The Itals

Band. Reggae

Active

1976-present

Also recorded as

The Westmorelites

The Itals were a roots harmony group built around Alvin "Keith" Porter, Ronnie Davis, and Lloyd Ricketts. All three had sung together in the Westmorelites in the late 1960s. Davis joined the Tennors in 1969, and Porter went on to front Future Generation, a band assembled by Owen Sinclair in 1971. The name comes from the Rastafarian term "ital," meaning natural or pure.

The group came about by accident. In 1975 Porter met Davis on Orange Street in Kingston and was handed a cassette of the riddim from Davis's hit "Won't You Come Home." Porter wrote "In a Dis Ya Time" over it and recorded it for Lloyd Campbell's Spiderman label, with Davis adding harmony, and the record first appeared under Porter's name alone. Once it began to sell, Ricketts was brought in as a third voice and the single was repressed as by the Itals, a name that came from Campbell. It was one of the best-selling Jamaican records of the year and remains the group's signature song.

Their albums came out through Nighthawk Records, the American label run by Robert Schoenfeld, beginning with Brutal Out Deh (1981) and Give Me Power (1983). Schoenfeld, the Rough Guide says, particularly liked the Jamaican vocal group sound, "personified by such as the Gladiators, the Mighty Diamonds and most notably, the Itals." Rasta Philosophy (1986) was nominated for the Grammy for best reggae album.

Ricketts was imprisoned in 1987 and unable to travel to the United States; David Isaacs took his place. The original group broke up in the 1990s when Porter left; Davis formed Ronnie Davis and Idren, whose lineup included Ricketts, and Porter's daughter Kada later took Davis's place. Davis rejoined Porter and Isaacs to tour in 2009. Isaacs departed that year, Ricketts in 2011 after playing two final shows with the group, and Davis in January 2017. Porter has continued to tour with his children Darien and Kada singing harmony.

Last updated November 5, 2026

Connections

• The Tennors (session work)

Notes

1. The Rough Guide says the founders "first got together in the rocksteady groups the Tennors and the more obscure Westmorlites" in the 1960s. Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton, The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd ed. (London: Rough Guides, 2004), 211. World A Reggae says Porter cut "Hitey Titey" with the Westmorelites for Studio One in 1967. "Itals, The," World A Reggae, January 27, 2011, https://www.worldareggae.com/artists/the-itals/.
2. Wikipedia says Clive Murphy brought Davis into the Tennors in 1969 to replace the late Maurice Johnson. "Ronnie Davis," Wikipedia, accessed October 2, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Davis. World A Reggae says Porter sang lead with Soul Hermit and then with Future Generation from 1971; it does not name Owen Sinclair. "Itals, The."
3. Porter says on the group's site, "The Itals stand for everything pure, natural, unpolluted, straight to the source." Itals Music, accessed October 2, 2026, https://www.italsmusic.com/.
4. Davis's "Won't You Come Home" was a 1975 chart-topper produced by Lloyd Campbell. Stephanie Korney, "Veteran Reggae Singer Ronnie Davis Dies," Jamaicans.com, January 26, 2017, https://jamaicans.com/veteran-reggae-singer-ronnie-davis-dies/. World A Reggae tells the Orange Street story and dates it to around 1975. "Itals, The."
5. In World A Reggae, Porter says "there was no intention of forming a group; the record first came out as Keith Porter." "Itals, The." Wikipedia says the first issue was credited to Keith and Ronnie. "Ronnie Davis," Wikipedia, accessed October 2, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Davis.
6. The Rough Guide calls Lloyd "Spiderman" Campbell "the producer who gave the group their name." Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 211. On the group's site Porter says that "when the record was about to come out," Campbell "and Brian Thomas of RJR came up with 'Itals' because I'm so particular about me food." Itals Music. World A Reggae has Thomas suggest the name after the record became a hit. "Itals, The."
7. Wikipedia, citing AllMusic, says it topped the Jamaican chart. "The Itals," Wikipedia, accessed October 2, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Itals. The Rough Guide calls it the biggest hit on the group's Early Recordings collection. Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 211.
8. The Rough Guide says Nighthawk's Robert Schoenfeld particularly liked the Itals, and that Brutal Out Deh was recorded in 1981 at Harry J by Sylvan Morris. Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 210, 211. World A Reggae dates its release to 1982, with a US tour backed by the Roots Radics. "Itals, The."
9. Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 210.
10. The Rough Guide dates Rasta Philosophy to 1986 and says it was nominated "for the Reggae Grammy in 1987," but elsewhere says the nomination came "in 1986." Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 211, 210.
11. Wikipedia, citing AllMusic and Dave Thompson's Reggae & Caribbean Music. "The Itals."
12. The Rough Guide says "the Itals broke up in the 1990s when Keith Porter departed the group," and that Davis then recorded for Nighthawk "with ex-Ital Lloyd Ricketts" as Ronnie Davis and Idren. Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 211, 212. Wikipedia, citing AllMusic, says instead that Davis left in 1994 and was replaced by Kada Porter. "The Itals." Korney gives 1995 for Davis's departure. Korney, "Ronnie Davis Dies."
13. Korney says Davis died on January 25, 2017, two days after a stroke, and that he toured as the Itals with Porter and Isaacs in 2009, continuing with Porter after the deaths of Isaacs in 2009 and Ricketts in 2011. Korney, "Ronnie Davis Dies." Wikipedia says Ricketts got a work permit in 2011 and played two shows before his death. "The Itals."
14. Wikipedia. "The Itals."

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