Augustus Pablo

He was born in St. Andrew, Jamaica, and learned to play the organ at the Kingston College School. At that point, an unnamed girl lent him a melodica. Fascinated by the instrument, Pablo rarely put it down. He also met Herman Chin Loy, who after working at his cousin Leslie Kong's Beverley's record shop, had set up his own Aquarius store in Half Way Tree. Swaby recorded early tracks including "Higgi Higgi", "East of the River Nile", "Song of the East" and "The Red Sea" between 1971 and 1973 for Chin-Loy's Aquarius Records.[3] Chin Loy had previously used the name Augustus Pablo generically for keyboard instrumentals recorded by Lloyd Charmers and Glen Adams,[4][5] and Swaby took the name for this recording.

"East of the River Nile", a unique blend of East Asian and Jamaican sounds, became a moderate hit. He soon joined Now Generation (Mikey Chung's band) and played keyboard with them while his friend Clive Chin began his own career as a record producer. Pablo and Chin recorded "Java" (1972) together,^[3] as soon as Pablo quit Now Generation and Clive was able to obtain studio time. This instrumental was a massive hit and launched Pablo's solo career. He recorded with Chin and others including Lee Perry and Chin's uncle, Leonard Chin. Pablo scored another smash hit with "My Desire" .

Ken Parker - True, True, True

Mikey Dread

Michael Campbell a.k.a. Mikey Dread was one of the most influential performers and innovators in reggae music. His abilities, technical expertise, and unique vocal delivery combined to create a unique sound that told the listener emphatically that it was the “Dread at the Controls.”

Mikey Dread's avid interest in reggae music led him to acquire an immense collection of crucial vinyl which he used to gain notoriety as a young DJ and audio engineer with the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) where he began his broadcasting career in 1976. There he developed his own unique broadcasting style, which has been adopted by virtually every reggae radio show in Jamaica and the world today. His radio show, which became known as "Dread at the Controls," was firmly established as the ‘Number One Radio Show’ in Jamaica. Mikey Dread was awarded Top Radio Personality of the Year in 1977-1978.

Mikey Dread decided to expand his career by getting more involved in the actual production of not only his own music, but also the work of others such as Sugar Minott, Junior Murvin, Earl Sixteen, Wally Bucker, The Ovationz, Sunshine, Jah Grundy and Rod Taylor. It was then that his activities attracted the attention of The Clash, who asked him to work with them. While working with The Clash he released his third album called “World War III” (1980). “World War III” became instant success and held the number one position on the British Reggae Charts. To this day “Word War III” has been considered one of the top Reggae albums of all time.

Alpha Blondy

After various TV shows for Kassi, Blondy recorded his first solo album in 1982, entitled Jah Glory. This album was to have enormous success and would become later a symbol of resistance because of the song "Brigadier Sabari," which documents his experience of being arrested in Abidjan in the 1980s and his subsequent mistreatment by the police.[4] Alpha Blondy became a big star in Abidjan with his own African twist of Reggae music, becoming in the eyes of his fans "the Bob Marley of Africa".[5] Alpha Blondy is spiritual, political and positive just like Marley himself, and even recorded a cover of Bob Marley's song "War". In order to reach more people with his message, he chose to sing in many languages: English, French, Baoulé, and his native language – Dioula.[5] Later, he also brought new instrumentation to his brand of reggae such as the violin and cello.

Soon, the fame of Alpha Blondy spread to Europe. Following the success of an EP entitled Rasta Poué, he went to Paris in 1984 to make his second album, Cocody Rock, with the label Pathe Marconi. The "Bob Marley of Africa" travelled to the island of Jamaica and recorded the title track of this album with Marley’s backing group, The Wailers.

Reggae The Story Of Jamaican Music BBC Documentary

Slim Smith

BABY WHY THE CABLES

Ken Boothe

The Legendary Ken Boothe, O.D. has Been through thick and thin, through Star-time and No-time, from living in the shanties of Denham Town and its environs to the beautiful neighbor- hoods of Kings House, St. Andrews in his homeland of Jamaica. Ken Boothe, O.D. has straddled the social status-spheres, both locally and internationally, in California, New York, Toronto and London. He has conducted numerous tours of Europe, North and South America, Japan and the Caribbean. In Jamaica he continues to reign supreme and maintains his popularity as one of the nation's top entertainers.

His musical talents and love for humanity have afforded him the opportunity of touring in North and South America, Europe, Japan, Canada and the Caribbean. With a unique combination of talent, Boothe has emerged as a "one of a kind" singer; an accomplished musician, songwriter, musical arranger and an impressive dancer. His artistic style embraces a rare blend of musical genius.Ken Boothe's musical career began in the early sixties. Coming from a musically talented family, Ken attributes his musical interests and abilities to his mother and older sister. They have inspired him to use his blessings. In addition, he acknowledges being influenced by the musical greats, Mahalia Jackson, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, The Temptations, and The Drifters. When Ken Boothe was only eight years old he won his first singing contest and has never looked back. He has never lost his focus, even if it may have appeared blurred at times to the outside world. His aim has always been to sing and perform to the best of his ability.

Mutabaruka

Mutabaruka (formerly Allan Hope) was born in Rae Town, Kingston on 26th December, 1952.  After primary education he attended Kingston Technical High School, where he was a student for four years.  Trained in Electronics, he left his first job after about six months and took employment at the Jamaica Telephone Company Limited.   During his time at the Telephone Company he began to examine Rastafarianism and to find it more meaningful than either the Roman Catholicism of his upbringing or the political radicalism into which he had drifted.

 

In the late 1960's and early 1970's there was an upsurge of Black Awareness in Jamaica, in the wake of a similar phenomenon in the United States.  Muta, then in his late teens, was drawn into that movement.  Illicitly, in school he read many "progressive books" including Eldrige Cleaver's Soul on Ice and some that were then illegal in Jamaica, such as The Autobiography of Malcom X.  Muta saw himself as a young revolutionary.  But when he deepened his investigation of Rastafarianism, which he had once regarded as essentially passive, he came to find its thinking more radical than that of the non-Rastafarian group with which he had associated.  While still employed at the Telephone Company, he stopped combing his hair, started growing locks, altered his diet, and declared himself Rastafarian.  A number of his friends thought he was going mad. 

The Heptones - Party Time

Sugar Minott

After working as a selector on the Sound of Silence Keystone sound system, and then his own Gathering of Youth system, he began his singing career as part of The African Brothers in 1969, along with Tony Tuff and Derrick Howard.^[4] The group released several singles in the first half of the 1970s on labels such as Micron and their own Ital label, and were an early example of the Rastafari movement's influence on the Jamaican music scene, taking a clear lead from The Abyssinians.^[3] After recording "Mysterious Nature" for producer Rupie Edwards, the group recorded 1974's "No Cup No Broke" for Studio One, breaking up shortly after.^[4] Minott then teamed up with the producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, as studio apprentice at Dodd's Studio One, working as a singer, guitarist and percussionist, and soon began recording his own singles.^[4][5] Minott developed a talent for writing new songs to fit over existing rhythms (which at the time was common when singers performed live, but rare in the studio), often proving more popular than the original songs, pioneering an approach that would be central to the emerging dancehall style.^[2][4]

After a number of moderately successful hits for Studio One, such as "Vanity", "Hang On Natty", "Mr. DC", and "Jah Jah Children", his debut LP Live Loving made his name and increased his popularity, and is regarded as pioneering the dancehall style that would dominate the early 1980s.^[4][5] It was followed in 1979 with a second album, Showcase, which included his singles that had been omitted from the first album.
The Bittersweet album followed, and then the third album of 1979, Ghetto-ology, which saw a return to roots reggae. Roots Lovers (1980) saw a move towards lovers rock, which was a UK hit. He became a bigger star in the UK than in Jamaica, his self-produced "Hard Time Pressure" being a major UK reggae hit in 1980, leading Minott to relocate to the UK, where he became a focus for UK reggae.^[4][5]

The Slickers - Johnny Too Bad