Prince Jazzbo
Born in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica and raised in Kingston, Linval Roy Carter (who would become known professionally as Prince Jazzbo) began his career with sound systems such as The Whip in Spanish Town.[1] He began recording with Coxsone Dodd's Studio One label in the early 1970s under the name Prince Jazzbo, and also recorded for Glen Brown and Lee "Scratch" Perry.[1] He went on to work on his own releases with Bunny Lee, producing as well in collaboration with many artists as a vocalist and producer for labels including his own, Ujama. The Perry-produced album Super Ape featured Jazzbo toasting on "Croaking Lizard". Jazzbo and fellow toaster I-Roy had a well reported, but friendly and mutually beneficial on-record clash during 1975, including the cuts "Straight to Jazzbo's Head" from I-Roy and the retort, "Straight to I-Roy's Head" from Prince Jazzbo.[2]
Prince Jazzbo's early work with Clement "Coxsone" Dodd at Studio One produced several hits in 1972-1974 including: "School", "Fool For Love" and "Imperial I". His first hit in 1972 with Coxsone though was a version of Horace Andy's "Skylarking", which he re-worked as "Crabwalking".[3] He ran the Ujama record label for many years.[4] His very last message to the world and testament tune is known as 'All Haffi Bow' on a Ujama style riddim cut produced by AIRPUFF Records label on 6 September 2013.
King Stitt
Born Winston Spark (other say Winston Cooper) in Kingston, Jamaica in 1940. Due to facial disfiguration from birth King Stitt was often to be called the Ugly One. He started his musical career in 1957 when he came to the attention of Coxsone Dodd and his Downbeat Sound. He started on a Friday evening at a barbecue lawn on Fleet Street. The deejay Count Machuki who also was selecting for the sound took a liking to Stitt who he thought would dance nice to his selection. Since he could dance so well to it he would also be a good deejay he told Stitt. Stitt was then the second (or third) deejay on the Sound System for about three months - with Machuki and Red Hopeton being in front. When Machuki retired Stitt had become so popular that he ended up running the Number One set of Coxsone while U Roy was behind Number Two.
In late 1969 and the early 70's King Stitt recorded extensively for Clancy Eccles over riddims delivered by The Dynamites. These were released on Clancy Eccle's Clandisc and New Beat labels in Jamaica and in the main on the Trojan Clandisc subsidiary in the UK. Following his success with Clancy Eccles Coxsone started recording him too.
Lee "Scratch" Perry
Perry's musical career began in the late 1950s as a record seller for Clement Coxsone Dodd's sound system. As his sometimes turbulent relationship with Dodd developed, he found himself performing a variety of important tasks at Dodd's Studio One hit factory, going on to record nearly thirty songs for the label.[1] Disagreements between the pair due to personality and financial conflicts led him to leave the studio and seek new musical outlets. He soon found a new home at Joe Gibbs's Amalgamated Records.[1]
Working with Gibbs, Perry continued his recording career but, once again, financial problems caused conflict. Perry broke ranks with Gibbs and formed his own label, Upsetter Records, in 1968. His first major single "People Funny Boy", which was an insult directed at Gibbs, sold well with 60,000 copies sold in Jamaica alone. It is notable for its innovative use of a sample (a crying baby) as well as a fast, chugging beat that would soon become identifiable as "reggae" (the new kind of sound which was given the name "Steppers").
Bob Andy
Bob Andy (born Keith Anderson) emerged as a solo star in 1966 with the smash hit "I've Got to Go Back Home", a song which has become a much-loved anthem for Jamaicans. He had served his singing and songwriting apprenticeship with the legendary vocal group The Paragons, which he founded with Tyrone (Don) Evans and Howard Barrett, later joined by John Holt. The Paragons had several hits for producer Coxsone Dodd including the Number One "Love At Last", penned by Bob.
As one of Studio One's leading lights, Bob worked closely with Jackie Mittoo on many of the label's seminal sounds. Besides writing songs for himself which have become reggae standards - "Feeling Soul", "My Time", "Going Home", and "Too Experienced", to name just a few - Bob contributed hits for many of the other artists there.
In 1970, international recognition came when Bob and Marcia Griffiths recorded Nina Simone's "Young, Gifted and Black", which sold 1/2 million in the UK and Europe, and still receives frequent airplay today. BOB & MARCIA became household names, appearing on Top of the Pops and touring extensively. They had another UK Top Ten single and two albums for Trojan Records.
Jah Stitch
After an introduction to music singing in a yard with the likes of The Wailers, The Heptones, Roy Shirley, and Stranger Cole, James became well known in Jamaica by deejaying with the Lord Tippertone and Black Harmony sound systems, working as Jah Stitch.[1] His debut single was the Errol Holt-produced "Danger Zone".[1] Big Youth was an early influence on Stitch's deejay style and he had several hits working with producer Bunny Lee, with deejay versions of songs by Johnny Clarke, as well as tracks such as "African Queen" with Yabby You.[1] Shortly before the One Love Peace Concert in 1976, Stitch survived being shot, providing the inspiration for "No Dread Can't Dead".[1] His success in Jamaica continued and in 1977 he toured the United Kingdom.
In the mid-1980s, he worked as a selector on Sugar Minott's Youth Promotion sound system, now under the name Major Stitch.[1][2]
He resumed his recording career in 1995, working with Trevor Douglas and Jah Woosh. His peak 1970s output for Bunny Lee and Yabby You was collected in 1996 by Blood and Fire on the Original Ragga Muffin (1975–77) compilation.
John Holt
Holt was born in the Greenwich Farm area of Kingston, Jamaica, in 1947.[3] His mother Amy was a nurse.[4] By the age of 12, he was a regular entrant in talent contests run at Jamaican theatres by Vere Johns, winning 28 contests, some broadcast live on Radio Jamaica.[3][5][6] He recorded his first single in 1963 with "Forever I'll Stay"/"I Cried a Tear" for record producer Leslie Kong, and also recorded a duet with Alton Ellis, "Rum Bumper", for producer Vincent "Randy" Chin.
In 1965 Holt joined Bob Andy, Garth "Tyrone" Evans, and Junior Menz in their group the Binders; Menz departed to be replaced by Howard Barrett and they changed their name to the Paragons.[7] They initially recorded for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's Studio One before cutting a succession of singles for Duke Reid at his Treasure Isle Studio in the rocksteady era of 1966–1968; They enjoyed a string of hits, including "Ali Baba", "Tonight", "I See Your Face", and the Holt-penned "The Tide Is High" (later made famous by Blondie and also covered by Atomic Kitten).
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