The Half That's Never Been Told: The Real Life Reggae Adventures of Doctor Dread

In 1972, Gary Himelfarb, a somewhat aimless stoner kid from the Washington, D.C., suburbs, heard reggae music for the first time and fell in love. He embraced the music of the landmark film The Harder They Come and the records of Bob Marley with a passion that he matched with a genuine curiosity about Jamaican culture and sincere friendships with musicians there. This scattered autobiography traces Doctor Dread's unlikely and sometimes uninteresting journey through the reggae music business in a meandering manner, with long digressions about teenage drug adventures in South America, and frequent exultations of the Rastafarian faith. There is a sweetness and sincerity to the best parts of the book, such the story of how he founded Real Authentic Sounds (RAS), which became the foremost distributor of roots-style reggae in the U.S. as well as an independent record label. But apart from a bit of the charge and zest of working with small independent recording companies in an era of major labels and music conglomerates, there's little about the actual music business, and most of his insider anecdotes will appeal only to dedicated fans of old-school, Rasta-laced reggae. While Dread did succeed in spreading the words and music of Bob Marley, Freddie McGregor, Gregory Isaacs, and Bunny Wailer (who contributes a preface) to American audiences, it's telling that his final chapters describe leaving the music business and having a rocky time as a seafood wholesaler. Still, Dread's serious case of "reggaemylitis" gave him some remarkable experiences that hardcore reggae fans may deeply appreciate. (Mar.)