Heavenless
A Don Drummond horn line from Studio One in the 1960s. The Roots Radics recut it in 1981 under Triston Palma’s “Entertainment” and the dance had a new riddim.
GO DEEPER
Heavenless begins in the Studio One instrumental tradition and is credited to trombonist Don Drummond. Like many foundation riddims, its later life matters as much as the original session. For Triston Palma’s 1981 “Entertainment,” producer Jah Thomas had the Roots Radics rebuild Heavenless at Channel One with a horn section recreating the line. The vocal was cut at King Tubby’s and the track mixed back at Channel One. One song therefore ties together Studio One memory, Roots Radics rub-a-dub, Tubby’s studio and the dancehall itself.
Where the history is argued
- The precise date and release history of the original Studio One Heavenless recording are less consistently documented than the 1981 “Entertainment” recut, so no exact origin year is forced here.
How they stand with the others
Returned toThe 1981 “Entertainment” cut is a deliberate rebuilding of an older Studio One foundation rather than a new riddim with a coincidental resemblance.
Studio influenceIts journey shows how one riddim could be recut, voiced and mixed in different studios as part of a single production chain.
Listen
People
Connected
Sources
Last checked 1 September 2026