Out of Savana La Mar, Jamaica, the mighty Itals - Keith Porter, Ronnie Davis and David Isaacs - are reuniting to tour the U.S. this year in support of their new album, Let Dem Talk, the follow-up to the December 2008 release on VP Records of the Lloyd Campbell produced compilation of their early hits on his Spiderman label, In A Dis Ya Time. Known for their tight harmonies and uplifting songs, these reggae ambassadors have been touring strongly since the early eighties. After many years on the road, the Itals are living examples of the Rasta Philosophy album that brought them a Grammy nomination.

Long before the Itals were a spark in their producers eye, Keith Porter recorded his first hit single, Hitey Titey, with the Westmorelites on the Studio One label in 1967. Tiring of the club scene around 1975, Keith ran into Ronnie Davis on Orange Street in Kingston and asked him who was auditioning. Ronnie gave him a cassette with a rhythm hed just had a hit on. I was so happy with that rhythm I didnt look any further, says Keith. In less than a week I had written Ina Disa Time and came back to Kingston to record it for Lloyd Campbells SpiderMan label. Lloyd felt it needed some harmonies with my lead, so Ronnie and I both added harmony parts. There was no intention of forming a group called the Itals.. After the song was on its way to becoming a hit in Jamaica, we all went out to do some promotion. Lloyd, Ronnie, myself and Brian Thomas of RJR were sitting out back in the cantina, when Brian said why not call them the Itals, because now there was more than one person singing. Everyone liked that name. It sounded good, so all of a sudden, Itals was a group. It was never intentional. Ive always wondered if the name was the result of Brian noticing how strict I was about the food I ate, strictly Ital.

Campbell quickly repressed the record as the Itals to meet demand. Today the song remains the Itals' signature tune, and has been described by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones as the perfect reggae track. It is included on the Rolling Stones Artist Choice cd, released in 2003, available through Starbucks Coffee from Hear Music, a division of EMI, and in selected major chains.

The success of "Ina Disa Time" saw the group return to the studio with the addition of Lloyd Ricketts singing a third harmony part on a series of superb recordings for the SpiderMan label. Tunes like "Don't Wake The Lion," "Brutal," and "Temptation" followed on 7 release in Jamaica and New York in 77 and 78, establishing the Itals among the best Jamaican singers and songwriters. The Itals were twice finalists in the Jamaica Festival Song Competition, and their 1981 tune, "Jamaican Style," earned them a place at Reggae Sunsplash that year. 1982 saw the release of the first Itals' album, "Brutal Out Deh" on Nighthawk Records. The Itals toured the US and Canada backed by the Roots Radics. Their second album, "Give Me Power," was released to critical acclaim and hit #1 on CMJ's Reggae Route chart. In 1985, Pollstar Magazine placed them in the top 100 artists of the year.

Their third album, "Early Recordings," gathers together all the Itals' early singles and several rare pre-Itals tracks for a collector's feast from Nighthawk. The Itals' fourth recording, "Rasta Philosophy," won a Grammy nomination for best reggae album in 1987, followed by "Cool And Dread." Next came the Rhythm Safari album Easy to Catch, followed by Modern Age on Ras Records, and continued touring throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. 2003 saw the release of Mi Livity, with an emphasis on Keith Porter and a later compilation album entitled Mind Over Matter, in 2007, both on Ital Music. In 2008 VP Records released the retrospective In A Dis Ya Time while 2009 saw the release of a new Itals album, Let Dem Talk, and performances at Bonnaroo and the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival.
Over the years, the Itals have performed countless shows worldwide. Although the background harmonies have sometimes changed, they always sound as sweet as ever.