Writes Ralph Sall, producer of a newly issued eponymous album from The Mighty Rootsmen: “I thought, what could I do in the reggae sphere, since I’ve always been such a big fan? Could I make a Traveling Wilburys of reggae? And who could I get to do it?”
Turns out he could get some of the biggest names in the genre, including Toots Hibbert of Toots and the Maytals, Gregory Isaacs, former Black Uhuru frontman Mykal Rose, and singer Luciano. Also on hand is the famed rhythm section consisting of drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare, who can be heard on umpteen classic reggae albums, not to mention recordings by artists such as the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.
Like many reggae outfits, this one focused on reinterpreting American hits. The Mighty Rootsmen includes 10 tracks, among them strong covers of such numbers as Cat Stevens’ “Peace Train,” Badfinger’s “Come and Get It” and Eagles’ “Take It Easy.”
As if there weren’t enough star power in the band, Steve Miller guests on a cover of his “Fly Like an Eagle,” and the Heartbreakers’ Mike Campbell plays on a version of Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.”
Related: Behind the scenes at Bob Marley’s 1973 Capitol Records session
Unfortunately, there will be no sequel to this set: though just released, on July 25, 2025, it was recorded in 2010, then “put on a back burner as other projects took precedence,” according to the liner notes. Meanwhile, many of its key participants have died. [The album is available in the U.S. here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here.]
Like The Mighty Rootsmen, a new self-titled album from The Kingston Lions was produced by Sall and contains old (circa 2008) recordings. This CD, released on August 15, 2025, features luminous Jamaican session musicians and a program consisting of excellent reinterpretations of some of reggae’s biggest hits.
Among the 14 covers on The Kingston Lions are four numbers that garnered fame on the stellar soundtrack of The Harder They Come: the Melodians’ “Rivers of Babylon,” the Slickers’ “Johnny Too Bad,” the Maytals’ “Pressure Drop” and Keith & Tex’s “Stop That Train” (aka “Hold Your Brakes”). Other selections include “Israelites,” which in Desmond Dekker’s original version made the Top 10 on American charts in 1968; Dandy Livingstone’s “Rudy, a Message to You,” which has also been memorably covered by the Specials; and “Wonderful World, Beautiful People,” which gave Jimmy Cliff a major U.K. hit in 1969.
[The album is available in the U.S. here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here.]
Burger wrote one of the first interview-based profiles of Bruce Springsteen to be published in a national magazine. He has interviewed many other music-world luminaries as well, including Steve Van Zandt, Roger McGuinn, John Sebastian, Wolfman Jack, Tom Waits, Foreigner’s Mick Jones, Billy Joel, Steve Forbert, Tommy James, the Righteous Brothers, Gordon Lightfoot, Deep Purple’s Tommy Bolin, and members of Steely Dan and the Marshall Tucker Band. He has also interviewed many other public figures, such as Suze Orman, Daymond John, James Carville, Donald Trump, Sir Richard Branson, F. Lee Bailey, and Cliff Robertson.
His books include Dylan on Dylan: Interviews and Encounters, Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon, Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen: Interviews and Encounters, and Springsteen on Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches, and Encounters, all of which are published in the U.S. and Canada by Chicago Review Press. The books have been republished in numerous other countries.
Burger has been the editor of several periodicals, including Business Jet Traveler, from which he retired in 2024. During his 20 years at that
publication, it received more than 120 major editorial awards, including multiple wins for the world’s Best Consumer Travel Magazine in the annual Folio:Eddie competition.
Burger lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey. His wife, Madeleine Beresford, is a puppeteer and former preschool director and teacher. The couple have two grown children.
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