sounds of classic and contemporary mento music as they performed selections from their catalog of hits.



Among those performed were the classic mento songs were ‘Emmanuel Road’, ‘Linstead Market’ and ‘Rukumbine’ and their modern mento hits ‘Golden Brown’, ‘Rehab’ and ‘Ring of Fire’. In case you might have missed the broadcast, enjoy the snippet of their performance of Rukumbine (posted above) and this clip of their rendition of Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire!

The Jolly Boys have been making strides and swaying crowds touring as R&B songbird Sade’s opening act in Europe, and all while celebrating the U.S release of their widely acclaimed album Great Expectation. The album, which features Mento interpretations of 12 contemporary classics including Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab”, Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger”, Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” and Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” has been getting reviews from the press all over.



The album was recently reviewed by Banning Eyre of NPR‘s “All Things Considered”. You can listen to the review (spliced with great samples from the album) here:
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On February 2, 2011 The Jolly Boys rocked the house at the first in a series of Reggae Month concerts held at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Jamaica. The night saw a number of astounding performances from the reigning Kings of Mento including a mixture of classic and modern mento hits.



It was after their cover of New Order’s “Blue Monday” that the crowd began shouting their request for the smash hit cover of Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” and the moment The Jolly Boys began performing it they were interrupted by members of the audience who had rushed forward to show their excitement. In case you missed this magnetic performance enjoy this snippet of The Jolly Boys performing “Rehab” at the event. read more!

Jamaica’s mento sensations The Jolly Boys are still on the move. Now fully into the groove of their European tour they’ve been busy spreading their island sunshine across snowy Germany. After getting the ball rolling with an electrifying performance at Club Ampere in Munich on Thursday and an interview with Radio Eins in Berlin on Friday, The Jolly Boys were more than ready to bring the heat at Frannz Club in Berlin yesterday.



Watch The Jolly Boys get warmed up for their show at Frannz Club in Berlin on Saturday December 4, 2010 with their cover of New Order’s “Blue Monday”:

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The Jolly Boys tour of Europe is now in full swing. After a stellar opening performance at Club Ampere in Munich on Thursday ‘the boys’ spent yesterday doing interviews and appearances in preparation for today’s show at Frannz Club in Berlin! The Jolly Boys have been to Berlin before, in the summer of 2010, though things were a little different then as far as the weather goes. Yet Berlin is still Berlin and The Jolly Boys are as excited as ever to be there. Here’s a bit of what Berlin in the summer was like for lead singer of The Jolly Boys, Albert Minott:



Though the weather may have been different then, their last trip to Berlin was slightly similar to their current expedition. In the sense that it involved trips to radio stations and exclusive interviews with The Jolly Boys. Yesterday Albert Minott recorded an informative interview at Radio Eins in Berlin.
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It’s official, modern mento music is a hit in the UK! Tuesday night The Jolly Boys gave a stunning live performance of their cover of Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” on BBC2′s hit late-night television show Later…with Jools Holland and the fans in the UK couldn’t stop themselves from sharing their excitement on twitter. First, see the performance for yourselves right here:

Now see just a bit of what the fans thought of the long-reigning Kings of Mento, The Jolly Boys:

@SimonSalento: Just seen the Jolly Boys on TV. Stupendous. They’ve been around since 1955 – why was I not informed?

@Debs_view: can’t get The Jolly Boys version of Rehab out of my head from Jools Holland last night. Fantastic little ditty

@craigbonesjones: The Jolly Boys were incredible on Jools Holland – what a revelation!

@martincampbell2: The Jolly Boys reggae version of Rehab on #laterjools is infinitely better than the Amy Winehouse version.

@marri1: ..superb rendition of Rehab by The Jolly Boys on #laterjools just now

@Furious_Island: #laterjools loving the jolly boys

@tobywr: loving the jolly boys from jamaica on #laterjools covering amy winehouse

@marklockett: The Jolly Boys are on Later… With Jools Holland, bedtime you can wait thankyouverymuch #laterjools

@cripesonfriday: Buena Vista Social Club have a lot to answer for. I’m looking at you Jolly Boys #laterlive

@FIGHTINGFITPIXS: The Jolly Boys average age must be 60′s .. Very good though real ska music

@2000m_Jones: The Jolly Boys – Rehab, BBC2…excellent!!

@1jh: The Jolly Boys are actually quite good on #laterjools. Refreshing perspective on music

@JOPMusic: The Jolly Boys – Rehab – that’s class! #laterjools

@ijme: The Jolly Boys met Rehab. RT @GemmaGemo: #laterjools i hope I’m this cool when I’m old. Never heard a bad Jamaican band on jools.

@TheRockAcademy: jolly boys – reggae skanking banjo – love it !! #laterjools

@ratotinha: Just loving the ska sound from The Jolly Boys…

@jcritch7: Raggae version of rehab by the jolly boys was top banana and gazumped the original by a country mile

@TheConnArtist: #laterjools Wonderful to see The Jolly Boys on our shores. They’ve been doing this for over 50 years, and I thought that was rather lovely.

@leebutton: Everyone look up The Jolly Boys now. Reggae banjo is amazing

@checking_henry: The Jolly Boys have brightened up the day no end!

@harrietbishop: can i just say the jolly boys are the new loves in my life…. hahaha <3

@RealLauraBailey: Jolly boys on jools holland! Does this mean mento is going mainstream? Their current album is ace by the way, buy it. #fb

Thanks to all the fans for their continued support of The Jolly Boys, and if for some reason you haven’t gotten your hands on a copy of their new album “Great Expectation” it’s still available for purchase at these outlets itunes, amazon.co.uk, play.com, hmv.com and 7digital.com get it now and see what else The Jolly Boys have in store.

You’ve all been waiting for so long and the moment is finally here! The mento masters The Jolly Boys have released their album “Great Expectation” on Wall of Sound Records and already the International press is giving the album praise. The highly anticipated new album is a collaborative project between Geejam’s Jon Baker and Wall Of Sound’s Mark Jones and features Mento interpretations of 12 contemporary classics including Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab”, Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger” and Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”.

Here’s what The Guardian UK has to say about “Great Expectation”:

There’s already no contest for cover version of the year; it’s Amy’s “Rehab”, as delivered by the champions of Jamaican mento, the calypso-flavoured folk precursor of reggae. Fronted by the charismatic, gravel-voiced Albert Minott, the Port Antonio veterans apply their banjo ‘n’ maracas shuffle to another dozen numbers from the rock canon; songs by Blondie, the Doors, Iggy Pop and more. The results are erratic, if always charming. Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” fits their earthy style perfectly, and Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” is transformed into a lilting Caribbean reflection.
See the review for yourselves here.
Mento is officially reborn and the world is ready! The album is available for purchase on itunes, amazon.co.uk, play.com, hmv.com and 7digital.com so what are you waiting for? Get your hands on a copy right now!

We are now just hours away from the release of the highly anticipated album “Great Expectation” by the legendary kings of mento and now modern mento The Jolly Boys. We know you’d like to get your hands on your copy right away and you can still pre-order the album here.

Leading up to the launch ‘the boys’ have been hard at work on tour in the UK and the recent Notting Hill Carnival was just one of the places where the fans got to see them in action.
Watch them performing their smash hit cover of Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” at Notting Hill Carnival. It just might ease the waiting pains a little.

The Jolly Boys just won’t stop! With their UK tour now in full swing the mento masters have hardly had a moments rest. If you weren’t able to see it this morning see it now, as ‘the boys’ perform their smash hit cover of Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” live on ITV’s Daybreak.

Their new album “Great Expectation” launches on the 13th of September, but you can pre-order yours right now right here!

Things are continuing to heat up for the Jamaican mento sensation The Jolly Boys. The band talks about their beginning, the birth of mento, the dawn of reggae, their return to the limelight and their fresh cover of Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” in this skyNEWS interview.