World of Jamaican Music

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An illustrated map of the creators of Jamaican music and how they are connected.

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Zap Pow

Band. Reggae

Active
1970s

Zap Pow were formed in Kingston in 1969 by the bassist and singer Michael "Mikey" Williams, who had drummed for Bobby Aitken's Caribbeats, and the guitarist Dwight Pinkney, out of the Sharks. The rest of the band was a horn section and a rhythm section of unusual quality: David Madden on trumpet and Glenn DaCosta on tenor saxophone, both from Alpha, Joe McCormack on trombone, Danny McFarlane on organ and Max Edwards on drums, with Cornel Marshall, from Tomorrow's Children, replacing Edwards in 1977.

"This Is Reggae Music," cut for Harry J, was a hit in 1970 and gave the band its name abroad; the debut album Revolutionary Zap Pow followed in 1971. They worked as a session band as much as their own act, and the horn players in particular were everywhere: Madden and DaCosta, with Vin Gordon, played on Bob Marley's records.

The young Beres Hammond joined the band in late 1975, and the run of singles that followed, including "The System," is the band's best-known vocal work. They broke up in 1979.

The members scattered into the center of the music: Pinkney to the Roots Radics, Hammond to a career of his own, Marshall and the horn players into sessions. Pinkney and DaCosta reformed the band in 2016 and released Zap Pow Again the following year.

Last updated October 23, 2026

Connections

Notes

  1. United Reggae says Pinkney "co-founded the band with bassist Michael Williams in 1969." "Zap Pow Again," United Reggae, February 4, 2018, https://unitedreggae.com/news/n2029/040218/zap-pow-again. Wikipedia gives Williams's time with the Caribbeats and Pinkney's with the Sharks. "Zap Pow," Wikipedia, accessed October 5, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zap_Pow.
  2. United Reggae says DaCosta and Madden were "past students of Alpha Boys School" and names McCormack and Edwards. "Zap Pow Again." Wikipedia lists Danny McFarlane and gives 1977 for Marshall replacing Edwards. "Zap Pow."
  3. United Reggae calls "This Is Reggae Music" "the 1971 Zap Pow anthem." "Zap Pow Again." Wikipedia dates the debut album to 1971, on Harry J. "Zap Pow." Discogs lists Harry J as producer of "This Is Reggae Music" but has no issue of it before 1973, and dates Revolutionary to 1976. "Zap Pow," Discogs, accessed October 5, 2026, https://www.discogs.com/artist/145602-Zap-Pow. The Rough Guide singles out Zap Pow's "stunningly evocative 'River'" from the Black Ark. Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton, The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd ed. (London: Rough Guides, 2004), 178.
  4. The 1978 Kaya credits Glen DaCosta, David Madden and Vin Gordon on horns. "Bob Marley & The Wailers - Kaya," Discogs, accessed October 5, 2026, https://www.discogs.com/release/12797560.
  5. United Reggae says Hammond "came into the picture around 1975." "Zap Pow Again." The Rough Guide calls him "the former Zap Pow vocalist." Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 320. "System" appeared on the Talent label in 1976. "Zap Pow," Discogs, accessed October 5, 2026, https://www.discogs.com/artist/145602-Zap-Pow.
  6. "Zap Pow."
  7. Wikipedia says Pinkney went on to the Roots Radics and Hammond to a solo career. "Zap Pow."
  8. United Reggae says the band regrouped "nearly 40 years after disbanding" and released the album through VP in 2017. "Zap Pow Again." Wikipedia dates the re-formation to 2016. "Zap Pow."

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