Broadcaster Clinton Lindsay, an influential figure in Diaspora broadcasting, recently returned to Jamaican radio with his Foundation Radio Network Top 30 Reggae Chart.
The popular table, which Lindsay has compiled since 1975, airs Fridays on Kool 97 FM which is based in Kingston.
“It’s always good for any reggae chart to have a Jamaican presence. Most of the songs are by Jamaicans and are made in Jamaica. The issue is that most of these songs lack Jamaican airplay,” said Lindsay, who operates out of South Florida.
Lindsay started the chart in 1975 while attending the New York Institute of Technology. Bob Marley and The Wailers ‘Lively Up Yourself’ was its first number one. This is its second run on Kool 97 FM, which caters mainly to a mature, easy-listening audience.
Over the years, the chart has undergone several name changes, but remains a gauge for how the music of artists in or outside of Jamaica are doing, especially in the tri-state radius (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) which has a mammoth Jamaican and West Indian population.
Lindsay hails from Spanish Town in St. Catherine parish, Jamaica. He migrated to the United States in the early 1970s, settling in New York City which was his base for over 35 years, working as a broadcaster and show promoter.
Through an extended stint at WNWK 105.9 FM in New York, Lindsay exposed the music of rising dancehall acts such as Super Cat, Charlie Chaplin, Josey Wales, Pinchers and Ninjaman.
