Celia Cruz
Genre: International
Decades: 8064
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Celia Cruz was one of Latin music's most respected vocalists. A ten-time Grammy nominee, Cruz, who sang only in her native Spanish language, received a Smithsonian Lifetime Achievement award, a National Medal of the Arts, and honorary doctorates from Yale University and the University of Miami. A street in Miami was even renamed in her honor,... [+] Read More

Celia Cruz was one of Latin music's most respected vocalists. A ten-time Grammy nominee, Cruz, who sang only in her native Spanish language, received a Smithsonian Lifetime Achievement award, a National Medal of the Arts, and honorary doctorates from Yale University and the University of Miami. A street in Miami was even renamed in her honor, and Cruz's trademark orange, red, and white polka dot dress and shoes have been placed in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institute of Technology. The Hollywood Wax Museum includes a statue of the Cuba-born songstress. According to the European Jazz Network, Cruz "commands her realm with a down-to-earth dignity unmistakably vibrant in her wide smile and striking pose."

One of 14 children, born in the small village of Barrio Santra Suarez, Havana, Cruz was drawn to music from an early age. Her first pair of shoes was a gift from a tourist for whom she sang. In addition to spending many evenings singing her younger siblings to sleep, Cruz sang in school productions and community gatherings. Taken to cabarets and nightclubs by an aunt, she was introduced to the world of professional music. At the encouragement of a cousin, Cruz began to enter and win local talent shows. Although her father attempted to guide her toward a career as a teacher, Cruz continued to be lured by music. In a 1997 interview, she said, "I have fulfilled my father's wish to be a teacher as, through my music, I teach generations of people about my culture and the happiness that is found in just living life. As a performer, I want people to feel their hearts sing and their spirits soar." Enrolling in Cuba's Conservatory of Music in 1947, Cruz found her earliest inspiration in the singing of Afro-Cuban vocalist Paulina Alvarez. Her first break came when she was invited to join the band la Sonora Matancera in 1950. The group was revered as the Latin equivalent of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Cruz remained with the group for 15 years, touring throughout the world. She married the band's trumpet player Pedro Knight on July 14, 1962. With Fidel Castro's assuming control of Cuba in 1960, Cruz and Knight refused to return to their homeland and became citizens of the United States. Although they initially signed to perform with the orchestra of the Hollywood Palladium, Cruz and Knight eventually settled in New York. Knight became Cruz's manager in 1965, a position he held until the mid-'90s when he began to devote his attention to serving as her musical director and conductor of her band.

Leaving Sonora Matancera's band in 1965, Cruz launched her solo career with a band formed for her by Tito Puente. Despite releasing eight albums together, the collaboration failed to achieve commercial success. Cruz and Puente resumed their partnership with a special appearance at the Grammy Award ceremonies in 1987. Signed by Vaya, the sister label of Fania, Cruz recorded with Oscar D'Leon, Cheo Feliciano, and Hector Rodriquez in the mid- to late '60s. Cruz's first success since leaving Sonora Matancera came in 1974 when she recorded a duo album, Celia and Johnny, with Johnny Pacheco, trombone player and the co-owner of Fania. She subsequently began appearing with the Fania All Stars. Cruz's popularity reached its highest level when she appeared in the 1992 film The Mambo Kings. Cruz also appeared in the film The Perez Family. She sang a duet version of "Loco de Amor," with David Byrne, in the Jonathan Demme movie Something Wild. In 1998, Cruz released Duets, an album featuring her singing with Willie Colon, Angela Carrasco, Oscar D'Leon, Jose Alberto "El Canario," and la India. Cruz continued to record and perform until sidelined by a brain tumor in 2002. While recovering from surgery to remove the tumor, she managed to make it in to the studio in early 2003 to record Regalo de Alma. Her surgery was only partially successful and she died July 16, 2003. The passing of the "Queen of Salsa" left a huge gap in Latin music, but also a remarkable catalog to document her reign. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Johnny Ventura
Genre: International
Decades: 7936
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Johnny Ventura is the man who almost singlehandedly developed and modernized the contemporary merengue sound, beginning with his first recordings in the early '60s. He was influenced by the original wave of rock & roll, and quickly imported the energy as well as some dance routines inspired by Elvis. He continued to record into the 1990s, though... [+] Read More

Johnny Ventura is the man who almost singlehandedly developed and modernized the contemporary merengue sound, beginning with his first recordings in the early '60s. He was influenced by the original wave of rock & roll, and quickly imported the energy as well as some dance routines inspired by Elvis. He continued to record into the 1990s, though other merengue singers such as Wilfrido Vargas and Juan Luís Guerra had usurped much of his popularity. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Rubén Blades
Genre: International
Decades: 7680
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Rubén Blades is one of the most successful vocalists in the history of Panamanian music. A former member of bands led by Ray Baretto and Willie Colón, Blades has continued to influence salsa music with his highly literate, politically tinged lyrics and his modern-minded arrangements, which substitute the usual horn and Latin percussion sections... [+] Read More

Rubén Blades is one of the most successful vocalists in the history of Panamanian music. A former member of bands led by Ray Baretto and Willie Colón, Blades has continued to influence salsa music with his highly literate, politically tinged lyrics and his modern-minded arrangements, which substitute the usual horn and Latin percussion sections with synthesizers and drum sets. Often referred to as "the Latin Bruce Springsteen," Blades provided a musical voice for the middle class of Central America. Raised in a middle-class neighborhood in Panama City, Blades inherited his musical talents from his parents. His mother, Anoland, who emigrated from Cuba, played piano and sang in Spanish. His father, Ruben Sr., a police detective, played bongos.

Inspired by the doo wop singing of Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, Blades began singing North American pop and rock songs in his early teens. In 1963, he became the lead singer of a band, the Saints, formed by his older brother, Luis. The political upheaval in Panama during the mid-'60s had a profound effect as Blades became increasingly committed to his own roots, refusing to sing in any language but his native Spanish.

While studying law at the University of Panama, Blades continued to be involved with his music, singing with Conjunto Latino and los Salvajes del Ritmo. In 1968, an album he recorded with Bush and the Magnificos reached Joe Cuba's producer in New York. Invited to join Cuba's band, he declined in order to complete college. When the Panamanian government closed the university, he made his first trip to the United States. While in the U.S., Blades recorded an album, From Panama to New York, with Pete Rodriguez. Shortly after the album's release, the University of Panama was reopened and Blades returned to complete his undergraduate studies. Although he accepted a position as a lawyer for the Bank of Panama, following his graduation, he returned to the U.S., to visit his parents, who had emigrated to Miami, in 1974.

While in the United States, Blades traveled to New York and took a job in the mailroom of the Latin-oriented Fania record label. A year later, he replaced Tito Allen as featured vocalist in Ray Barretto's band, auditioning in Fania's mailroom. When Barretto left to form a Latin fusion group, Blades took over as bandleader and renamed the group Guarare. In 1975, Blades composed and sang lead on Barretto's recording "Canto Abacua," featured on the album Barretto. As a result, Blades was named Composer of the Year by Latin New York magazine. Blades had also been playing with Willie Colón's band, and he remained with Colón for six years. Their collaboration reached its apex with the three-million-copy-selling album Siembra, which included the single "Pedro Navaja," the biggest selling single in salsa history. Blades' politically oriented lyrics were not universally accepted. In 1980, his song "Tiburon," which spoke out against superpower intervention in the Caribbean, was banned from radio airplay in Miami.

Forming his own band, los Seis del Solar, in 1982, Blades began to perform an exciting fusion of Latin, rock, reggae, and Caribbean music. Their debut album, Buscando América, was released in 1983. A year later, Blades enrolled in the graduate school at Harvard University, eventually receiving a master's degree in international law.

Since the early '80s, Blades has balanced his musical career with acting and writing songs for such films as The Last Fight, Crossover Dreams, Critical Condition, Fatal Beauty, The Milagro Beanfield War, Dead Man Out, Disorganized Crime, The Lemon Sisters, The Two Jakes, Predator 2, One Man's War, The Josephine Baker Story, Crazy From the Heart, Color of Night, A Million to Juan, Scorpion Spring, and The Devil's Own. Blades shared the title role, with Marc Anthony, in Paul Simon's Broadway musical The Capeman.

Blades, who lives in California with his actress wife Lisa Lebenzon, has remained active with politics. The founder of a new political party in Panama, he ran for president of Panama in 1994, coming in second in the election. While much of Blades' repertoire is in the Spanish language, he recorded an English-language album, Nothing but the Truth, featuring songs by Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, and Sting, in 1988. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Willie Colón
Genre: International
Decades: 7936
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Trombone player, composer, and bandleader, Willie Colón was one of the pioneers of Latin American music. Despite initial criticism, Colón's album El Malo has become known as one of the first albums to feature the "New York Sound" that sparked a renewed interest in Latin music during the 1970s. Colón has been instrumental in the careers of such... [+] Read More

Trombone player, composer, and bandleader, Willie Colón was one of the pioneers of Latin American music. Despite initial criticism, Colón's album El Malo has become known as one of the first albums to feature the "New York Sound" that sparked a renewed interest in Latin music during the 1970s. Colón has been instrumental in the careers of such Latin musicians as Rubén Blades, who first sang with Colón's band in 1975, and Celia Cruz, for whom Colón has produced such albums as Only They Could Have Done This Album in 1977 and the highly successful duet album Celia & Willie in 1981. Colón has also produced albums for Ismael Miranda, Sophy, Soledad Bravo, and the late Hector Lavoe, who sang with his band in the early '70s. Inspired by the music of various cultures, Colón has recorded with such musicians as Puerto Rican cuatro player Yomo Toro and David Byrne. Colón's composition "Che Che Coli," adapted from a Ghanaian children's song, was used by Ntozake Shange in the musical play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf. In addition to 11 Grammy nominations and one Grammy award, Colón has received a CHUBB fellowship from Yale University, the most prestigious award given by the Ivy League school. Colón ran for the United States Congress, representing New York's 17th Congressional District, in 1992.

Starting to play the trumpet at the age of 12, Colón switched to the trombone two years later. Making his recording debut in 1967, for Al Santiago's Futura label, Colón became a victim of misfortune when the label folded. Colón was much more successful when he signed with Johnny Pacheco's Fania label. When his vocalist failed to make Colón's first session for the label, Pacheco suggested Hector Lavoe as a replacement. The collaboration proved fruitful when two singles from Colón's first two albums (El Malo, Guisando) -- "Jazzy" and "I Wish I Had a Watermelon" -- became hits. Lavoe remained a vital member of Colón's band until the mid-'70s when an increased drug addiction caused him to miss or show up late for several gigs. Although their partnership formally ended in 1975, Colón and Lavoe continued to work together. Lavoe's last album, Strikes Back, released in 1987, was produced by Colón.

In 1975, Colón balanced his schedule as director of the Latin Jazz All Stars with studies in music theory, composition, and orchestration. His increased knowledge paid off quickly. In 1978, Colón was named Musician, Producer, and Trombone Player of the Year in a readers poll conducted by Latin New York. Three years later, he received an award as Musician of the Year and his album Fantasmas was named Album of the Year. Colón continued to garner acclaim when his album Canciones del Solar de los Aburridos received a Grammy award in 1982.

Although they met backstage before a concert in Panama in 1969, Colón and Blades didn't begin collaborating until five years later. While working on the album The Good-The Bad-The Ugly, Colón asked Blades to sing on the Blades-penned tune "El Cazanguero," which reflected on Blades' experiences as a law student working in a Panamanian prison. The session was so satisfying that Blades became a full-time member of Colón's band following the departure of Lavoe. Their 1978 album Siembra became the top-selling album in Fania's catalog. Despite their success, Blades severely quarreled with label president Jerry Mascucci over money. Although Colón recorded two solo albums -- El Baquine de Angelitos Negros in 1977 and Solo in 1979 -- and Blades recorded a solo album, Maestra Vida, in 1980, their solo work failed to match the commercial success of their joint efforts.

In 1981, the two musicians resumed their partnership with Blades playing coro on Colón's solo album Fantasmas. The following year, they collaborated on the Grammy-winning album Canciones del Solar de los Aburridos, which yielded the hits singles "Tiburon," "Ligia Elena," and "Te Estan Buscando." Their partnership again proved short-lived as Colón and Blades split up after working on the film The Last Fight. The split was far from amiable and the two musicians continued to feud until reuniting for a concert at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan in March 1992. Despite collaborating on the album Tras la Tormenta in 1995, Colón and Blades recorded their parts separately. Following a reunion concert at the Hollywood Bowl in 1997, Colón and Blades performed a series of concerts together.

In the late '80s, Colón formed a new band, Legal Aliens, with younger musicians. Signing with Sony, Colón and the band recorded Color Americano in 1990 and Honra y Cultura in 1991. Two years later, Colón recorded Hecho en Puerto Rico with an all-star band featuring ex-members of the Fania All-Stars, Papo Lucca and Bobby Valentin. Since leaving Sony over a lack of promotional support, Colón continued to remain active. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Juan Gabriel
Genre: International
Decades: 7936
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Juan Gabriel is one of Mexico's most successful vocalists. A six-time Grammy nominee, Gabriel has sold 30 million copies of his albums and has performed sold-out concerts throughout the world. In addition to recording numerous hits on his own, Gabriel has produced albums for Rocio Durcal, Lucha Villa, Lola Beltran, and Paul Anka. His songs have... [+] Read More

Juan Gabriel is one of Mexico's most successful vocalists. A six-time Grammy nominee, Gabriel has sold 30 million copies of his albums and has performed sold-out concerts throughout the world. In addition to recording numerous hits on his own, Gabriel has produced albums for Rocio Durcal, Lucha Villa, Lola Beltran, and Paul Anka. His songs have been covered by a lengthy list of Latin artists, including Ana Gabriel (no relation), Rocio Durcal, Isabel Pantoja, Raúl Di Blasio, Marc Anthony, and Son del Son, the latter group having released two albums comprised entirely of Gabriel material, Costumbres and Son de Juan. The recipient of the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year Award in 1995, Gabriel was inducted into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame the following year. During an interview shortly after his induction, Gabriel said, "I compose songs with a lot of simplicity because my school has been the streets and people have been my books."

The youngest of ten children, Gabriel (born Alberto Aguilera Valadez) was raised in the border town of Juarez by his mother, who worked as a housekeeper. (He now owns the mansion in which she worked.) Singing from earliest memory, Gabriel was already writing his own songs by the age of 13. Changing his name to Adam Luna, Gabriel began singing in the nightclubs of Juarez's downtown strip in his teens. One night spot, El Noa Noa, was later immortalized in one of his most popular tunes. Gabriel later moved to Mexico City, changed his name again to Juan Gabriel, and in 1971 recorded his first hit, "No Tengo Dinero" (I Have No Money). Over the next 14 years, he rose to international recognition, appearing in such films as Nobleza Ranchera, Del Otro Lado del Puerte, and Es Mi Vida. By 1985, he had sold an estimated 20 million records.

Just as his career reached its peak, Gabriel had a major conflict with BMG over control of his copyrights. Over the next eight years, he refused to record any new material. He finally reached a compromise with BMG in 1994, and quickly made up for lost time. In 1995, three of his songs reached the Top 40 of Billboard's Latin radio charts. While his own recording of "El Palo" (The Stick) reached number one, cover versions of his songs -- "Como la Luna" (Like the Moon) by Banda Maguey and "No Tengo Dinero" by Ana Gabriel -- also performed well. In 1999, Gabriel's tour of United States was sponsored by the Sears Corporation. During the next few years, he averaged a new album every year, including Querida, Por los Siglos, and Inocente de Ti. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Buena Vista Social Club
Genre: International
Decades: 6144
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Less a band than an assemblage of some of Cuba's most renowned musical forces, Buena Vista Social Club's origins lie with noted American guitarist Ry Cooder, who in 1996 traveled to Havana to seek out a number of legendary local musicians whose performing careers largely ended decades earlier with the rise of Fidel Castro. Recruiting the... [+] Read More

Less a band than an assemblage of some of Cuba's most renowned musical forces, Buena Vista Social Club's origins lie with noted American guitarist Ry Cooder, who in 1996 traveled to Havana to seek out a number of legendary local musicians whose performing careers largely ended decades earlier with the rise of Fidel Castro. Recruiting the long-forgotten likes of singer Ibrahim Ferrer, guitarists/singers Compay Segundo and Eliades Ochoa, and pianist Rubén González, Cooder entered Havana's Egrem Studios to record the album Buena Vista Social Club; the project was an unexpected commercial and critical smash, earning a Grammy and becoming the best-selling release of Cooder's long career. In 1998 he returned to Havana with percussionist son Joaquim to record a solo LP with Ferrar; the sessions were captured on film by director Wim Wenders, who also documented sell-out Buena Vista Social Club live performances in Amsterdam and New York City. (Wenders' film, also titled simply Buena Vista Social Club, earned an Academy Award nomination in 2000.) The public's continued interest in Cuban music subsequently generated solo efforts from Segundo and González as well as a series of international live performances promoted under the Buena Vista Social Club aegis. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Sergio Vargas
Genre: International
Decades: 7168
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Talented Sergio Vargas is primarily a merengue singer, but has also earned acclaim for his ability to sing other forms of Tropical music, including ballads. He was born in the Dominican Republic and got his start singing with the local group La Banda Brava. In 1980, he sang a version of José José's "Amor, Amor" and won second place in a talent... [+] Read More

Talented Sergio Vargas is primarily a merengue singer, but has also earned acclaim for his ability to sing other forms of Tropical music, including ballads. He was born in the Dominican Republic and got his start singing with the local group La Banda Brava. In 1980, he sang a version of José José's "Amor, Amor" and won second place in a talent contest. Two years later he had begun working with one of the country's most popular merengue artists, Dionis Fernández. Vargas founded his band, Los Hijos del Rey, in 1986 and by 1988 had become a major star throughout Latin America where he began touring. Later that year, Vargas signed to CBS Records in the U.S. and his debut album eventually went gold. By 1991, he was recording with Sony and remains one of his country's top artists. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Antonio Carlos Jobim
Genre: International
Decades: 3968
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It has been said that Antonio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim was the George Gershwin of Brazil, and there is a solid ring of truth in that, for both contributed large bodies of songs to the jazz repertoire, both expanded their reach into the concert hall, and both tend to symbolize their countries in the eyes of the rest of the world. With... [+] Read More

It has been said that Antonio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim was the George Gershwin of Brazil, and there is a solid ring of truth in that, for both contributed large bodies of songs to the jazz repertoire, both expanded their reach into the concert hall, and both tend to symbolize their countries in the eyes of the rest of the world. With their gracefully urbane, sensuously aching melodies and harmonies, Jobim's songs gave jazz musicians in the 1960s a quiet, strikingly original alternative to their traditional Tin Pan Alley source.

Jobim's roots were always planted firmly in jazz; the records of Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Barney Kessel, and other West Coast jazz musicians made an enormous impact upon him in the 1950s. But he also claimed that the French impressionist composer Claude Debussy had a decisive influence upon his harmonies, and the Brazilian samba gave his music a uniquely exotic rhythmic underpinning. As a pianist, he usually kept things simple and melodically to the point with a touch that reminds some of Claude Thornhill, but some of his records show that he could also stretch out when given room. His guitar was limited mostly to gentle strumming of the syncopated rhythms, and he sang in a modest, slightly hoarse yet often hauntingly emotional manner.

Born in the Tijuca neighborhood of Rio, Jobim originally was headed for a career as an architect. Yet by the time he turned 20, the lure of music was too powerful, and so he started playing piano in nightclubs and working in recording studios. He made his first record in 1954 backing singer Bill Farr as the leader of "Tom and His Band" (Tom was Jobim's lifelong nickname), and he first found fame in 1956 when he teamed up with poet Vinícius de Moraes to provide part of the score for a play called Orfeo do Carnaval (later made into the famous film Black Orpheus). In 1958, the then-unknown Brazilian singer João Gilberto recorded some of Jobim's songs, which had the effect of launching the phenomenon known as bossa nova. Jobim's breakthrough outside Brazil occurred in 1962 when Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd scored a surprise hit with his tune "Desafinado" -- and later that year, he and several other Brazilian musicians were invited to participate in a Carnegie Hall showcase. Fueled by Jobim's songs, the bossa nova became an international fad, and jazz musicians jumped on the bandwagon, recording album after album of bossa novas until the trend ran out of commercial steam in the late '60s.

Jobim himself preferred the recording studios to touring, making several lovely albums of his music as a pianist, guitarist, and singer for Verve, Warner Bros., Discovery, A&M, CTI, and MCA in the '60s and '70s, and Verve again in the last decade of his life. Early on, he started collaborating with arranger/conductor Claus Ogerman, whose subtle, caressing, occasionally moody charts gave his records a haunting ambience. When Brazilian music was in its American eclipse after the '60s, a victim of overexposure and the burgeoning rock revolution, Jobim retreated more into the background, concentrating much energy upon film and TV scores in Brazil. But by 1985, as the idea of world music and a second Brazilian wave gathered steam, Jobim started touring again with a group containing his second wife Ana Lontra, his son Paulo, daughter Elizabeth, and various musician friends. At the time of his final concerts in Brazil in September 1993 and at Carnegie Hall in April 1994 (both available on Verve), Jobim at last was receiving the universal recognition he deserved, and a plethora of tribute albums and concerts followed in the wake of his sudden death in New York City of heart failure. Jobim's reputation as one of the great songwriters of the century is now secure, nowhere more so than on the jazz scene, where every other set seems to contain at least one bossa nova. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Mongo Santamaria
Genre: International
Decades: 3968
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A Mongo Santamaria concert is a mesmerizing spectacle for both eyes and ears, and even in his seventies, this seemingly ageless Cuban percussionist/bandleader could energize packed behemoth arenas such as the Hollywood Bowl. A master conguero, Santamaria at his best creates an incantatory spell rooted in Cuban religious rituals, quietly seating... [+] Read More

A Mongo Santamaria concert is a mesmerizing spectacle for both eyes and ears, and even in his seventies, this seemingly ageless Cuban percussionist/bandleader could energize packed behemoth arenas such as the Hollywood Bowl. A master conguero, Santamaria at his best creates an incantatory spell rooted in Cuban religious rituals, quietly seating himself before his congas and soloing with total command over the rhythmic spaces between the beats while his band pumps out an endless vamp (a potent example on records is the hypnotic "Mazacote" available on Afro-Roots [Prestige]). He has been hugely influential as a leader, running durable bands that combine the traditional charanga with jazz-oriented brass, wind, and piano solos, featuring such future notables as Chick Corea and Hubert Laws. He also reached out into R&B, rock, and electric jazz at times in his long career. No Cuban percussionist, with the possible exception of Santana's Armando Peraza (and let's not count Desi Arnaz!), has reached more listeners than Mongo.

Ramon "Mongo" Santamaria originally took up the violin but then switched to drums before dropping out of school to become a professional musician. A performer at the Tropicana Club in Havana, Mongo traveled to Mexico City with a dance team in 1948 and then moved to New York City in 1950, where he made his American debut with Pérez Prado and spent six years trading percussive barrages with Tito Puente and performing and recording with Cal Tjader (1957-1960). Mongo's first significant recordings in America were made in 1958 for Fantasy; his second Fantasy album, Mongo (1959), contained a composition called "Afro-Blue," which quickly became a Latin jazz standard, taken up by John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and others.

Santamaria's breakthrough into the mass market may have come as a result of a bad night at a Cuban nightclub in the Bronx in 1962. As the story goes, only three people showed up in the audience, so the musicians held a bull session in which the substitute pianist for the gig, Herbie Hancock, demonstrated his new blues tune, "Watermelon Man." Everyone gradually joined in, the number became a part of Mongo's repertoire, and when producer Orrin Keepnews heard it, he rushed the band into a studio and recorded a single that leaped to the number ten slot on the pop charts in 1963.

The success of Santamaria's cross-pollination of jazz, R&B, and Latin music on "Watermelon Man" and a string of Battle and Riverside albums led to a high-profile contract with Columbia that resulted in a wave of hot, danceable albums between 1965 and 1970. With a brighter, brassy sound propelled by trumpeter Marty Sheller's driving charts, often covering hits of the day, the Santamaria band perfectly reflected the mood of the go-go '60s, and Mongo continued to mix genres into the '70s. Santamaria then returned to his Afro-Cuban base, recording for Vaya in the early '70s, teaming with Gillespie and Toots Thielemans for a live gig at Montreux for Pablo in 1980, recording several albums for Concord Picante (1987-1990), a sole effort for Chesky in 1993 and a return to the Fantasy fold via its Milestone subsidiary in 1995. He died on February 1, 2003, at Baptist Hospital in Miami, following a stroke. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Celia Cruz & la Sonora Matancera
Genre: International
Decades: 384
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Gal Costa
Genre: International
Decades: 7936
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Gal Costa is an awarded singer with an extensive solo discography and international experience. A fundamental presence in the Tropicalia movement, she has been in Brazil's leading team of singers for decades. Since very young, she has been involved with music as a singer and violão player; when her mother's business broke she became a record... [+] Read More

Gal Costa is an awarded singer with an extensive solo discography and international experience. A fundamental presence in the Tropicalia movement, she has been in Brazil's leading team of singers for decades. Since very young, she has been involved with music as a singer and violão player; when her mother's business broke she became a record shop attendant, where he spent long hours listening to music, especially João Gilberto. She became acquainted with Caetano Veloso in 1963, and friendly disputed him as boyfriend with her girlfriend Dedé, who would later be Caetano's wife. In 1964, Caetano was invited to organize a Brazilian popular music show at the opening of Salvador's Teatro Vila Velha. The show, called Nós, por Exemplo, brought Caetano, his sister Maria Bethânia, Gilberto Gil, and Costa (still under her name Maria da Graça). The show was a success and was re-enacted two weeks later, with the addition of Tom Zé (still presented as Antônio José). The success was even bigger, and the group (without Tom) soon presented another show, Nova Bossa Velha, Velha Bossa Nova.

In September 26, 1965, the group opened the show Arena Canta Bahia, at São Paulo's Teatro de Arena. At the end of that year, she was taken to the presence of her idol João Gilberto, who asked her to sing while he accompanied; after listening to her on several songs, he declared, "Girl, you sing beautifully. Someday I will return to record an album only with you." Also in that year, she appeared on Bethânia's first album, singing "Sol Negro" (Caetano Veloso). In 1966, she recorded a single for RCA (completely unperceived by the general audiences) and interpreted "Minha Senhora" (Gilberto Gil/Torquato Neto) at TV Rio's I FIC; she also took the name Gal Costa by suggestion of impresario Guilherme Araújo. In 1967, Costa recorded her first LP, together with Caetano (also his first LP), on Domingo. In 1968, she recorded two tracks on the LP manifesto Tropicália: Ou Panis Et Circensis that became her first hits, "Mamãe Coragem" and "Baby." Also in 1968, she achieved great popularity at TV Record's IV FMPB (São Paulo) when she won first place for "Divino Maravilhoso" (Gilberto Gil/Caetano Veloso).

In the next year, she recorded her first individual LP for Philips, Gal Costa. She then began a busy schedule of performances throughout Brazil and that same year recorded another self-titled for Philips. In 1970, she performed in England and, returning next year to Brazil, she recorded the LP Legal. In 1971, she got success in the show Deixa Sangrar, presented in several capitals, and joined João Gilberto and Caetano in a live TV Tupi performance. In 1972, her show A Todo Vapor was recorded live on a double album, and she performed with Gil and Caetano at several venues. In 1973, she performed at the MIDEM in Cannes, France, and recorded the LP Índia, after the show by the same name. In 1976, she recorded the album Os Doces Bárbaros with Caetano, Gil, and Bethânia, also performing a series of shows with them under the same name, and recorded the solo album Gal Canta Caymmi. She recorded four more albums in the '70s. In the '80s, she gained international exposure, touring through Japan, France, Israel, Argentina, the U.S., Portugal, Italy, and others. In 1984, she performed in the show O Sorriso do Gato de Alice (her 20th album), which was awarded by APCA and received the Shell Prize. In 1997, she commemorated 30 years of her career with the CD and video Acústico MTV (BMG), with many important special guests. In 1998, Polygram released 30 Anos de Barato, a three-CD box set. The double-disc Canta Tom Jobim: Ao Vivo appeared in 1999.

Costa continued to be a viable and active artist in the 21st century, issuing new recorded material even as repackaging of her previous work hit the market. Gal Boss Tropical was released in 2002 by Abril, followed by Hoje: 2005 from Trama Records three years later. 2006 saw the appearance of Gal Costa Live at the Blue Note from DRG. ~ Alvaro Neder, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Djavan
Genre: International
Decades: 7680
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Djavan is a Brazilian composer, singer, and the owner of a respectable discography. His international success has taken him to the highest-ranking venues worldwide and his songs have been recorded by Al Jarreau, Carmen McRae, the Manhattan Transfer, and, in Brazil by Gal Costa, Paralamas do Sucesso, Ed Motta, Leila Pinheiro, Chico César, Dori... [+] Read More

Djavan is a Brazilian composer, singer, and the owner of a respectable discography. His international success has taken him to the highest-ranking venues worldwide and his songs have been recorded by Al Jarreau, Carmen McRae, the Manhattan Transfer, and, in Brazil by Gal Costa, Paralamas do Sucesso, Ed Motta, Leila Pinheiro, Chico César, Dori Caymmi, Nana Caymmi, Rosa Passos, Lenine, Elba Ramalho, João Bosco, Zélia Duncan, Leny Andrade, Chico Buarque, Daniela Mercury, Ney Matogrosso, Dominguinhos, Jane Duboc, Caetano Veloso, Maria Bethânia, Beth Carvalho, João Donato, Joyce, Johnny Alf, and other artists.

Djavan had early contact with music through his mother. From the environment, he took the rich northeastern folklore as influences. But he only began to play at 16, when he took the violão as a self-taught instrument. Abandoning his studies, he had to work small jobs. Still in his hometown, he formed the group LSD (Luz, Som, Dimensão), which covered the Beatles' repertory, playing in every venue for pocket money. Moving to Rio in 1973, he became acquainted with Edson Mauro, a fellow statesman who was Rádio Globo's sports speaker, and presented Djavan to Adelzon Alves, who introduced him to Som Livre's producer João Mello. A month later, he was hired by Som Livre as a singer for soap opera soundtracks. In this capacity, he would record the songs "Qual é" (Marcos and Paulo Sérgio Valle) for the soap opera Ossos do Barão, "Presunçosa" (Antônio Carlos and Jocafi) for Super Manuela, "Calmaria e Vendaval" (Toquinho and Vinicius) for Fogo sobre terra, and "Alegre Menina" (Dori Caymmi and Jorge Amado) for Gabriela. He also participated in several hit-parade records, recording other composers' songs. Meanwhile, to fatten his meager budget, he worked as a crooner for four years at Number One and 706 nightclubs, before his breakthrough as a composer. Participating in TV Globo's festival Abertura (1975), he won second place with his song "Abertura." His first single came four months later with the songs "E que Deus Ajude," "Um Dia," "Rei do Mar," and "Fato Consumado." One year after, he recorded his first LP, (A Voz, o Violão e a Arte de Djavan, Som Livre), which had "Fato Consumando," "E que Deus Ajude," "Pára Raio," "Maria Mercedes," "Na Boca do Beco," "Ventos do Norte," "Magia," "Muito Obrigado," "Maçã do Rosto," "Embola Bola," "Quantas Voltas dá o Mundo," and "Flor de Lis," the latter scoring a big hit which endures even today.

A while later, he did a solo show at the 706 nightclub for three months. He recorded a single arranged by João Donato with songs "É hora" and "Romeiros" and left Som Livre for Odeon. He then recorded Djavan (1979), Alumbramento (1980), and Seduzir (1981). In 1982, he signed with CBS, recorded Luz in the U.S. (produced by Ronnie Foster), where he made contacts with Quincy Jones, who acquired the publishing rights of many of his songs through Djavan's own publishing Luanda. Stevie Wonder was a guest star on that album. In 1984, he recorded Lilás with production help from Eric Bulling, whose international sound can be heard on that album. In the same year, he worked in the film Para Viver um Grande Amor (Miguel Faria, Jr.). He also recorded Brazilian Knights and a Lady (1985), Meu Lado (1986), Não é Azul mas é Mar (1987), and Bird of Paradise (1988). In 1989, he did Djavan, accompanied by flamenco guitar player Paco de Lucia on the track "Oceano," included in a major soap opera. He followed with Puzzle of Hearts (1990), Coisa de acender (1991, with a partnership with Caetano Veloso on "Linha do Equador"), and Novena (1994). In 1996, he recorded Malásia, which had Tom Jobim's "Correnteza" included on a prime time soap opera and, in 1998, Bicho Solto -- o 13o. In 1999, he recorded Ao Vivo in two volumes, which sold 1.2 million copies and garnered him his first Diamond Record. He was awarded with three Multishow prizes: Best CD, Best Show, and Best Singer (popular election by vote of the cable channel spectators). He was paid tribute in the series Talento Brasileiro and with three Lumiar Songbooks, having his songs performed by Gal Costa, Paralamas do Sucesso, Ed Motta, Cláudio Zolli, Ângela Ro Ro, Leila Pinheiro, Garganta Profunda, Chico César, Dori Caymmi, Nana Caymmi, Rosa Passos, Rosana, Orlando Morais, Lenine, Paulinho Moska, Elba Ramalho, João Bosco, Zélia Duncan, Cidade Negra, Sandra de Sá, Leny Andrade, Chico Buarque, Daniela Mercury, Ney Matogrosso, Dominguinhos, Jane Duboc, Zé Ricardo, Personagens, Caetano Veloso, Maria Bethânia, Beth Carvalho, João Donato, Daúde, Joyce, Johnny Alf, Eduardo Dusek, Be Happy, Fátima Guedes, and Clara Sandroni. The following year, Djavan won a Grammy for Best Brazilian Song for "Acelerou" at the first Latin Grammy Awards. ~ Alvaro Neder, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Chucho Valdés
Genre: International
Decades: 7680
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The son of the noted musician Bebo Valdes, Chucho began playing piano when he was three and by the time he was 16 he was leading his own group. In 1960 his father defected from Cuba but Chucho stayed behind. In 1967, he formed the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna and, in 1973, he founded Irakere, the top Cuban jazz orchestra; among its original... [+] Read More

The son of the noted musician Bebo Valdes, Chucho began playing piano when he was three and by the time he was 16 he was leading his own group. In 1960 his father defected from Cuba but Chucho stayed behind. In 1967, he formed the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna and, in 1973, he founded Irakere, the top Cuban jazz orchestra; among its original members were Arturo Sandoval and Paquito D'Rivera. Valdes has been Irakere's musical director almost from the start and has recorded with the full band, in small groups, and as an impressive solo pianist. He remains one of the top jazz musicians living in Cuba. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Pérez Prado
Genre: International
Decades: 960
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Universally known as the King of the Mambo, Pérez Prado was the single most important musician involved in the hugely popular Latin dance craze. Whether he actually created the rhythm is somewhat disputed, but it's abundantly clear that Prado developed it into a bright, swinging style with massive appeal for dancers of all backgrounds and... [+] Read More

Universally known as the King of the Mambo, Pérez Prado was the single most important musician involved in the hugely popular Latin dance craze. Whether he actually created the rhythm is somewhat disputed, but it's abundantly clear that Prado developed it into a bright, swinging style with massive appeal for dancers of all backgrounds and classes. Prado's mambo was filled with piercing high-register trumpets, undulating saxophone counterpoint, atmospheric organ (later on), and harmonic ideas borrowed from jazz. While his tight percussion arrangements allowed for little improvisation, they were dense and sharply focused, keeping the underlying syncopations easy for dancers to follow. Prado played the piano, but was often more in his element as the focal point of the audience's excitement; he leaped, kicked, danced, shouted, grunted, and exhorted his musicians with a dynamic stage presence that put many more sedate conductors and bandleaders to shame. With this blueprint, Prado brought mambo all the way into the pop mainstream, inspiring countless imitators and scoring two number one singles on the pop charts (albeit in a smoother vein than the fare that first made his name) as the fad snowballed. He was a star throughout most of the Western Hemisphere during the '50s, and even after his popularity waned in the United States, he remained a widely respected figure in many Latin countries, especially his adopted home of Mexico. Prado is often best remembered for his softer, more commercial work, which has an undeniable kitschiness that plays well with modern-day lounge-revival hipsters. Unfortunately, that has served to obscure his very real credentials in the realm of authentic, unadulterated Latin dance music, and to this day he remains somewhat underappreciated.

Damaso Pérez Prado was born in the heavily Afro-Cuban area of Matanzas, Cuba, on December 11, 1916 (though he habitually gave his birthdate as five years later). According to custom, he carried both his father's and mother's last name; his earliest recordings were issued under the name D. Pérez Prado, but the "D." was dropped on his American releases, and in 1955 he had his full name legally shortened to Pérez Prado. Starting in childhood, Prado studied classical piano, and by the time he finished school, he was good enough to play piano and organ professionally in local clubs and movie theaters. He moved to Havana around 1942 and freelanced for a number of smaller orchestras over the next year or so. Chiefly a pianist at this point, he also landed an arranging job with Gapar Roca de la Peer, which sometimes supplied material to the highly popular Orquesta Casino de la Playa. The orchestra's lead vocalist, Cascarita, liked Prado's work, and soon they hired him as arranger and pianist. This was the early platform Prado needed to develop his own arranging style, and after-hours jam sessions around Havana were already influencing his rhythmic concepts. Seeking to bring more excitement into the well-established rumba rhythm, Prado began to experiment with the hard swing of American jazz, influenced especially by the harmonically sophisticated big-band music of Stan Kenton. He also sought to build new Afro-Cuban-derived rhythms, including a pattern that was dubbed the mambo, whose early forms were traced back to Arsenio Rodriguez and Orestes Lopez.

Prado's innovations were greeted with outright hostility from Cuba's conservative musical establishment, which resisted the incursion of jazz on their native music. No longer able to find arranging work, he left Cuba in 1947 to try his luck in Puerto Rico. He eventually joined a touring group that swung through Argentina, Venezuela, Panama, and Mexico, and emerged as their star attraction. In 1948, he relocated to Mexico City and set about putting together his own orchestra, which featured a core membership of Cuban expatriates. One of those was singer Beny Moré, who performed and recorded with Prado (among several other bandleaders) through 1950; the association helped make Prado's orchestra a top draw in Mexico City, and set Moré on a path to becoming one of Cuba's best-loved singers. RCA's Mexican division signed Prado as an artist in his own right in 1949, and his first 78 rpm record, "Que Rico el Mambo" b/w "Mambo No. 5," was a hit across much of Latin America. In 1950, RCA reissued it in the U.S., with the A-side's title changed to "Mambo Jambo"; it had moderate success there too. Over 1950, Prado released numerous singles in Mexico; most of them were titled in tribute to a broad range of social classes and occupations, which helped make them wildly popular. Additionally, Prado appeared in several Mexican films, generally playing himself and spotlighting his stage act.

The early '50s were a busy time for Prado, who mounted a number of international tours as the mambo sound spread like wildfire. In Peru, Catholic authorities threatened to deny absolution for anyone who participated in mambo dancing, to little discernible effect. Prado's first U.S. tour came in 1951, with Beny Moré accompanying him; because of musicians' union rules, he was often forced to hire local musicians in place of his Mexican personnel, and train them rigorously in a very short period of time with little knowledge of English. The tour was a smashing success, however, especially on the West Coast, and RCA started releasing his records on their main RCA Victor imprint, rather than consigning them to a specialty subsidiary. In late 1953, Prado caused a stir when he was abruptly deported by Mexican officials to Havana; his sudden disappearance (he was arrested in a backstage dressing room) sparked rumors of kidnapping before he finally resurfaced to explain that he had forgotten to renew his visa.

Prado returned to the U.S. in 1954, embarking on another hugely successful tour of the West Coast. He then made his way to New York, where his orchestra played several upscale venues that helped make mambo all the rage among upper as well as lower classes. Spurred by mambo nights in clubs across the city, mambo was pushing its way into the pop mainstream, as traditional pop crooners and R&B/blues artists alike recorded Latin-flavored novelty items paying tribute to the emerging fad. Seeing that his music could cross over to the lucrative white market, Prado began to tailor it for mainstream consumption, scoring minor hits with covers of the theme from the Italian film Anna and the South African tune "Skokiaan," which signaled the beginning of a more polished studio sound. He finally scored a breakout pop hit in early 1955 with "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White," which was used as the theme to the Jane Russell film Underwater!. Ironically for the Cuban-born El Rey del Mambo, his first major hit was an adaptation of a French song ("Cerisier Rose et Pommier Blanc"), and its underlying rhythm was a cha-cha. Powered by a dramatic, swooping trumpet lead by Billy Regis, "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" spent an astounding ten weeks at number one on the pop charts, making it one of the biggest instrumental hits of all time. The accompanying album, Mambo Mania, was Prado's first full-length 12" LP, and mostly featured material he'd recorded during his time in Mexico.

Prado took advantage of his success to attempt more ambitious compositions during this period. His first effort in this vein was 1954's The Voodoo Suite, an impressionistic tone poem for Afro-Cuban big band that incorporated elements of jazz and exotica. West Coast trumpeter Shorty Rogers helped out on the arrangements, and the results often recalled Stan Kenton's progressive big-band mood music, albeit with a Latin sound. The 1956 album Havana 3 A.M. was a wilder excursion that ranked as probably the purest, most authentically Latin record of Prado's commercial period. Of course, there were many commercial projects too; the biggest was 1958's Prez, which fell just short of the Top 20 on the pop LP charts. That same year, Prado scored his second number one single with the self-composed "Patricia," a slinky if subdued instrumental spotlighting his organ playing. The tune was later used in a steamy, controversial sequence in director Federico Fellini's classic La Dolce Vita. The follow-up single, "Guaglione," just missed the Top 50.

Determined not to become a one-trick pony, Prado had begun to experiment with new rhythms and dance forms as early as 1954. A rhythm he called "La Culeta" was his answer to the cha-cha, adding violins to the required instrumentation. Several others -- the suby and the pau-pau (both mid-'50s), La Chunga and El Dengue (both early '60s) -- failed to catch fire with the public as mambo had. In the early '60s, Prado began to flirt with rock & roll dances, adding Twist-type rhythms and tempos to albums like 1961's Rockambo and 1962's The Twist Goes Latin (the latter featured Twist reworkings of his two chart-topping singles). However, he wasn't simply chasing trends during this period; 1962 brought another compositionally ambitious tone poem, The Exotic Suite of the Americas, which added strings and a movie-soundtrack feel to an Afro-Cuban big band. Unfortunately, Prado was running out of commercial steam, his early thunder largely stolen by rock & roll. His last American album for RCA, Dance Latino, was released in 1965, and by the early '70s, he had returned to Mexico City permanently.

Despite his declining fortunes in the U.S., Prado remained an icon in much of Latin America, and he continued to tour successfully in Mexico, South America, and Japan during the '70s. He also released records in those markets, and appeared frequently on Mexican television. In 1981, he appeared in a musical revue, Sun, that enjoyed a lengthy run in Mexico City. A false report surfaced in 1983 that Prado had died in Milan, Italy, but it was actually his younger brother, Pantaleón Pérez Prado, who had passed away; Prado had been forced to sue Pantaleón in 1956 for impersonating him and using the performing name Pérez Prado to draw audiences in Europe. Prado himself started grooming his son, Pérez Prado, Jr., to take over the reins of his orchestra in the mid-'80s. Prado returned to America for a final concert at the Hollywood Palladium in 1987; although age and ill health had taken its toll on his stage demeanor, the appearance was a sold-out success. He passed away in Mexico City on September 14, 1989, after suffering a stroke. Prado's music has lived on in popular culture in the years since his death: "Guaglione" was a near-number one hit in England in 1995 after being featured in a Guinness beer commercial; "Patricia" was adopted as the theme for the HBO documentary series Real Sex; and "Mambo No. 5" was adapted into the unnervingly catchy novelty hit "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of...)" by Lou Bega in 1999. Prado Jr. continues to direct his father's orchestra in Mexico City. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Los Huracanes del Norte
Genre: International
Decades: 6144
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One of the most popular norteño groups, Los Huracanes del Norte has consisted of a group of relatives from the extended Garcia family -- Chuy, Eraclio, Francisco, Guadalupe, Jesus, Lupillo, Pancho and Rocky -- plus other members such as Wico Lopez and producer/songwriter Martín Ruvalcaba. The group has released dozens of albums, for Garmex, Luna...

One of the most popular norteño groups, Los Huracanes del Norte has consisted of a group of relatives from the extended Garcia family -- Chuy, Eraclio, Francisco, Guadalupe, Jesus, Lupillo, Pancho and Rocky -- plus other members such as Wico Lopez and producer/songwriter Martín Ruvalcaba. The group has released dozens of albums, for Garmex, Luna and Fonovisa. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Ricky Martin
Genre: International
Decades: 6144
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Ricky Martin was one of the biggest teen idols in Latin America during the '90s, and a major figure in American pop music by the end of the decade. A lead singer of Menudo, Martin was blessed with good looks and a nice voice, which helped him become a Latin music star. He also became an actor, earning praise from the Mexican motion picture... [+] Read More

Ricky Martin was one of the biggest teen idols in Latin America during the '90s, and a major figure in American pop music by the end of the decade. A lead singer of Menudo, Martin was blessed with good looks and a nice voice, which helped him become a Latin music star. He also became an actor, earning praise from the Mexican motion picture industry and starring on the American soap opera General Hospital, where he played Miguel Morez, a bartender who sings on the weekends.

Ricky Martin (b. December 24, 1971) was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. As a child, he sang in the choir and performed in school plays. When he was six, he began acting in television commercials. Shortly afterward, he took professional singing and acting lessons, which paved the way for his auditions for Menudo. In 1984, when he was 12 years old, he became a member of Menudo. For the next five years, he was the lead singer of the group, helping it to become an international sensation. Once he outgrew Menudo in 1989, he went back home to Puerto Rico, where he completed high school. After graduation, he moved to New York, where he simply relaxed for several months.

Following a few months of inactivity, he began to work his way back into the entertainment industry. He returned to Mexico, where he acted on stage for a year before returning to the music industry. In 1991, he released his self-titled debut album, which he co-wrote with his fellow Menudo alumnus Robi Rosa, who would become a regular collaborator over the course of Martin's career (often credited as Ian Blake). The album became a sizable hit on the Latin charts. Two years later, he followed it with the Juan Carlos Calderon-produced Me Amaras, which was an even bigger hit, launching him to superstar status in Latin America.

In January 1994, he joined the cast of the soap opera General Hospital, playing Miguel Morez. His recurring role was so successful that it landed him a role on Broadway, where he played Marius in Les Miserables. He left General Hospital to perform in the production and stayed with the play for about a year.

In 1995, he released his third album, A Medio Vivir, a record that had a harder rock edge, yet also featured such Latin styles as flamenco and cumbia. In early 1998, he released his fourth album, Vuelve. His first English-language pop album -- which like his first long-player also happened to be titled Ricky Martin -- was released in the spring of 1999; it made him an international superstar thanks to blockbuster singles including "Livin' la Vida Loca" and "She's All I Ever Had." A year later, Martin sizzled again with the release of Sound Loaded. His biggest Spanish-language hits were collected on 2001's La Historia, while 2003's Almas del Silencio was an album of new Spanish material. Life, from 2005, was a return to English-language pop. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Gilberto Gil
Genre: International
Decades: 7936
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Multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter Gilberto Gil joined his first group, the Desafinados, in the mid-'50s and by the beginning of the 1960s was earning a living as a jingle composer. Although known mostly as a guitarist, he also holds his own with drums, trumpet, and accordion.

He began playing the accordion when he was eight,... [+] Read More

Multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter Gilberto Gil joined his first group, the Desafinados, in the mid-'50s and by the beginning of the 1960s was earning a living as a jingle composer. Although known mostly as a guitarist, he also holds his own with drums, trumpet, and accordion.

He began playing the accordion when he was eight, and he listened to street singers in the marketplace around Salvador. By the end of the 1950s, Gil was studying business administration at Savlador's Federal University and playing with a group called Os Desafinados. At this time he heard singer and guitarist João Gilberto on the radio and was so impressed that he immediately bought a guitar and learned to play and sing the bossa nova. He spent the early '60s composing songs for TV ads, and in 1964, he was in Nos Por Exemplo, a show of bossa nova and traditional Brazilian songs directed by Caetano Veloso. In 1965, he moved to São Paulo, and after singing and playing in various shows, he had his first hit when singer Elis Regina recorded his song "Louvacao." He began to establish himself as a singer of protest songs, and he became very popular with Brazilians involved in the Tropicalia movement, which opened up native Brazilian folk music to other kinds of influences. The success of the single "Louvacao" inspired Gil to record an album of his own material with the same title.

Gil made his first self-titled recording in 1966, but his first hit single didn't come about until 1969, with "Aquele Abraco." His musical fusion of bossa nova, samba, and other styles was so revolutionary it frightened the country's military dictatorship into arresting him, and that's when he headed to Great Britain. (He and Caetano Veloso were placed in solitary confinement while authorities figured out what they wanted to do with the pair.) After three years in England, where he had the chance to work with groups like Pink Floyd, Yes, the Incredible String Band, and Rod Stewart's band in London clubs, he returned to Brazil in 1972. He recorded Expresso 2222, which spurred two hit singles in Brazil, "Back in Bahia" and "Oriente." After playing at the Midem Festival in France in 1973, Gil recorded Ao Vivo in 1974. A year later, he recorded with Jorge Ben for the album Gil & Jorge. In 1976, he toured with Veloso, Gal Costa, and Maria Bethânia and released the Doces Báraros album. For most of the rest of the 1970s, he recorded for a variety of Brazilian record companies until signing an international deal with the WEA group of labels in 1977. He toured U.S. colleges in 1978 and firmly established his place in the international jazz world with his albums Nightingale (1978) and Realce (1979) . He also released a double live album in 1978, Gilberto Gil ao Vivo em Montreux, recorded during his performances at the jazz and blues festival in Switzerland. In 1980, Gil teamed up with reggae musician Jimmy Cliff. The pair toured Brazil, and Gil's cover of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" climbed to number one, selling 700,000 copies.

Gil followed up in 1981 with Luar (A Gente Precisa Ver o Luar), one of his most acclaimed recordings. In 1982, he performed again at the Montreux Festival, but this time with Jimmy Cliff. He followed up with Um Banda Um (1982), Extra (1983), and Raça Humana (1984), the last recorded with Bob Marley's Wailers.

In the late '70s, Gil became a prominent spokesman for the black consciousness movement then taking place in Brazil. In 1982, he had huge crossover success with "Palco," which became popular in dance clubs and led to stadium tours of Europe. Meanwhile, back in the U.S., he would play mid-sized jazz clubs in New York City and Los Angeles. Gil celebrated his then two-decade career in 1985 with the album DIA Dorim Noite Neon (released in the U.S.), and released Gilberto Gil em Concerto, recorded live in Rio, in 1987.

The early '90s saw Gil continuing his involvement in social and political causes in his native country, finding widespread support for his political stances, and he was elected to office in the port city of Salvador, his hometown, aka the Black Rome.

A leader of the Tropicalia movement in Brazil in 1967 and 1968 along with artists like Caetano Veloso and Gal Costa, he and other musicians mixed native styles with rock and folk instruments. Because Gil fused samba, salsa, and bossa nova with rock and folk music, he's recognized today as one of the pioneers in world music. Among Gil's other albums are Refazenda (1975), Gilberto a Bahia (1985), and Parabolic (1992). He released Acoustic for the Atlantic Jazz label in 1994. On Acoustic, he's joined by Carlos Fonseca on acoustic guitar and Jorges Gomes on drums and mandolin. ~ Richard Skelly, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Caetano Veloso
Genre: International
Decades: 7936
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A true heavyweight, perhaps one of the greatest figures in international pop music, Caetano Veloso is a pop musician/poet/filmmaker/political activist whose stature in the pantheon of international pop musicians is on a par with that of Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, and Lennon/McCartney. And even the most cursory listen to his recorded output over the... [+] Read More

A true heavyweight, perhaps one of the greatest figures in international pop music, Caetano Veloso is a pop musician/poet/filmmaker/political activist whose stature in the pantheon of international pop musicians is on a par with that of Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, and Lennon/McCartney. And even the most cursory listen to his recorded output over the last few decades proves that this is no exaggeration.

Born in 1942 in Santo Amaro da Purificacao in Brazil's Bahia region, Veloso absorbed the rich Bahian musical heritage that was influenced by Caribbean, African, and North American pop music, but it was the cool, seductive bossa nova sound of João Gilberto (a Brazilian superstar in the 1950s) that formed the foundation of Veloso's intensely eclectic pop. Following his sister Maria Bethânia (a very successful singer in her own right) to Rio in the early '60s, the 23-year-old Veloso won a lyric-writing contest with his song "Um Dia" and was quickly signed to the Phillips label. It wasn't long before Veloso (along with other Brazilian stars such as Gal Costa and Gilberto Gil) represented the new wave of MPB (i.e., musica popular Brasileira), the all-purpose term used by Brazilians to describe their pop music. Bright, ambitious, creative, and given to an unapologetically leftist political outlook, Veloso would soon become a controversial figure in Brazilian pop. By 1967, he had become aligned with Brazil's burgeoning hippie movement and, along with Gilberto Gil, created a new form of pop music dubbed Tropicalia. Arty and eclectic, Tropicalia retained a bossa nova influence, adding bits and pieces of folk-rock and art rock to a stew of loud electric guitars, poetic spoken word sections, and jazz-like dissonance. Although not initially well received by traditional pop-loving Brazilians (both Veloso and Gil faced the wrath of former fans similar to the ire provoked by Dylan upon going electric), Tropicalia was a breathtaking stylistic syncresis that signaled a new generation of daring, provocative, and politically outspoken musicians who would remake the face of MPB.

This was a cultural shift not without considerable dangers. Since 1964, Brazil had been ruled by a military dictatorship (a government that would rule for 20 years) who did not look kindly upon such radical music made by such radical musicians. Almost immediately there were government-sanctioned attempts to circumscribe the recordings and live performances of many tropicalistas. Censorship of song lyrics as well as radio and television play lists (Veloso was a regular TV performer on Brazilian variety shows) was common. Just as common was the persecution of performers openly critical of the government, and Veloso and Gil were at the top of the hit list. Both men spent two months in prison for "antigovernment activity" and another four months under house arrest. After a defiant 1968 performance together, Veloso and Gil were forced into exile in London. Veloso continued to record abroad and write songs for other Tropicalia stars, but he would not be allowed to return to Brazil permanently until 1972.

Although his commitment to politicized art never wavered, Veloso, over the next 20 years, went from being a very popular Brazilian singer/songwriter to becoming the center of Brazilian pop. For decades he kept up a grueling pace of recording, producing, and performing and, in the mid-'70s, added writing to his resumé, publishing a book of articles, poems, and song lyrics covering a period from 1965 to 1976. In the '80s, Veloso became increasingly better known outside of Brazil, touring in Africa, Paris, and Israel, interviewing Mick Jagger for Brazilian TV, and in 1983, playing America for the first time. (He sold out three nights at the Public Theater in New York with shows that were rapturously reviewed by then-New York Times pop critic Robert Palmer.) This steady increase in popularity occurred despite the fact that Veloso's records were extremely hard to find in American record stores, and when one could locate them, they were expensive Brazilian imports. Still, the buzz on Veloso grew, thanks in part to Palmer, Robert Christgau, and other critics writing about pop music outside of the contiguous 48 states. But Veloso never seemed bothered by his low profile outside of Brazil, and his work over the years, even after he became a more well-known international pop figure, remained challenging and intriguing without being modified for American (or anyone else's) tastes -- that is, Veloso sang in English (most of his recorded work is sung in Portuguese) when he felt like it, not because he had to sell more records in America. He hung out with fairly trendy New York musicians (Brazilian native Arto Lindsay and David Byrne), but never made a big deal about it. Veloso was one of the rare musicians who was popular, sold a lot of records (at least in Brazil), was a certifiable superstar, but was never self-aggrandizing, narcissistic, or overly concerned with how hip he was.

Even when he approached the age of normal retirement, Veloso showed no signs of slowing down. After his 1989 recording Estrangeiro (produced by Ambitious Lovers' Arto Lindsay and Peter Scherer) became his first nonimport release in America, Veloso's stateside profile increased significantly, reaching its highest point with the release of 1993's Tropicália 2, recorded with Gilberto Gil. A brilliant record that made a slew of American ten-best lists, Tropicália 2 proved once again that Veloso's talent (as well as Gil's) had not diminished a bit. His early-'90s recordings, Circuladô, Fina Estampa, and Circuladô ao Vivo (the latter of which includes versions of Michael Jackson's "Black and White" and Dylan's "Jokerman") were uniformly wonderful, and in the summer of 1997 Veloso embarked on his largest American tour to date.

Two years later, Veloso was the subject of an extensive, flattering portrait in Spin on the eve of the American release of his acclaimed 1998 album Livro. In 1999, he released Omaggio a Federico e Giulietta, a tribute to auteur Federico Fellini and his wife, actress Giulietta Masina. He also won a Grammy for the Best MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira) Album for 1998's Livro at the first annual Latin Grammy Awards. After the end of the millennium, Veloso delivered a bossa nova album, the spirited Noites do Norte, a live record from Bahia, a collaboration with poet Jorge Mautner, and the songbook album A Foreign Sound. ~ John Dougan, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Irakere
Genre: International
Decades: 7680
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Many of the top Cuban jazz musicians have played in Irakere during the past several decades, including altoist Paquito D'Rivera and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval (before both individually defected). Pianist Chucho Valdes has been the orchestra's longtime leader, and its music ranges from Latin jazz and bop to Cuban folk melodies, with an emphasis on... [+] Read More

Many of the top Cuban jazz musicians have played in Irakere during the past several decades, including altoist Paquito D'Rivera and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval (before both individually defected). Pianist Chucho Valdes has been the orchestra's longtime leader, and its music ranges from Latin jazz and bop to Cuban folk melodies, with an emphasis on infectious rhythms and advanced improvisations. Several of Irakere's records have been made available domestically (including sets for Columbia and Jazz House), but the exciting band was not able to visit the United States until 1996. The album Toda Cuba Baila con Irakere followed two years later. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Beny Moré
Genre: International
Decades: 480
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Beny Moré is the greatest singer of popular music Cuba has ever produced. Think Frank Sinatra or Nat "King" Cole and you'll get an idea of how he's perceived in Cuba, and how he should be regarded elsewhere. In the 40 years since his death, no Cuban vocalist has emerged to fill his shoes, and he remains as close as ever to the hearts of the... [+] Read More

Beny Moré is the greatest singer of popular music Cuba has ever produced. Think Frank Sinatra or Nat "King" Cole and you'll get an idea of how he's perceived in Cuba, and how he should be regarded elsewhere. In the 40 years since his death, no Cuban vocalist has emerged to fill his shoes, and he remains as close as ever to the hearts of the Cuban people. Few singers in this hemisphere have consistently matched his interpretive gifts, vocal virtuosity, and comfort with a range of styles.

Moré's genius lay in his synthesis of two of the major currents of Cuban song -- Afro-Cuban son and the Spanish-derived guajiro music of the Cuban countryside. He owed at least some of his singing style to a series of soneros who preceded him: Antonio Machin, Miguelito Valdes, and Orlando "Cascarita" Guerra. Moré's intimacy with both the African and European elements in Cuban music allowed him to be comfortable in all different styles. He was equally successful with boleros as with mambos and rumbas. Most important is what he conveyed with his singing: a tenderness and direct emotional appeal in his boleros, a hip-shaking exuberance in his mambos. Though he could not read music, Moré composed two of his smash hits, "Bonito Y Sabroso" and "Que Bueno Baila Usted." He also doubled as a bandleader and assembled a powerful big band comprised of talented musicians like trumpeters Alejandro "El Negro" Vivar and Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros, and trombonist and arranger Generoso "El Tojo" Jimenez. His was the quintessential Afro-Cuban big band sound of the 1950s: brash, multi-textured, dynamic. But unlike New York bands like Machito and his Afro-Cubans, Moré was not pushing the boundaries of Latin jazz. His music was more "pop" than Machito's, but it was anything but formulaic.

Born Bartolome Maximiliano Moré in 1919 in the village of Santa Isabel de Las Lajas in Las Villas Province, Cuba, Moré left for Havana as a teenager and for several years worked a variety of odd jobs while performing as a street singer in the city's port area. His big break came in 1945, when he accompanied the Miguel Matamoros conjunto to Mexico. In the late 1940s, Mexico City was a magnet for Cuban entertainers seeking to make it big in the Mexican film industry. After touring Mexico, Matamoros returned to Cuba, but Moré decided to stay behind. Before leaving, Matamoros counseled Moré to change his name since "bartolo" meant donkey in Mexican slang. Rechristened Beny Moré, in a year or two he was discovered by Mario Rivera Conde, the director of RCA/Victor Mexico, who paired him with a series of high-caliber orchestras, including those of Perez Prado and Mexican composer Raphael De Paz.

Moré's early recordings in Mexico include a balance of uptempo tunes and ballads; this proportion changed in favor of ballads when he finally fronted his own band. What's striking about the early sessions is the consistent quality and tastefulness of the orchestral accompaniment. Moré sings with five different orchestras on these sessions, yet there are few jarring contrasts. The Perez Prado orchestra is an exception to this rule; Prado's flailing piano style and trademark grunts jar in a marvelous, amphetamine-driven way. Rivera Conde's pairing of Prado and Moré was a masterstroke and produced some of the most high-energy recordings of Moré's career. Moré sang some of his most memorable songs while on his Mexican sojourn -- "Bonito Y Sabroso," "San Fernando," "Donde Estabas Tu" -- with the Raphael De Paz Orchestra. But perhaps Moré's best-known song, the bolero "Como Fue," was recorded with neither Prado nor De Paz, but the orchestra of Ernesto Duarte. "Como Fue" was included in the soundtrack of the film Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, where it added authenticity to an otherwise watery collection of Latin music.

Moré returned to Cuba in 1953 and assembled his own big band, with whom he crissed-crossed Cuba until his death. Moré was intensely loyal to his musicians, referring to them as his tribu (tribe). Because he always insisted on having a large band, he was known to have gone out of pocket on his RCA recordings to pay his men. They responded by embellishing his songs with subtle, ornate orchestral playing. While Moré continued to record uptempo smash hits such as "Francisco Guayabal" and "Que Bueno Baila Usted," he focused on boleros, a natural showcase for his vocal and interpretive gifts. Moré had a signature vocal technique, a sort of glissando, that he used everywhere in varying forms. Typically, he would hold a note, then slide up the scale to a higher note and hold it there for a few seconds. It's an impressive, exciting device, and he uses it to build drama on boleros like "Tu Me Sabes Comprender" and "No Puedo Callar." A less frequently used but equally distinctive technique was Moré's seagull squawk, which he includes at the finale of the uptempo "Soy Campesino."

It is unfortunate that Moré never brought his outstanding band to record or perform in the United States, even though he was active during one of the rare moments in U.S. pop music history when authentic Cuban music was in demand. Moré decided to stay in Cuba after the revolution, but he didn't live long, a victim of his love for rum. All rumors to the contrary notwithstanding, Beny Moré finally succumbed to cirrhosis of the liver on February 19th, 1963 in Havana. Moré's recorded output was relatively small, cut short as it was by his premature death. In 1992, BMG Music released the majority of Moré's 1948-58 recordings for RCA/Victor on five CDs for its Tropical Series. Moré never recorded for anyone other than RCA, so all his hits are here. Nevertheless, his earliest recordings with the Miguel Matamoros conjunto are missing, and only some of his songs with the Perez Prado orchestra are included. From a technical standpoint, the discs are terrific (they sound as if they were made yesterday), but three of the five albums have no liner notes to speak of and information about session dates and personnel is either very sketchy or nonexistent, which is shabby treatment indeed for an artist of Beny Moré's stature. Moré's great legacy, though, is clear on the recordings themselves: a voice that can evoke memories of lost romance, or make you dance with joyous abandon. ~ Spencer Harrington, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Milton Nascimento
Genre: International
Decades: 7936
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International singing superstar and songwriter Milton Nascimento may have his roots in Brazil, but his songs have touched audiences all over the world. Born in Rio, Nascimento's adoptive parents, both white, brought him to Tres Pontas, a small town in the state of Minas Gerais, when he was two. His mother sang in a choir and at local music... [+] Read More

International singing superstar and songwriter Milton Nascimento may have his roots in Brazil, but his songs have touched audiences all over the world. Born in Rio, Nascimento's adoptive parents, both white, brought him to Tres Pontas, a small town in the state of Minas Gerais, when he was two. His mother sang in a choir and at local music festivals, often accompanied by Milton. Nascimento's father was an electronics tinkerer, math teacher, and at one point ran a local radio station where a young Milton occasionally worked as a DJ. He began singing as a teenager. When he was 19, Nascimento moved to the capital Belo Horizonte and began singing wherever and whenever he could. Finally he caught a break when the pop singer Elis Regina recorded one of his songs, "Canção do Sal," in 1966. Regina got him a showcase on a popular Brazilian TV program, and after performing at Brazil's International Song Festival the following year, his career was launched.

In 1972 he collaborated with fellow lyricists Márcio Borges, Fernando Brant, Ronaldo Bastos, and other friends to record Clube da Esquina, a double album that spurred three hit singles, including "Cais (Dock)" and "Cravo é Canela (Clove and Cinnamon)." The singles are still being recorded and have become standards in Brazil over the years. Since he began recording with his self-titled debut in 1967 for the Codil label, Nascimento has written and recorded 28 albums.

Nascimento's many achievements include Grammy nominations for his O Planeta Blue na Estrada do Sol in 1992, and in 1995 for his Warner Bros. debut, Angelus. Nascimento is also winner of the 1992 Down Beat International Critics' Poll and the 1991 Down Beat Readers' Poll. Nascimento has toured throughout the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Latin America.

His lengthy discography includes Courage, a 1969 album for A&M and Milton Nascimento that same year for EMI Odeon; Milton, also for the EMI Odeon label, recorded in 1970, and then four more albums for the label EMI Odeon: Clube da Esquina (1972), Milagre dos Peixes (1973), Milagre dos Peixes (Ao Vivo) (1973), and Minas (1975).

His other titles include Native Dancer (CBS, 1976), Geraes (EMI Odeon, 1976), Milton (A&M, 1977), Clube da Esquina 2 (EMI Odeon, 1978), A Brazilian Love Affair, a collaboration with George Duke (CBS Records, 1980), Journey to Dawn (A&M Records, 1979), and a series of five albums for Ariola: Sentinela (1980), Cacador de Mim (1981), Missa dos Quilombos (1982), Anima (1982), and Milton Nascimento ao Vivo (1983).

His output through the rest of the 1980s and '90s has been steady and reliable, though never musically predictable. Like any true jazz and pop veteran, Nascimento has a deep need to keep challenging himself, vocally, lyrically, and stylistically. Nascimento's other releases include Encontros e Despedidas for Barclay in 1985, Corazon Americano for PolyGram in 1986, A Barca dos Amantes for Barclay in 1986, Milton/RPM for Epic/CBS in 1987, Yauaretê for CBS in 1987, Miltons in 1988 for CBS, Txai for the same label in 1990, and O Planeta Blue na Estrada do Sol for CBS in 1991.

In the mid-'90s, Nascimento switched to Warner Bros. He released two excellent, readily available albums for the label, Angelus, his 27th recording, in 1995, Amigo in 1996, Nascimento in 1997, and Crooner in 1999. He returned after a short hiatus in 2003 with Pieta, followed by The Essential Collection: The Best of the EMI Odeon Years (1969-78) in 2006.

This charismatic Brazilian superstar just won't slow down any time soon, and whether he's packing a stadium in Brazil or singing at a club in New York, his experienced stage persona allows everyone in the audience to feel as if they're in his living room. On Angelus, he's joined by saxophonist Wayne Shorter, who pays tribute to Nascimento's 1975 Native Dancer LP, the high point of which was the synthesis between Nascimento's voice and Shorter's saxophone. That album helped to solidify Nascimento's place on the international jazz and pop scene in the 1970s. Whatever he writes and sings about, be it the planet, ways of living, and loving and dying, his music has always carried an eternally optimistic spirit. As he entered the millennium, Nascimento won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Pop Album for 1999's Crooner at the first annual Latin Grammy Awards in fall 2000. ~ Richard Skelly, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Selena
Genre: International
Decades: 3072
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The tragic shooting death of Tejano singer Selena spawned a reaction within the Latino community that can be compared to the reactions to the deaths of Elvis Presley and John Lennon. An enormously popular singer in Latino communities across North America, her music crossed cultural boundaries to touch the lives of young and old alike. A... [+] Read More

The tragic shooting death of Tejano singer Selena spawned a reaction within the Latino community that can be compared to the reactions to the deaths of Elvis Presley and John Lennon. An enormously popular singer in Latino communities across North America, her music crossed cultural boundaries to touch the lives of young and old alike. A flamboyant, sexy stage performer, sometimes hailed as the Latina Madonna, Selena was nonetheless considered a role model for off-stage she was family oriented, active in anti-drug campaigns and AIDS awareness programs.

She was born Selena Quintanilla to Mexican-American parents in Lake Jackson, TX. Before her birth, her father Abraham had been a member of Los Dinos. When Selena began performing at the age of ten, her father became her manager and Los Dinos became her backing band. In 1983, she made her recording debut in 1983 after appearing on popular the radio show of L.A. deejay Johnnie Canales. While Selena grew up understanding Spanish, English was her first language. Her first records were recorded in Spanish and she sang the words phonetically. After her music began to catch on, she began learning Spanish formally and by the time of her death, she was fluent in the language.

In 1987, she was named Female Vocalist of the Year and Performer of the Year at the Tejano Music Awards. Two years later she signed with EMI Latin and in 1990, she and Los Dinos released their eponymous debut album. Later that year she released a singles compilation, Personal Best, and she also released Ven Conmigo. In 1991 the title track of the latter became the first Tejano record to go gold. Selena also released two more albums, including one of Cumbia music, Baila Esta Cumbia that year. Selena married Los Dinos' lead guitarist Chris Perez in April of 1992. Other group members included her brother, Abraham Quintanilla, III, who played bass and penned many of her songs, and her sister Suzette, the drummer. She won her first Grammy in 1993 for Best Mexican American Performance for her album Selena Live. That same year, she released an album of love songs, Quiero, and she also opened Selena Etc, a clothing manufacturing business. In 1994, she made her feature-film debut in Don Juan DeMarco, in which she played a singer. Later that year, she and her band embarked upon a tour of New York, LA, Argentina, and Puerto Rico. Amor Prohibido was released in 1994; the record's title track won a Grammy and went gold. In 1995, Selena began preparing to make her breakthrough into the American pop mainstream.

In the spring of that year she was working on her first English-language album, when she went to a motel room in Corpus Christi, TX, to fire 34-year-old Yolanda Saldivar, the woman who managed Selena's boutique in San Antonio, and the founder of the Selena fan club. A few days before the confrontation Selena's father had unearthed paperwork proving that Saldivar had been embezzling from the fan club. Saldivar and Selena argued and as the singer left, she was shot in the back. Selena didn't die right away and managed to stagger into the lobby where she named Saldivar as the killer. An hour later, Selena died in a local hospital.

It was a death that rocked the entire Latino music industry. Saldivar was convicted for the murder of Selena in November, 1995 and sentenced to at least 30 years in prison.

A special service was held in the Los Angeles Colliseum where she was to give a concert. Less than a month later, Texas governor George W. Bush declared April 16, "Selena Day," in her honor. Dreaming of You, her final album, was released posthumously in the early summer. It became the first Tejano album to reach number one in America and was double platinum by the end of the year. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Sly & Robbie
Genre: International
Decades: 7680
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Theirs is the ultimate musical marriage, a partnership that, once formed, re-etched the very landscape of not just Jamaican music, but the entire world's. Such hyperbole is oftentimes rolled out by publicity machines whenever two musical talents come together, but in the case of drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare, it really was an... [+] Read More

Theirs is the ultimate musical marriage, a partnership that, once formed, re-etched the very landscape of not just Jamaican music, but the entire world's. Such hyperbole is oftentimes rolled out by publicity machines whenever two musical talents come together, but in the case of drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare, it really was an earth-shattering union. Their rhythms have been the driving force behind innumerable songs -- one statistician estimated that together they've played on approximately 200,000 tracks, and that doesn't count remixes, versions, and dubs. As a production team, the pair has been the equivalent of a creative storm, the cutting edge of modern dub, ragga, and dancehall.

Dunbar and Shakespeare linked in 1975, but by then they'd already become established figures on the Jamaican scene. Lowell Charles Dunbar was nicknamed Sly for his adoration of Sly Stone, and in his teens had begun his career in the late '60s playing in studio bands. For a while he was a member of the RHT Invincibles, a group led by Father Good'un which included such talents as Lloyd Parks, Bertram McLean, and Ansell Collins. The group cut several singles, but none were particularly successful. Dunbar would have better luck with his studio work and made his recorded debut with the Upsetters on the single "Night Doctor." Producer Lee Perry was obviously impressed with the young drummer and consistently used him in the studio. Even so, Dunbar continued with his outside interests, joining Skin Flesh & Bones, a group led by Al Brown that boasted the drummer's old compatriot Lloyd Parks. In 1974, the drummer and fellow bandmember Ranchie McLean launched a short-lived label, Taxi, which focused mainly on the group and its members' own material. Meanwhile, Shakespeare was also making a name for himself. He, too, had launched his career as a sessionman in his teens and, by the early '70s, was a member of producer Bunny Lee's house band the Aggrovators.

Inevitably, the two youths had crossed paths during this period -- both were Kingston born and bred and were only a year apart in age (Dunbar is the elder). Over time, both had worked with virtually all the major (and minor) artists on the island. It was producer JoJo Hookim who eventually brought them together when the two separately joined his studio band the Revolutionaries in 1975. Their partnership grew slowly and their first work together was on Jimmy Cliff's Follow My Mind that same year. The duo then, oddly enough, was also asked to produce the established French singer Serge Gainsbourg's new album, Aux Armes Et Cetera, in 1975. It was a bizarre pairing for all concerned, but the sessions went so well that the duo not only produced the singer's next album, they also agreed to accompany him on his French tour.

1976 was even more dramatic. Sly & Robbie oversaw Culture's seminal Two Sevens Clash album, one of the greatest albums of the roots age. The pair's productions were slowly beginning to gain international acclaim, and joining superstar DJ U-Roy's backing band for his U.K. tour brought them further recognition. Before the year was out, the duo had also appeared on Peter Tosh's Natty Rebel album, inaugurating a four-year relationship that saw them accompany the former Wailer on tours around the States and Europe. Meanwhile, their session work back in Jamaica with Hookim continued apace, while Shakespeare also continued playing with the Aggrovators. However, their rising prominence is made clear by Leroy Smart's 1977 Super Star album, whose musician credits proudly boast Robbie Shakespeare & the Aggrovators and Sly Dunbar & the Revolutionaries. The Heartbeat label has released two compilations that feature the Revolutionaries' phenomenal work for Hookim's Channel One label. 1989's Hitbound! The Revolutionary Sound of Channel One features some of their most legendary work with artists like Horace Andy, Junior Byles, the Mighty Diamonds, the Meditations, and Black Uhuru. The Mighty Two, ostensibly a compilation of Errol Thompson and Joe Gibbs' greatest productions, also features the group at their best, backing the likes of Peter Tosh, Dennis Brown, Prince Far-I, Culture, and many more. 1978 brought the legendary One Love Peace Festival, where the Revolutionaries accompanied Tosh's electrifying performance. The set was recorded for posterity and released in 2000 by the JAD label.

Having worked ceaselessly over the last couple of years, Sly & Robbie had carefully put aside every penny they could. Now they finally had enough to open their own label, Taxi, the name nicked from Dunbar's long-defunct first co-effort. A studio needs a house band and the men built it logically enough around members of the Revolutionaries. The Taxi All Stars (aka the Roots Radics) included guitarist Rad Bryan, percussionist Sticky Thompson, and keyboardists Ansel Collins and Winston Wright. The label was inaugurated with Black Uhuru's "Observe Life," the start of another crucial relationship. Taxi quickly garnered its first chart hit with Gregory Isaacs' classic "Soon Forward." From thereon out, Taxi was an unstoppable force on the Jamaican scene. The Island compilation Present Taxi showcases a dozen of the label's early singles and includes Junior Delgado's masterpiece "Fort Augustus" and the hit "Merry Go Round," the Wailing Souls' "Sweet Sugar Plum" and "Old Broom," alongside crucial cuts from Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, the Tamlins, former Unique Jimmy Riley, DJ General Echo, and more. Notable omissions include the duo's work with Max Romeo and Prince Far I.

Sly & Robbie weren't content to merely produce other artist's work, however, and the pair continued their outside session work. Before the decade was out, the Riddim Twins, as they were now being called, were providing the pulsing rhythms for albums from such legendary vocalists as Bunny Wailer, the Mighty Diamonds, Jacob Miller, and myriad of DJ stars including General Echo, Ranking Dread, and Barrington Levy. And this still wasn't enough for Dunbar, who also released several solo singles and a pair of solo albums, Simple Sly Man and Sly, Wicked and Slick. However, their most crucial work was in conjunction with Black Uhuru, who, throughout this period, had recorded a stream of seminal singles for Taxi -- "Shine Eye Girl" and "Plastic Smile" amongst them -- which would be gathered up for the group's Showcase album. Across the group's powerful albums -- Sinsemilla, Red, and Tear It Up Live -- Dunbar's heavy beats, and Shakespeare's sinuous bass, the heart and soul of the Revolutionaries' sound, lay at the core of Black Uhuru's music, while the duo's throbbing, deeply dread production perfectly twined round the group's own phenomenal vocal performance. This partnership reached an epiphany on 1982's Chill Out, the album that rocketed the Riddim Twins to international renown and took them on a tour opening for the Rolling Stones as part of Black Uhuru's backing band.

Meanwhile, as the new decade had dawned, Sly & Robbie inked a Taxi distribution deal with the Island label. Island head Chris Blackwell then hired the Jamaicans to work with avant-garde singer Grace Jones. The results -- a sparse, funky, dubby, but robotic sound, led by Dunbar's fascination with the new Syndrums -- set fire to dance clubs around the world and impacted across the new wave scene. The pair's fascination with dub was also growing, with their first excursions into the genre appearing on the flip sides of singles released in 1981. The following year's Crucial Reggae Driven By Sly & Robbie compiled an album's worth of instrumentals and deadly dubs onto one convenient disc. This was followed in 1985 by the equally devastating A Dub Experience, another bundle of earth-shattering rhythms. Across the early part of the decade, Sly & Robbie worked with a dizzying array of artists, including the cream of the DJ crowd. Frankie Paul, Sugar Minott, Charlie Chaplin, and Half Pint all released seminal cuts overseen by the duo, while their work on Johnny Osbourne's 1983 Osbourne in Dub is of particular note.

In 1984, the U.K. CSA label brought together this set with Black Sound Uhuru's Love Crisis dub companion, Jammy's in Lion Dub Style, which was also remixed by the duo. Even the re-formed Skatalites came knocking at their door and the end result was The Skatalites With Sly and Robbie and the Taxi Gang. Sounds of Taxi, Vol. 1 arrived in 1984, a label sampler of Taxi singles, B-sides, and dubs; a second and third volume would follow over the next two years. The Heartbeat label would later release the Taxi Fare compilation, an excellent entry into the world of Sly & Robbie, while Sonic Sounds' Many Moods Of focuses the spotlight on the duo's dubs from this period. The pair's close connection to the dancehalls and their ever more experimental electronic sounds, coupled with Dunbar's virtual desertion of his drum kit for Syndrums, foreshadowed the rise of ragga, and in reality, Sly & Robbie's productions provided the blueprint for the eventual rise of ragga and the digital revolution. This was particularly evident on the pair's own instrumentals, credited to either Sly & Robbie or the Taxi Gang and often titled in reference to Taxi itself -- "Unmetered Taxi," "Taxi Connection," "Maxi Taxi," and the witty "Rent a Car." Here the pair show off their genius, perfectly welding together rocksteady tempos to a totally contemporary sound. Dunbar's mechanized beats were so far afield from what others were creating as to be off the map entirely, while Shakespeare's sinuous bass adds a rich organic feel to the sound. Together the two created a style utterly unique, with rhythms taut and menacing enough to rampage through the dancehalls, but still so organic as to hold the roots' crowd in its thrall.

The duo were quick to champion upcoming talent, notably Ini Kamoze, and were there to assist producer Bobby Digital's rise to stardom. Their generosity also helped launch George Phang to fame, for in return for a favor, the Riddim Twins gifted the producer with a clutch of their own rhythms. With them, Phang would create such hits as Barrington Levy's "Money Move," Sugar Minott's "Rydim," Frankie Paul's "Winsome," and many more. Sly & Robbie threw their weight and rhythms behind many more producers during the latter part of the '80s. Gussie Clarke, Phil "Fatis" Burris, Clive Jarrett & Beswick "Bebo" Phillips, and Myrie Lewis & Erroll Marshall all owe much of their success to the duo's deadly rhythms, which helped their releases to flood the dancehalls and the charts. However, the pair continued to garner attention on vocalists. Sly & Robbie were an integral element of Toots Hibbert's Toots in Memphis album and co-produced with Bunny Wailer Marcia Griffith's "Fever" single. But their attention was not focused exclusively on Jamaicans, and over the years, Sly & Robbie have consistently worked with artists far removed from the reggae scene. The duo has employed their talents with such unlikely artists as Joe Cocker and Joan Armatrading, Ian Dury and Bob Dylan, Robert Palmer, the Rolling Stones, and Herbie Hancock.

The breadth of their productions and playing seemingly knows no boundaries. Arguably the best showcase for this diversity can be found on the Hip-O label's compilation Sly & Robbie in Good Company, part of the label's Ultimate Collection series. The album boasts 17 tracks that hit virtually all the pair's poles, from roots to dancehall, DJs to veteran vocalists, and on to their more unusual assignments over the years.

Meanwhile, even as the ragga scene gained steam, Dunbar continued to play live drums, but not for much longer. 1988's The Summit was the last album from the duo to do so. This was just one of a long line of albums of Sly & Robbie's own work that had spilled forth since the beginning of the decade. The duo's debut, Sixties, Seventies + Eighties = Taxi, appeared back in 1981. As its title slyly suggests, the album boasted a surprisingly eclectic batch of covers from the earlier two decades. Sly-Go-Ville and Kings of Reggae followed swiftly on its heels over the next two years. Both were excellent albums, but 1985's Language Barrier was a more acquired taste. Overseen by Bill Laswell, Sly & Robbie's integral rhythms clash unhappily with Laswell's creative productions that offer little sympathy for beats. Better were The Sting and Electro Reggae, which followed Language over 1986 and 1987. The following year, Sly & Robbie joined forces once again with Laswell in another masochistic studio exercise which resulted in the very aptly titled Rhythm Killers. Much more entertaining was Taxi Connection Live in London, which arrived that same year. 1988 brought the aforementioned The Summit, overseen by Fattis Burrell, a game plan for the electronic revolution that was about to shake the entire dancehall scene. The next year's Silent Assassin was equally prescient, a deadly dub-rap hybrid, which featured a guest appearance from hip-hop heroine Queen Latifah.

The new decade opened with DJ Riot, a title that accurately summed up the album's intent. In 1992, Dunbar formed a new production team with Peter Turner and Maureen Sheridan and a second one with Bedrose & Malvo. With the former pair, he would oversee such artists as Junior Reid and Sabre, while the latter grouping would work with the likes of such up-and-coming DJ stars as Spragga Benz, Mad Cobra, and Snagga Puss. In a very different vein, Dunbar would also oversee a clutch of revivalist religious recordings. But even with all this outside activity, Dunbar and Shakespeare's relationship remained solid and extremely active. The pair has produced some of dancehall's leading lights, overseeing hit singles and albums by Shabba Ranks, Chaka Demus & Pliers, Beenie Man, and Luciano, amongst many, many more. 1996's Hail Up the Taxi conveniently bundles up the best of the pair's productions and session work from the first half of the decade. Their own recordings have remained equally strong. Perhaps as a brief respite from the dancehalls, in 1992 the pair released Remember Precious Times, a sublime album of covers of roots and reggae classics. Still under the spell of Laswell, Sly & Robbie joined him yet again for Mysteries of Creation, but for those who have yet to acquire a taste for the producer, the mystery remains why the pair continue recording with him.

A flood of albums appeared during the rest of the decade. The Punishers, Mambo Taxi, Babylon I Rebel, Reggae Dancehall, Friends, and Present Taxi Christmas were all released between 1996 and 1998, as Sly & Robbie took on movie and TV themes, dub, and dancehall, brought their mates into the studio, and celebrated Christmas to boot. In 1999, they entered a strip club videocam in hand for Strip to the Bone which married striptease to devastating dub. Dub was also the point of entry for Massive and Dub Fire. From there it was into jazz, when the pair collaborated with Monty Alexander for the Monty Meets Sly & Robbie album. The Riddim Twins have also continued to record on a regular basis, both as the crucial bottom end for others' work as well as their own music. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Augustus Pablo
Genre: International
Decades: 3584
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As any business person will tell you, the way to success is through the discovery of a niche or a previously unexploited market. Still, few business people, and even fewer musicians, would have believed that there was a market for the sound of the melodica. What next, they would have sniggered, a yazoo? Yet Augustus Pablo would take this child's... [+] Read More

As any business person will tell you, the way to success is through the discovery of a niche or a previously unexploited market. Still, few business people, and even fewer musicians, would have believed that there was a market for the sound of the melodica. What next, they would have sniggered, a yazoo? Yet Augustus Pablo would take this child's toy and launch a revolution in Jamaican music. Not only was Pablo's melodica unique, it would sweep the entire island's scene and become an integral part of the music of the era. But Pablo was no one-trick pony, he was also a virtuoso keyboardist and his playing permeated the island across myriad of his own releases and as a session man for others. He was equally talented on the other side of the recording desk and his production work was as inspired as his playing.

Augustus Pablo was born Horace Swaby on June 21, 1954, in St. Andrew, Jamaica. He attended Kingston College (not a college in the American sense, but a high school), sneaking into the school's chapel with other musically inclined friends to practice on the organ. It was here at Kingston College where Swaby also made the connections that would help launch him into the music industry. Amongst his classmates was Clive Chin, whose family ran Randy's, Kingston's premier record store. The Chin clan included Herman Chin Loy, a cousin of Leslie Kong, and who started his own career in the music industry by working for his famous cousin. Like many small ethnic enclaves around the world, Jamaica's vibrant Chinese community often intermarried and thus businesses and families often intertwined. Chin Loy had struck out on his own in 1969, setting up his own record store and label, both called Aquarius. Thus in 1970, when the 15- year-old Swaby decided the time was ripe to begin his own musical career, Aquarius was his first stop. The fact that the teen was a friend of Clive Chin insured that he was given an audition, but it was his keyboard work that convinced Chin Loy to take him into the studio. The upbeat "Iggy Iggy" was the result of their first session and was credited to Augustus Pablo, a moniker Chin Loy frequently employed on his studio's instrumentals.

Over the next year, Pablo (the teen soon took the name as his own), cut several more singles for Chin Loy, "Still Yet," "The Mood," and "Snowball & Pudding," amongst them. But it was "East of the River Nile" that had the most startling impact. The instrumental featured a duet between Pablo's melodica and Glen Adam's organ, set to a seething rhythm the producer had bought from Lee Perry. Its haunting Oriental-esque melody ignited a fire on the island and launched the Far Eastern style. Minor key melodies surged from the grooves and the exotic now found a home in the Caribbean. Pablo briefly joined Mikey Chung's band, Now Generation, as keyboardist. Meanwhile, his old schoolmate Clive Chin was now working for the family business as a producer. (He had big shoes to fill, his older brother Vincent had made his mark producing such superstars as Alton Ellis and the Skatalites). Now that Clive was set up, Pablo left Now Generation and joined his friend in the studio. Their first fruits, in a round about way, was the seminal "Java." Chin was already at work with another one of their schoolfriends Dennis Wright, the song's rhythm tracks were done but Wright was having trouble with the vocals and Chin decided to leave if for the day. Then Pablo entered the studio. While waiting in the hall, he'd come up with a melody line and suggested trying it out. Chin turned the tape recorder back on, Pablo picked up his melodica, and the rest is history. "Java" was a smash and the rhythm was one of the most influential of the day, versioned almost into oblivion. It was the beginning of an incredibly successful partnership, as Chin and Pablo recorded a stream of hits. It was a busy time as aside from recording with Chin, Pablo was also cutting singles for a number of other producers. He helped another member of the Chin clan, Clive's uncle, Leonard Chin, launch his Santic label with "Pablo in Dub." Santic provided Pablo with his first opportunity to have a go at production, and he debuted with Paul Whiteman/Blackman's single "Say So." Pablo continued recording for other producers, joining Lee Perry for "Hot and Cold," linking with Gussie Clarke for "No Entry" and "Born to Dub You," cuttinh "Fat Baby" and "the Killer" for Keith Hudson, and hooking up with Bunny Lee for "The Great Pablo" and "Pablo's Desire." The latter track, a version of John Holt's "My Desire," was another smash hit.

Pablo's partnership with Lee was particularly fruitful and he cut numerous instrumental B-side version for the producer, nine of which are featured alongside their vocal or DJ A-sides, on the Ras compilation Pablo & Friends. Pablo had already come to the conclusion that no matter how big the hit nor how many sessions he played on, he would see little of the actual returns. Thus, he and his brother set up their own label, Rockers. The name was taken from the siblings sound system, which was already up and running. Over time, other imprints followed, Hot Stuff, Pablo International, Rockers International, and Message. Initially, Pablo's singles for his own label were instrumental versions of Studio One classics. "Skanking Easy," "Frozen Dub," "Don Drummond," "Pablo's Theme Song," and many more followed in re-creating songs of yore. And there's no doubt about the influence the studio's superb musicians had had on the young Swaby. Many of these song were less versions than tributes to these talented men. The U.K. label Greensleeves would bundle up many of the best self-productions from these early days for the Original Rockers compilation. Yet some of Pablo's best work was still being done with Clive Chin. In 1974, Chin and another family member, Pat Chin, oversaw Pablo's classic album Rebel Rock Reggae -- This Is Augustus Pablo. A masterpiece of mood and atmosphere, the instrumentals swing across the musical spectrum from Hollywood musicals to classic Jamaican hits. The album is actually a compilation and rounded up much of the artist's recent work for the Chin family, including his two earlier singles for Leonard. The following year, Pablo began collaborating with King Tubby, who had begun supplying Rockers with some of the label's most sublime mixes. The pair christened their partnership with Ital Dub, which was produced by Tommy Cowan and Warwick Lyn (another former employee of Leslie Kong). This album remains one of the most innovative of the decade. Fifteen years later, the U.K. label Pressure Drop gathered up alternative versions and outtakes from the Ital sessions for El Rockers, an album that sounds nearly as formidable as Ital Dub itself.

1975 also saw Pablo make an equally big splash as a producer, when Fred Locks' "Black Star Liner" became an instant hit in Jamaica and also made significant inroads in the U.K. With the single's success, Pablo now became a much sought-after producer, and worked with many of the island's greatest names. He sat behind the desk on sessions with Horace Andy, Freddie McKay, Jacob Miller, and I-Roy, amongst many others. An album's worth of his productions were showcased on 1976's King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown album, one of the era's most legendary dub albums. Many of Rockers' releases featured phenomenal dub companions, including Africa Must Be Free by 1983 (Hugh Mandel), One Step Dub (Junior Delgado), and Eastman Dub (the companion to Tetrack's Let's Get Started). Pablo returned the favor by recording exclusive cuts for King Tubby's sound system. Over the years, both Rockers itself, as well as other labels, have released excellent compilations of the label's greatest moments. The U.K. label Greensleeves' Classic Rockers is of particular note. For rarities, check out Golden Memories, released by Rockers. Of course, Pablo was equally in demand as a session player and he appears on scores of albums from this period, playing keyboard, melodica, or both. As a musical force, he was unstoppable.

1978 brought the fabulous East of the River Nile album, which was recorded at Lee Perry's Black Ark studio. Meanwhile, Pablo took his place on the other side of the board for a trio of singles with the young singer Hugh Mandell (aka Jah Levi). This partnership then expanded and Pablo joined his young protégé on record for both the Africa Must Be Free by 1983 and Time and Place albums. However, the shift in musical tastes in the early '80s saw Pablo's flame begin to flicker. He continued recording prodigiously both behind and in front of the recording deck and released numerous singles and a number of albums. 1982 saw the appearance of Earth's Rightful Ruler; in the States, Shanachie released Rockers Meets King Tubby in a Fire House, a fine album which paired Pablo, Tubby, and Prince Jammy for a wild ride through classic rocker and cultural offerings. By 1986, the artist's star was in the ascendant again, helped by the release of his own Rising Sun album, and his production of Junior Delgado's Raggamuffin Year album and its attendant smash-hit title-track single. A phenomenal dub album of the set appeared four years later. These successes prompted Island Records to strike a deal with Rockers to distribute a number of the label's 12" singles. Although the arrangement didn't last long, it did see an international release for singles from Junior Delgado, Delroy Wilson, Carlton Hones, and a pair of Pablo's own -- "Eastern Promise" and "Sukiyaki." This inevitably led to an international tour the next year for his debut appearances outside the island, which was captured for posterity on the Live in Tokyo album. Back in Jamaica, 1987 had also seen the release of Rockers Comes East, a stunning set that created quite a stir at the time as Pablo took his own sound squarely into the digital age.

1990 brought Blowing With the Wind, which found the artist shifting direction yet again with the addition of nyahbingi drum beats and Johnny Moore's trumpet. As the decade deepened, Pablo remained a stalwart of the scene by producing a number of hit records, including such classics as Dawn Penn's "Night and Day" and Yami Bolo's sublime "Jah Made Them All" album. He also continued to release his own music, guest star on other's records, and oversee his back catalog, which remained in demand. What's truly miraculous was that Pablo managed to keep up this pace for so long. His health had always been very delicate due to a nerve disorder he suffered for much of his life. On May 18, 1999, his body finally gave out; he was only 40. However, although the artist may be gone, his legacy is in no danger of fading away. Compilations of both his own work and his productions appear with astonishing regularity, and it's difficult to find an album from the late '70s that he did not guest star on. His importance to Jamaica's music scene can be seen by the numerous stars who appeared at a tribute concert held a year after his death that included some of the island's greatest DJs, singers, and musicians. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Wailing Souls
Genre: International
Decades: 7680
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The consummate roots band, the Wailing Souls may never have gained the international reputation of their compatriots, at least not at the height of the genre's popularity, but they did outlive most of them. Their very survival has been their greatest strength, that and their ability to diversify over time. Today they are one of the most popular... [+] Read More

The consummate roots band, the Wailing Souls may never have gained the international reputation of their compatriots, at least not at the height of the genre's popularity, but they did outlive most of them. Their very survival has been their greatest strength, that and their ability to diversify over time. Today they are one of the most popular live acts around and they continue to release provocative and popular albums. A roots band they may well be, but their history actually stretches back long before the birth of that genre, as far back as the heyday of ska. The Wailing Souls' story begins with Winston "Pipe" Matthews. As a youth living in Kingston in the early '60s, Matthews learned to sing at the feet of Joe Higgs. Higgs, although himself barely out of his teens, was already a veteran vocalist with a string of hits to his name, and coached up and coming talent in his tenement yard. His most famous protégés were, of course, the Wailers. Higgs' training stood Matthews in equally good stead and by 1963, the aspiring singer and his vocal group the Schoolboys had come to the attention of Prince Buster. The group cut a handful of singles for the producer over the next year, "Little Boy Blue" and "Dream Lover" included. In 1965, the Schoolboys folded, but Matthews was soon back with a new group, the Renegades. This vocal trio comprised Matthews, Lloyd "Bread" McDonald, and George "Buddy" Haye, both of whom were also alumni of Higgs' vocal classes. Initially, the group hooked up with guitarist Ernest Ranglin appearing on a number of singles with him, before they finally debuted on their own with "Lost Love." It was at this point that the trio came to the attention of Coxsonne Dodd and the Renegades embarked on a fruitful career at Studio One. Over the next three years, the group released a clutch of singles on this label. Their debut for Dodd was "Back Out With It," a fine effort, but it was a later cut, "Fire Coal Man," recorded to the rhythm of the Silverstones' hit "Burning in My Soul," that eventually had the biggest impact. Although a number of the Renegades' singles were local hits, the trio never really excited much attention elsewhere during their lifetime.

In 1968, Haye departed, in his place came two new singers, Oswald Downer and Norman Davis. Such a seismic shift of lineup prompted the group to totally cut ties with the past, and the they changed their moniker to the Wailing Souls. In many ways, though, the quartet merely picked up where the trio had left off and continued recording popular singles -- "Thou Shall Not Steal," "Dungeon," and "Pack Your Things," included. Although only a handful are now recalled by fans from these earliest days, the group would re-record a number in later years under new titles, and these seminal re-cuts are still part of the group's most treasured canon. Amongst these are such classic songs as "Feel the Spirit" (originally released as "Soul and Power") and "Back Biter" ("You Should Have Known Better"). Studio One would eventually release two compilations of recordings from this period, The Wailing Souls and Soul and Power, which together wrap up most of the quartet's best work with Dodd. And while song titles would change in the future, back then the quartet was appearing under enough aliases to fill an FBI sheet. When the group recorded "Gold Digger for Lloyd Daley, the single was credited in the U.K. to Little Roys. Elsewhere, they appeared as Atarra, the Classics, and even Pipe & the Pipers. Apparently their was some concern in Britain that people might confuse the Wailing Souls with the Wailers. The Wailers themselves certainly didn't think so, and in 1970 the quartet moved to the Tuff Gong label. More crucial singles followed, including "Walk Walk Walk" and "Harbour Shark," all backed by the Tuff Gong All Stars of course, aka the Wailers themselves.

The group's career seemed to be on track, but in 1974, the Wailing Souls suddenly underwent a swift series of cataclysmic lineup shifts. Davis and Downer both departed, with former Renegade Hayes and former vocal teacher Higgs taking their place. Higgs' stay was short-lived, however, and he too soon departed to take part in a U.S. tour with Jimmy Cliff. In his stead came founding Black Uhuru member Rudolph "Garth" Dennis. Such dramatic changes in personnel usually heralds the rapid decline of a group, but surprisingly enough, the Wailing Souls were now about to enter their strongest era. The new group joined forces with producer JoJo Hookim at his Channel One studio, and backed by Sly & Robbie's Revolutionaries proceeded to cut classic song after classic song. "Jah Give Us Life," a re-recorded version of "Fire Coal Man," "Back Biter," "Things and Time" (also re-recordings of old songs, but with new titles attached), and "War" featuring DJ Ranking Trevor, all impacted across the Jamaican roots scene. Across the Atlantic, the Ulster punk band Stiff Little Finger were as taken by the music as fans in Jamaica, and recorded their own phenomenal version of "Fire Coal Man, helping further excite interest in the group abroad. In 1984, the British label Empire gathered up many of the group's masterful singles with Hookim on the compilation The Best Of.

By 1977, the Wailing Souls were ready to have a go running their own record label, which they named Massive. It was a prescient moniker and their debut release, the seminal "Bredda Gravalicious," was a smash hit and remains a firm favorite to this day. Their follow-up, "Feel the Spirit," another one of their old Studio One cuts given new life, did equally as well. The success of these two singles prompted Island Records to pick up world rights to the group's debut album, 1979's Wild Suspense. (In reality, their eponymous Studio One album was their first, and was released three years earlier, but this was the group's first album of new material.) The record boasts some of the heaviest roots of the Wailing Souls' career, and along with the two singles, it also features the equally classic "Very Well." Even though Massive had proved just that, the quartet continued recording for other labels. They rejoined Sly & Robbie at their Taxi label for the sublime "Sugar Plum Plum" and "Old Broom," both of which were huge hits. With Sly & Robbie and their Roots Radics in tow, the Wailing Souls returned to Channel One, and cut a stream of exceptional singles for producer Junjo Lawes. The infectious "Firehouse Rock," the exquisite harmonies of "See Baba Joe," and the mighty "Kingdom Rise Kingdom Fall," followed, as the group released a stream of hits across 1980 and into 1981. All three of these singles featured on the Wailing Souls' next album, the magnificent Firehouse Rock. Produced by Lawes, ignited by the Roots Radics, and mixed by Scientist, the set remains a high water mark of the roots age, with the band's tough rhythms perfectly aligned with the singer's own soulful delivery. Their follow-up, 1982's Inchpinchers, is nearly as good, although its dancehall vibes didn't always sit well with the purer roots crowd. In the interim, the group also released Wailing, and cut a number of other notable singles with other producers, including such hits as "Who No Waan Come" and "Rude Boy Say Him Bad."

In 1981, the Wailing Souls were on the road, and embarked on a short tour of California, so enjoying the experience, they spent most of the next three years in the States. However, they continued releasing singles, several of them self-productions, and a number were cut in collaboration with DJs, including "Take We Back," which saw them reunite with Ranking Trevor, and "Take a Taste," with Ringo. During this period, the group also released two albums, 1983's On the Rocks and the following year's Stranded. And for a moment, they were indeed stranded. Garth Dennis had now elected to reunite with his old band Black Uhuru, and Haye refused to leave L.A. Matthews and McDonald were not finished yet, however. They returned to Jamaica, and continued the group as a duo. The now-shrunken Wailing Souls joined up with producer Delroy Wright for 1986's On the Line, an apt title, considering the situation. It was evident that the pair had yet to find their footing, but their follow-up, Kingston 14, found them back on track, abetted by yet another reunion with Sly & Robbie, who provided sublime rhythms. And if there were doubts, they were put to rest with "Full Moon," another smash hit. In 1988, the Wailing Souls recorded a new album, again in conjunction with Sly & Robbie, along with a slew of seminal session men and overseen by Wright. However, the record was not released at the time. Their next full-length, the fabulous Stormy Night, would not appear until the following year, and found the duo now working with King Jammy. Amazingly, Stormy Night was never given a Jamaican release, although it created quite a stir around the rest of the world. Even odder, the recordings didn't spawn a sole hit single.

Understandably, the Wailing Souls were losing patience. They'd wasted a year recording an album that never saw release, and now their new record was unable to even find a Jamaican label willing to put it out. In truth, the hits were drying up, although the group's work remained as strong as ever, the vocals as heartfelt, and harmonies as exquisite as they'd always been. Styles had changed, and at home, interest had flagged. By 1991, Matthews and McDonald had made the momentous decision to quit Jamaica, and returned to the States. And there, the previously unreleased Reggae Ina Firehouse was finally mashing up the dancefloor. It might have arrived three years late, but there was no disguising the record's mastery. Even so, the duo were unhappy at its unexpected and tardy arrival, but they shouldn't have been. The album is filled with phenomenal songs, fabulous roots music, and some of the pair's best vocals. However, the Wailing Souls did have some reason for concern, as they were about to embark on a musical journey that would make their old roots fans mouths drop. Recruiting vocalist Maisha, the trio inked a deal with the Sony label's Chaos subsidiary and began work on a new album. Along for the ride was a club's worth of guest musicians, backing vocalists and even a pair of DJs (including U-Roy). The result, 1992's All Over the World, deservedly earned the group a Grammy nomination, and is a genre buster extraordinaire. Running from deep roots to funk, R&B to country, it was enough to give older rastas a heart attack. But the the Wailing Souls were unrepentant, and continued on their merry way. They followed up with the Live On live set, which did not live up to Sony's expectations, but there was little time for tears, and the group happily made their way for the indie labels. Tension arrived in 1997, with Psychedelic Souls quickly following the next year. The latter again boasts Sly & Robbie's tough rhythms, and finds the group venturing ever deeper into the rock world. The pair stayed on board for 2000's Equality, which returned Wailing Soul to their rootsiest roots, yet is shot through with a modern electronic sound and American stylings. The duo remain defiant, refusing to play the role of elder statesmen; they've remained forward looking, and over time their biting cultural lyrics have not softened an iota. The Wailing Souls continue to tour, and we can expect more intriguing releases guaranteed to mix-up the music and shake the dancefloors. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Inner Circle
Genre: International
Decades: 7680
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Inner Circle is, of course, best known for "Bad Boys," a ubiquitous crossover hit thanks to its use as the theme song for the long-running Fox TV reality series Cops. But the band had a lengthy history prior to its international breakthrough, dating all the way back to the late '60s. They hit the big time in Jamaica during the '70s as a... [+] Read More

Inner Circle is, of course, best known for "Bad Boys," a ubiquitous crossover hit thanks to its use as the theme song for the long-running Fox TV reality series Cops. But the band had a lengthy history prior to its international breakthrough, dating all the way back to the late '60s. They hit the big time in Jamaica during the '70s as a danceable yet rootsy Rastafarian reggae outfit, fronted by the charismatic singer Jacob Miller. Miller's tragic death in a car accident in 1980 put the group on hiatus for several years, and when they finally regrouped in the mid-'80s, they began to temper their rootsiness with elements of pop, R&B, and dancehall. Originally recorded in 1987, "Bad Boys" became a worldwide smash in the early '90s, and the group soldiered on into the new millennium amid several personnel changes.

Inner Circle was originally formed by brothers Ian (bass) and Roger Lewis (guitar) in 1968. The group's other charter members were guitarist Steven "Cat" Coore, keyboardist Michael "Ibo" Cooper, and multi-instrumentalist Richard Daley. Initially, they made their living playing in hotel lounges. When the rest of the band split to form Third World in 1973, the Lewis brothers assembled a new lineup that included keyboardists Bernard "Touter" Harvey and Charles Farquharson (the latter of whom didn't stick around for long), and drummer Rasheed McKenzie. Inner Circle recorded a couple of albums for Trojan over 1974-1975, Rock the Boat and Blame It on the Sun, which relied to some degree on smooth American soul covers. They also had a small hit single with "I See You."

Inner Circle's musical outlook changed with the arrival of vocalist Jacob Miller in 1976. Miller, a devout Rastafarian and a successful solo artist in his own right, made the band into a more spiritual, socially conscious outfit, and they quickly signed with Capitol Records. Over the next few years, Miller penned hits like "Tenement Yard," "Forward Jah Jah Children," "Tired Fe Lick Weed in a Bush," and "All Night Till Daylight" (some of which were credited to Miller, but nonetheless featured the whole band). Capitol issued two LPs, 1976's Reggae Thing and 1977's Ready for the World; sometime during this period, the group also recorded a bit with disco stars KC & the Sunshine Band.

At the peak of their early popularity in Jamaica, Inner Circle performed at the legendary One Love Peace Concert in 1978, along with Bob Marley and many others. Heartland Reggae, the film documentary of the concert, helped introduce them to international audiences, and landed them a new deal with Island Records. Their 1979 label debut, Everything Is Great, was a hit in Europe, and the disco-tinged title track made the U.K. Top 20 and the French Top Ten. Several more singles, including "Stop Breaking My Heart," "Mary, Mary," and "Music Machine," helped consolidate their success. Tragically, just as the band was poised for a major international breakthrough, Miller was killed in a car accident on March 23, 1980. Devastated, the rest of the band broke up. Ian Lewis and Harvey moved to Miami and opened a recording studio, and Roger Lewis joined them several years later.

Roger's arrival in Miami sparked a renewal of the old Inner Circle chemistry, and soon the band decided to re-form, recruiting new lead singer Carlton Coffie and drummer Lancelot Hall. They recorded the comeback album Black Roses for Ras in 1986, updating their old roots style with elements of contemporary dance music, R&B, pop, and the emerging dancehall sound. The follow-up, 1987's One Way, was a generally acclaimed effort that followed much the same blueprint, and contained the original recording of "Bad Boys." The group mounted a successful tour in support, but took several years to come up with another album, finally returning in 1991 with Identified.

Meanwhile, the Fox television network chose "Bad Boys" as the opening theme song for its police reality show Cops, which premiered in March 1989. As the program swelled into a hit, "Bad Boys" became a household pop-culture reference. Cops was syndicated throughout the world, including Sweden, where "Bad Boys" was released as a single in 1991 and topped the charts. From there, it became a hit in several other European countries as well. "Bad Boys" was finally issued in the U.S. in 1993, and vaulted into the pop Top Ten. An album of the same name was quickly cobbled together from existing material; most of it was from the group's 1992 party-reggae album Bad to the Bone, which supplied the sexy follow-up single, the Top 20 hit "Sweat (A La La La La Long)." Bad Boys won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album, and its title song eventually sold over seven million copies worldwide.

Inner Circle quickly recorded a follow-up album, the pop-oriented Reggae Dancer, which was released in 1994. Its lead single, "Summer Jammin'," was featured in the Eddie Murphy comedy Beverly Hills Cop III, but the enterprise failed to sustain Inner Circle's momentum as a pop-culture phenomenon. In 1995, "Bad Boys" was again used as a title song, this time for the Will Smith/Martin Lawrence action comedy of the same name. Around that time, however, Coffie was hospitalized with a serious illness, and was forced to take leave from the band. When he recovered, he decided to start a solo career, and was officially replaced by his substitute, singer/toaster Kris Bentley. Bentley made his debut on the 1997 set Da Bomb, which was issued in America one year later in a slightly reconfigured version titled Speak My Language. The band mounted extensive world tours over the next few years, and continued to release new albums, including 2000's Big Tings. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Dennis Brown
Genre: International
Decades: 3584
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One of Jamaica's most beloved and prolific artists, the late Dennis Brown has left behind a slew of classic songs and myriad hits, a rich musical legacy born of a career that spanned over 30 years. Born Dennis Emmanuel Brown in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1957, his childhood home virtually destined him to a future in the music industry. He grew up on... [+] Read More

One of Jamaica's most beloved and prolific artists, the late Dennis Brown has left behind a slew of classic songs and myriad hits, a rich musical legacy born of a career that spanned over 30 years. Born Dennis Emmanuel Brown in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1957, his childhood home virtually destined him to a future in the music industry. He grew up on Orange Street, the heart of the island's music scene, with most of the major recording studios a mere stone's throw away. As the stars and future hitmakers paraded by day and music pumped out of the studios, the child could not help but be entranced. It was truly serendipitous that Brown himself had a voice that would set the studios ablaze. It didn't take long for the producers to discover his talent and by the time he was 11, the youngster had a first hit to his name, with a cover of the Impressions' "No Man Is an Island." It was the beginning of a successful, but not exclusive, partnership (Brown also scored with "If I Had the World" for producer Prince Buster). However, Dodd was responsible for Brown's debut album, 1970's No Man Is an Island, and its follow-up the next year, If I Follow My Heart.

Now entering his teens, the singer was ready to start making the studio rounds on a regular basis, cutting songs with a clutch of different producers. The album Super Reggae & Soul Hits gathers some of his work during this period and features a mix of superb, if lightweight, covers alongside a number of self-penned classics, all cut with producer Derrick Harriott. 1975's Best Of gathered a similar selection of material recorded for Joe Gibbs earlier in the decade. In 1972, the 16-year-old entered Gibbs' Duhaney Park studio and recorded the song that later established his international reputation, "Money in My Pocket." However, it wasn't Gibbs himself who oversaw this session, but a young engineer/producer who had replaced the recently departed Lee Perry. Twenty-year-old Niney "the Observer" Holness had stunned the island two years earlier with his seminal "Blood & Fire" single, a roots classic. Now he was presented with a teenager best known for his sweet ballads and silky lovers cuts. Regardless, the two young men immediately clicked and by 1973, Brown was recording exclusively with Holness. Their work together virtually defies belief, as hits rained from the sky and the pair redefined the roots genre in their own image.

Perhaps it was simply a matter of timing as the teen was determined to leave his youthful balladeer image behind, and Holness was offering the perfect opportunity to present himself in a more mature light. The young producer was seeking a singer to help bring his own musical vision to fruition and Brown was malleable enough to make that happen. Or perhaps it was just fate. In any event, over the next two years, Jamaica was rocked by a stream of seminal songs, all released via Holness' own Observer label. The haunting "Westbound Train," the powerfully emotive "Cassandra," the evocative "Africa" -- the list goes on and on. Many of these were bundled up, along with a few unreleased songs, on 1975's Just Dennis album. Brown cut his last song, "Tribulation," with Holness that same year. At this point, Brown's reputation was established; an awed Bob Marley was even ecstatically calling him the best reggae singer in the world. Brown's own songwriting was now razor-sharp, and whether taking on cultural themes or lovers' concerns, his lyrics and delivery were always emotionally potent. Now he was ready to strike out on his own -- or so he thought. Over the next year, the teen sensation made the studio rounds, recording a handful of songs for the likes of Phil Pratt and Sydney Crooks. But it was evident something was missing and by the end of the year, Brown had returned to Holness' side. The pair began recording again early in 1977 and their chemistry was still as strong as ever. The 1978 album Wolf & Leopard, titled after one of their hits, compiles most of the seminal string of singles the two men unleashed, including such masterpieces as the poignant "Here I Come" and the title-track.

The Heartbeat label has helpfully compiled all of the pair's work across two albums -- Some Like It Hot and Open the Gate -- while Cleopatra's two-disc The Golden Years: 1974-1976 draws heavily from this material (into 1977, regardless of the title). In 1978, the 21-year-old singer was now determined to stand on his own and set up his own label, DEB. Although it folded the following year, during that time Brown released a clutch of his own singles, as well as those by other artists, and a number of albums. The latter include his own excellent So Long Jah Rastafari and Joseph's Coat of Many Colours. Although the latter was produced by Gibbs and Errol Thompson, Brown himself was now also moving into production, and his work behind the board is featured on a number of DEB releases. It really was a stellar year, with the singer also one of the highlights of the One Love Peace Concert that year, as well as being one of the major draws at the first-ever Reggae Sunsplash. Upon DEB's closure, Brown again began the studio rounds, cutting singles for a wide variety of producers, including Bunny Lee, Ted Dawkins, and Ossie Hibbert. And Joe Gibbs, of course, with whom he had continued recording even during DEB's lifetime. 1978's Visions of Dennis Brown contained some of the fruits of their labor, and unusually, many of the album's strongest tracks never graced a 45, helping to push the sales of this stunning record even higher. The following year, a resurrected "Money in My Pocket" gave the pair a mega-hit and spawned the Words of Wisdom album, which also boasted the classic "Ain't That Loving You."

By 1979, Brown was already a legend, even though he'd barely reached adulthood. In addition to his work with Holness, he had a virtual shop's worth of successful singles to his credit: "Man Next Door," "Cup of Tea," "Equal Rights," "How Can I Leave," "Funny Feeling" (a duet with DJ Trinity), and many more. And the hits just kept coming. Unbelievably, it took until 1981 and interest spurred by that year's Gibb-produced Spellbound album for a major label to finally show serious interest, and Brown finally inked a deal with A&M. By this point, the singer had emigrated to London and it was there where he recorded his next two albums: Foul Play and Love Has Found a Way. But perhaps the move abroad was unwise, for although Foul Play in particular contained some classic roots, Brown seemed to be losing touch with his audience. The Prophet Rides Again did little to change this situation, with the vinyl's A-side pushing into instantly forgettable light R&B.

Inevitably, perhaps, it spelled the end of Brown's deal with A&M and the demise of his relationship with Gibbs. Back in Jamaica, however, the island had given roots the heave-ho in favor of the exuberance of DJs. Brown had already stuck a toe into these fresh waters back in 1979 when he had recorded a duet with Trinity. Now the singer would wade back in, first as a contributor to DJ Brigadier Jerry's 1983 album Live at the Controls at Jack Ruby Sound Ocho Rios J.A., and then alongside a similarly intrigued Gregory Isaacs for the Prince Jammy-produced Two Bad Superstars Meet. The success of that record demanded a follow-up and in 1985, Judge Not duly arrived to further acclaim. During this time, Brown also cut singles with the likes of Gussie Clarke, Sly & Robbie, and Starlight Productions, all on the cutting edge of the new scene. Meanwhile, the rise of DJs had prompted a group of veteran vocalists to join forces and retaliate with truckloads of their own releases. Brown, Gregory Isaacs, and John Holt were among the leading co-conspirators. It was a clever plan, based on the theory that DJs were only succeeding because there wasn't enough fresh vocal material in the market. Now the market would be flooded, with the vocalists each releasing around six albums a year and as many singles as they physically could. Compared to Isaacs (estimated to have released over 400 albums and counting), Brown was pretty lax, releasing a mere 100 or so full-lengths and over 200 compilations. Many came from his own new label, Yvonne's Special (named in honor of his wife), but the singer also cut records for just about every label who would let him. The flaw in this plan was that quantity took precedence over quality, and fans should choose carefully from among the clutter. However, Brown continued to release much material of note throughout the rest of the '80s, as well as continuing his chart success with a string of seminal singles.

1985's Prince Jammy-produced Slow Down and its follow-up, The Exit, are both classic albums recorded at the beginning of the digital age and showcase the singer's vociferous talent across cultural themes and into the passion of lovers, all cut through with a simmering dance beat. Co-producing with Trevor Bow, that same year Brown also offered up the much rootsier Wake Up. The following year's Brown Sugar, released by Sly & Robbie's Taxi label, compiles seven superb hits (and three 12" remixes) from this period. 1986 also saw the release of a collaborative album with Horace Andy, Reggae Superstars Meet, bringing together two of the most beautiful voices in reggae's history. The decade was seen out by the mega-hit "Big All Round," a duet with Gregory Isaacs that was produced by Gussie Clarke, which helped spur the trio to record the full-length No Contest, again boasting both solo tracks and duets. Clarke helped Brown inaugurate the new decade with the stellar Unchallenged album, which boasts a fiery guest appearance by Mutabaruka and the sweet vocals of Beres Hammond.

Across the decade some of the artist's most intriguing work was in collaboration with other artists. 1991's One Man One Vote, a recording by an artist's collective led by Mikey Bennett, found Brown singing alongside Cocoa Tea and Third World's Bunny Clarke. That same year, he recorded the excellent Victory Is Mine album, cut with producer Leggo Beast. Brown reunited with Tea and, joined by Freddie McGregor, recorded the Legit album, which boasted solo cuts as well as trio numbers. But there was also a series of truly disposable albums, notably 1993's abysmal General, a whole album of MOR covers done MOR style. Yet that same year, the singer reunited with Holness for Cosmic Forces, a crucial record powered by Sly & Robbie's rhythms in a deeply rootsy, totally dancehall mode. The Riddim Twins were also featured on the following year's Light My Fire, which, while not quite as innovative as Forces, is essential as one of the final recordings by the classic lineup of the Roots Radics. 1994 also was graced by Nothing Like This, which was co-produced by Brown and Junior Reid. And amidst this flood, Brown was continuing to provide the dulcet singing to complement DJ's toasts.

Back in 1991, the singer had stormed the dancehalls in the company of Twist, Brian, and Tony Gold. The next year, Brown's otherwise mediocre Blazing album was set alight by a version of "Fever," a duet with Maxi Priest that also featured the gruff tones of Shabba Ranks. Then, in 1994, Brown recorded a full collaborative album with Beenie Man and Triston Palma: Three Against War. The singer also cut singles with a host of other hot DJs during this period, among them Bounty Killer, Tiger, and Fabiana, joining forces with Roger Robin, Peter Hunningale, and Saxon later in the decade. At the same time, Brown's success as a soloist also continued unabated across a further string of hits. 1994 saw the release of the Flabba Holt-produced Blood Brothers and its follow-up, the far superior Milk and Honey. (The RAS label's May Your Food Basket Never Empty fills up a CD of Brown's recordings with Holt.) Equally entertaining was another reunion with Holness, 1996's Dennis, while producer Musclehead bundled up a batch of hits for You Got the Best of Me that same year and tossed in some new intriguing versions of old classics to boot. As the decade deepened, the artist's output continued unabated -- singles and albums flew out of the studios in breakneck fashion. These include: Tribulation (produced by Alvin Ranglin), Hold Tight, Bless Me Jah, the Gussie Clarke-overseen Stone Cold World, and a clutch of albums all claiming to be Brown's last.

Perhaps it was to maintain this output that Brown first started using cocaine. Addiction eventually followed, and with it inevitable bodily ravages. Still, few expected it to end in his death. But on July 1, 1999, the unconscious singer was rushed to a Kingston hospital with a collapsed lung. This is not usually a fatal condition, but Brown was so weakened from drug use that he expired on the table. Jamaica had lost one of her greatest stars. Brown's legacy, however, was in no danger as new compilations, best-of collections, and reissues continued to appear regularly. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Shabba Ranks
Genre: International
Decades: 3072
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During his heyday, Shabba Ranks was arguably the most popular dancehall toaster in the world. He was a massive crossover success in the U.S., thanks to an openly commercial hybrid of reggae and hip-hop, and also to prominent duet partners like Maxi Priest, Johnny Gill, and KRS-One. All of this brought him several hit singles and albums on the... [+] Read More

During his heyday, Shabba Ranks was arguably the most popular dancehall toaster in the world. He was a massive crossover success in the U.S., thanks to an openly commercial hybrid of reggae and hip-hop, and also to prominent duet partners like Maxi Priest, Johnny Gill, and KRS-One. All of this brought him several hit singles and albums on the R&B charts in the early '90s, and made him the first dancehall artist to win a Grammy. Ranks' distinctive, booming growl of a voice earned him many imitators, and his sex-obsessed lyrics -- while drawing criticism for their unrelenting "slackness" -- made him one of dancehall's hottest sex symbols. Ranks' early success also helped pave the way for even bigger crossovers by artists like Shaggy and Sean Paul.

Shabba Ranks was born Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon on January 17, 1966, in Sturgetown, Jamaica. When he was eight years old, his family moved to the Kingston ghetto of Trenchtown, where Bob Marley had grown up. By age 12, he was fascinated by the sound system DJs who spun records in local clubs, and often chatted on the mic over the backing tracks. His early inspirations included Charlie Chaplin, General Echo, Brigadier Jerry, Yellowman, and especially Josey Wales. He soon tried his hand at performing as a toaster, and spent the early '80s working under Admiral Bailey at the Roots Melody sound system. Paired with a record selector dubbed the Navigator, Ranks initially called himself Co-Pilot. Under that name, he cut his first single, "Heat Under Sufferer's Feet," in 1985. He soon changed his name to Shabba Ranks, and caught the attention of his idol Josey Wales, who took the young toaster under his wing.

Wales introduced Ranks to some of the producers at King Jammy's studio, and Ranks soon began recording there, debuting with the single "Original Fresh." He collaborated with Chaka Demus, and recorded a large quantity of singles, none of which gave him a breakout hit. The 1988 single "Needle Eye Punany" marked the beginning of his notorious sexual explicitness, which he would soon ride to tremendous popularity in Jamaica. More crucial, though, was his move to King Jammy engineer/producer Bobby Digital's new studio and label, Digital B, in 1989. Having known each other for some time, the duo's chemistry was immediate, and Ranks quickly vaulted to stardom that year with a series of hit singles and an electrifying stage show (at one point, Ranks arrived on-stage via helicopter).

From 1989-1991, Ranks recorded some 50 singles, mainly with Bobby Digital but also with producers Gussie Clarke and Steely & Clevie. He scored hit after hit, including the massive "Wicked Inna Bed," "Roots and Culture," "Live Blanket," "Mama Man," and "Peeny Penny," among others. His album Rappin' With the Ladies featured covers of songs by female reggae artists, and gave him another big hit with a new version of J.C. Lodge's smash "Telephone Love"; it was also one of his first successes overseas, proving quite popular in the U.K. Gussie Clarke produced his 1989 LP Holding On, which spawned major hits in "Pirates' Anthem" (a collaboration with Cocoa Tea and Home T), "Twice My Age" (a duet with Krystal), and "Mr. Loverman" (a new version of Deborah Glasgow's "Champion Lover"). He also cut several other tracks with Cocoa Tea and Home T, including "Who She Love," "Stop Spreading Rumours," and "Your Body's Here With Me." A subsequent album, Golden Touch, proved to be another U.K. success.

Ranks' burgeoning popularity led to a major-label deal with Epic in 1991, and it was clear from the start that he aspired to crossover stardom. His Epic debut, As Raw as Ever, featured a high-profile duet with the then-hot Maxi Priest, "Housecall." "Housecall" made the Top Five on the R&B charts, sending As Raw as Ever all the way to number one on the R&B album listings. Another duet, "The Jam" -- this time with rap legend and reggae enthusiast KRS-One -- topped the hip-hop singles chart in 1992. As Raw as Ever was awarded a Grammy for Best Reggae Album, making Ranks the first dancehall artist ever to notch a win. Later in 1992, "Mr. Loverman" was re-released as a single in the States, following its appearance in the film Deep Cover; it went all the way to number two on the R&B charts. Ranks released his follow-up album, X-Tra Naked, the same year, and notched yet another duet hit with the Johnny Gill collaboration "Slow and Sexy," his third R&B Top Fiver. X-Tra Naked also featured other minor hits: "Muscle Grip," "Ting-a-Ling," and a duet with Queen Latifah, "What 'Cha Gonna Do?"; it also won Ranks his second straight Best Reggae Album Grammy. Ranks was so popular that two compilations of his earlier Jamaican hits, Rough & Ready, Vol. 1 and Mr. Maximum, both charted in the U.S. in 1992 as well.

1994 brought Ranks another decent-sized hit in the Addams Family Values soundtrack contribution "Family Affair," a rap/reggae version of the Sly & the Family Stone hit. He completed his third Epic album, A Mi Shabba, in 1995, and it produced several minor hits in "Ram Dancehall," "Let's Get It On," and "Shine Eye Gal." However, it didn't match the phenomenon of its predecessors, and Ranks fell mostly silent afterwards. He did return to Jamaica to record some more material for King Jammy during the late '90s, some of which was released on the hodgepodge album Get Up Stand Up in 1998. However, no new major-label offerings appeared, and Sony issued several compilations around the turn of the millennium. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Toots & the Maytals
Genre: International
Decades: 7936
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The Maytals were key figures in reggae music. Comprised of leader Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, Nathaniel "Jerry" Mathias and Raleigh Gordon, all natives of Kingston, the Maytals are said to have been the first group to use the word 'reggae' in a song title with their Leslie Kong-produced "Do the Reggay."

Formed in the early '60s when... [+] Read More

The Maytals were key figures in reggae music. Comprised of leader Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, Nathaniel "Jerry" Mathias and Raleigh Gordon, all natives of Kingston, the Maytals are said to have been the first group to use the word 'reggae' in a song title with their Leslie Kong-produced "Do the Reggay."

Formed in the early '60s when ska was hot, the Maytals had a reputation for having strong, well-blended voices and a seldom rivaled passion for their music. Hibbert's soulful style led him to be compared to Otis Redding. They first recorded with producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd and the resulting album, Hallelujah, offered a blend of gospel-style vocals and soul sung to a horn-driven Jamaican beat. They were popular from the start, but after recording a few sides with Studio One, they left Dodd in favor of Prince Buster. With him, they soon gained a bigger Jamaican following and also became popular in Great Britain. The Maytals began working with Byron Lee in 1966. Hits from this era include "Dog War," "Daddy" and "Broadway Jungle." That year Lee and his Dragonaires backed the Maytals at the premiere Jamaican Festival Song Competition. Their song, "Bam Bam," won the contest and began a rapid ascent to real stardom. Occasionally, the Maytals would record with other producers, who perhaps to keep from having to pay royalties, would put different band names on the labels such as the Vikings, the Royals and the Flames. The Maytals were reaching the height of their popularity towards the end of 1966 when Hibbert was arrested for smoking and possessing ganja and was sent to prison for 18 months. Fortunately the other two Maytals, who were best friends with Hibbert and realized that they could not possibly recreate their unique sound with another front man, waited for him.

When Hibbert was released, the band started working with legendary producer Leslie Kong. This was a time of transition in Jamaican popular music and ska was being replaced by the angry, violent music of Rude Boys, and this in turn was becoming reggae. The Maytals changed accordingly, but still kept that soul and gospel-influenced sound that made them unique. While in prison, Hibbert had honed his songwriting skills. Their first Kong single "54-46 That's My Number," a reference to Hibbert's prison number, recounted his experiences and suggested that he was jailed on a trumped up charge because he was a Rastafarian. It became a huge hit in both Jamaica and England and has since become a rocksteady standard. Other major songs from this time include the scathingly funny "Monkey Man," and "Sweet and Dandy," which provided the Maytals with a second win at the 1969 Festival song Competition. One of their all time great hits, "Pressure Drop," from the soundtrack of the definitive reggae film The Harder They Come. By 1971, they had not only become the biggest act on the island, they were also (thanks to signing with Chris Blackwell's Island Records) international stars. Then Leslie Kong died. They moved on to producer Byron Lee, and though the hits continued, things began to slow down. It was Lee who renamed them Toots & the Maytals. Hibbert and the group broke up in 1981. From there Hibbert began working with producers Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare. He had international success through the '80s. Hibbert created a new Maytals in the early '90s and continued touring the world with them. A major-label comeback, 2004's True Love, found Hibbert signed to V2. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Lee "Scratch" Perry
Genre: International
Decades: 7936
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Some call him a genius, others claim he's certifiably insane, a madman. Truth is, he's both, but more importantly, Lee Perry is a towering figure in reggae -- a producer, mixologist, and songwriter who, along with King Tubby, helped shape the sound of dub and made reggae music such a powerful part of the pop music world. Along with producing... [+] Read More

Some call him a genius, others claim he's certifiably insane, a madman. Truth is, he's both, but more importantly, Lee Perry is a towering figure in reggae -- a producer, mixologist, and songwriter who, along with King Tubby, helped shape the sound of dub and made reggae music such a powerful part of the pop music world. Along with producing some of the most influential acts (Bob Marley & the Wailers and the Congos to name but two) in reggae history, Perry's approach to production and dub mixing was breathtakingly innovative and audacious -- no one else sounds like him -- and while many claim that King Tubby invented dub, there are just as many who would argue that no one experimented with it or took it further than did Lee Perry.

Born in the rural Jamaican village of St. Mary's in 1936, Perry began his surrealistic musical odyssey in the late '50s, working with ska man Prince Buster selling records for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's Downbeat Sound System. Called "Little" Perry because of his diminutive stature (Perry stands 4'11"), he was soon producing and recording for Dodd at the center of the Jamaican music industry, Studio One. After a falling out with Dodd (throughout his career, Perry has a tendency to burn his bridges after he stopped working with someone), Perry went to work at Wirl Records with Joe Gibbs. Perry and Gibbs never really saw eye to eye on anything, and in 1968, Perry left to form his own label, called Upsetter. Not surprisingly, Perry's first release on Upsetter was a single entitled "People Funny Boy," which was a direct attack upon Gibbs. What is important about the record is that, along with selling extremely well in Jamaica, it was the first Jamaican pop record to use the loping, lazy, bass-driven beat that would soon become identified as the reggae "riddim" and signal the shift from the hyperkinetically upbeat ska to the pulsing, throbbing languor of "roots" reggae.

From this point through the 1970s, Perry released an astonishing amount of work under his name and numerous, extremely creative pseudonyms: Jah Lion, Pipecock Jakxon, Super Ape, the Upsetter, and his most famous nom de plume, Scratch. Many of the singles released during this period were significant Jamaican (and U.K.) hits, instrumental tracks like "The Return of Django," "Clint Eastwood," and "The Vampire," which cemented Perry's growing reputation as a major force in reggae music. Becoming more and more outrageous in his pronouncements and personal appearance (when it comes to clothing, only Sun Ra can hold a candle to Perry's thrift-store outfits), Perry and his remarkable house band, also named the Upsetters, worked with just about every performer in Jamaica. It was in the early '70s after hearing some of King Tubby's early dub experiments that Perry also became interested in this form of aural manipulation. He quickly released a mind-boggling number of dub releases and eventually, in a fit of creative independence, opened his own studio, Black Ark.

It was at Black Ark that Perry recorded and produced some of the early, seminal Bob Marley tracks. Using the Upsetters rhythm section of bassist Aston "Familyman" Barrett and his drummer brother Carlton Barrett, Perry guided the Wailers through some of their finest moments, recording such powerful songs as "Duppy Conqueror" and "Small Axe." The good times, however, were not long, especially after Perry, unbeknown to Marley and company, sold the tapes to Trojan Records and pocketed the cash. Island Records head Chris Blackwell quickly moved in and signed the Wailers to an exclusive contract, leaving Perry with virtually nothing. Perry accused Blackwell (a white Englishman) of cultural imperialism and Marley of being an accomplice. For years, Perry referred to Blackwell as a vampire, and accused Marley of having curried favor with politicians in order to make a fast buck. These setbacks did not stem the tide of Perry releases, be they of new material or one of a seemingly endless collection of anthologies. Perry was also expanding his range of influence, working with the Clash, who were huge Perry fans, having covered the Perry-produced version of Junior Murvin's classic "Police and Thieves." Perry was brought in to produce some tracks for the Clash, but the results were remixed more to the band's liking.

All this hard work was wreaking havoc with Perry's already fragile mental state, leading to a breakdown. The stories of his mental instability were exacerbated by tales of massive substance abuse (despite his public stance against all drugs except sacramental ganja), which reportedly included regular ingestion of cocaine and LSD; one potentially apocryphal story even had Perry drinking bottles of tape head-cleaning fluid. But these stories, as with much surrounding Perry, blur fact and fiction. One story that was true was that Black Ark, and everything in it, burned to the ground. Perry claims bad wiring as the culprit, but the more familiar and commonly accepted story is that Perry burned the studio down in a fit of acid-inspired madness, convinced that Satan had made Black Ark his home. Whatever the case, the site of Perry's greatest moments as a producer had been reduced to (and remains) a pile of rubble and ash. Soon after the fire that consumed Black Ark, Perry, increasingly fed up with the music business in Jamaica (which by all accounts is corruption personified), decided to leave Jamaica.

Despite the considerable lows in his career, Perry remained busy and, so it seemed, reasonably happy. Although he was less in demand as a producer, his solo work remained very strong, and his continuing influence could be felt in the contemporary dub music of the Mad Professor (another former Perry protégé that Perry went on to treat with disdain) and some post-rave electronica music. Even the Beastie Boys gave Perry his props in a rhyme on their release Ill Communication and later added him to the bill of performers at a concert for Tibetan freedom. The man called Scratch lives in Switzerland and continues to cook up a psychedelic brew of music that, along with being ahead of its time, will warp your head, in a good way, assuming that you're up to the challenge. In 1997, Island (the label started by the vampire Chris Blackwell) released Arkology, a three-disc compilation of Perry recordings.

A word or two about Perry's discography: it's massive, unwieldy, and although there are plenty of great records, there's almost as much crap. The lack of quality control has little to do with Perry, but rather with sleazebags trying to rip off his legacy. After King Tubby's murder in 1989, his studio was looted, and many of Perry's tapes were stolen. Some of these recordings have shown up on poorly mastered, and expensive, anthologies. Releases on Trojan, Rounder's reggae subsidiary label Heartbeat, and Island (and its subsidiary label Mango) are generally excellent and are the best place to start building your Perry collection. Smaller labels like Seven Leaves and the French Lagoon Records (which seems like a semi-legit bootleg label) are hit-and-miss propositions, and those inclined to check out recordings on these labels are encouraged to proceed with caution. And avoid releases on the Rohit label, if only for their lousy production and tacky, grade-Z packaging. Also, as with King Tubby recordings, purchasing a Perry release means you might be buying a record he produced, but not necessarily performs on. That said, happy hunting and listening. ~ John Dougan, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Black Uhuru
Genre: International
Decades: 7680
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The most successful of the second-generation reggae bands, Black Uhuru maintained their high quality despite numerous personnel changes in their 16-year history. The first reggae band to win a Grammy award, for their 1983 album Anthem, Black Uhuru was, according to Reggae: The Rough Guide, "The most dynamic and progressive reggae act of the... [+] Read More

The most successful of the second-generation reggae bands, Black Uhuru maintained their high quality despite numerous personnel changes in their 16-year history. The first reggae band to win a Grammy award, for their 1983 album Anthem, Black Uhuru was, according to Reggae: The Rough Guide, "The most dynamic and progressive reggae act of the 1970s and early '80s."

Black Uhuru, whose name comes from the Swahili word meaning "freedom," was formed in the Waterhouse district of Kingston by Ervin "Don Carlos" Spencer, Rudolph "Garth" Dennis, and Derrick "Duckie" Simpson. When the group experienced difficulties securing a record contract, Spencer left to pursue a solo career and Dennis joined the Wailing Souls. Simpson, who remained the thread throughout Black Uhuru's evolution, reorganized the band with Errol "Jay" Wilson and quivery-voiced lead vocalist Michael Rose, compared by Trouser Press to "a Rasta cantor." Accompanied by the rhythm section of Sly Dunbar on drums and Robbie Shakespear on bass, Black Uhuru created a sound that made them a match for any reggae ensemble. Their debut album, Love Crisis, released in 1977, included the anthemic hit "I Love King Selassie." Three years later, the album was remixed and released as Black Sounds of Freedom.

With the addition of harmony singer Sandra "Puma" Jones, an Afro-American woman who held a master's degree from Columbia University and was a former member of the female group Mama Africa in 1981, Black Uhuru entered their most commercially successful period. In addition to recording a memorable studio album, Red, and an exciting live album, Tear It Up, the group reached its peak with the release of Anthem in 1983. Remixed and revised for release in the United States, the redone version was re-released in Europe shortly afterwards. Although the album received a Grammy, internal problems caused the band to splinter the following year. Rose was replaced by sound-alike Junior Reid. Jones and Reid remained with the band until 1989. Although Reid left when visa problems prevented him from touring, Jones, who was replaced by Olefunke, was forced to step down after being diagnosed with cancer. She died on January 28, 1990, and was buried in her home state of South Carolina. The original three members -- Simpson, Spencer and Dennis -- reunited to record a trio album, Now, in 1990. They've continued to tour and perform in this configuration. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Desmond Dekker
Genre: International
Decades: 7936
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Probably no other Jamaican artist has brought more international acclaim to his island home than Desmond Dekker, barring, of course, Bob Marley, but Dekker came first. Most people's introduction to the island's unique musical sound came via the singer's many hits, most notably "Israelites" and "0.0.7. (Shanty Town)." Needless to say, he was even... [+] Read More

Probably no other Jamaican artist has brought more international acclaim to his island home than Desmond Dekker, barring, of course, Bob Marley, but Dekker came first. Most people's introduction to the island's unique musical sound came via the singer's many hits, most notably "Israelites" and "0.0.7. (Shanty Town)." Needless to say, he was even more influential in his homeland.

Born Desmond Dacres in Kingston, Jamaica, on July 16, 1942, the star-to-be was orphaned in his teens. Left to earn a living on his own, he apprenticed as a welder. It was his workmates who first noted his vocal talents, as the youngster sang around the workshop. With their encouragement, in 1961 the young man decided to have a go at recording and auditioned for both Coxsone Dodd at Studio One and Duke Reid at Treasure Isle. Neither man found anything remarkable about this young hopeful and sent him on his way. Not discouraged, Dacres next tried his luck with Leslie Kong, owner of the Beverley's label. He auditioned before the stable's biggest hitmaker, Derrick Morgan, who immediately spotted the young man's potential. However, it was to be two long years before Kong finally took him into the studio, waiting patiently for him to compose a song worthy of recording.

In 1963, Dacres presented Kong with "Honour Your Father and Mother," and the producer knew the wait had been worth it. Upon its release, the song's heartfelt message soared to the top of the Jamaican charts. Having been renamed Desmond Dekker, the new star followed up with "Sinners Come Home" and "Labour for Learning," which were also successful. However, it was with his next release, "King of Ska," that Dekker's star was truly established. Backed by the Cherrypies, aka the Maytals, the boastful song, a raucous celebration of ska in all its glory, swiftly attained classic status and remains one of the genre's masterpieces. Before the year was out, Dekker had found his own backing group, the Aces, a quartet of singing siblings -- Carl, Clive, Barry, and Patrick Howard -- initially known as the Four Aces. Together the five men cut a slew of excellent ska-fired singles, such as the jubilant "Get Up Edina," the advice to "Parents," the bouncy love letter "This Woman," and the sublime "Mount Zion." All were big hits.

However, as can be seen by the titles, Dekker's initial appeal was as a respectful young man (admittedly with a penchant for admonishing misbehaving young ladies). That would all change in 1967. Derrick Morgan helped set the stage with his trio of rudeboys-go-to-court songs beginning off with "Tougher Than Tough," which featured Dekker and his brother George on backing vocals. Wisely, Dekker himself steered clear of what swiftly turned into a judicial soap opera, instead he rocketed "0.0.7. (Shanty Town)" into the Jamaican charts. Set to a sturdy rocksteady beat, the song quickly became a rudeboy anthem and established Dekker as a virtual rudeboy icon. Across the water in Britain in the wake of its own mod revolution, the Jamaican singer was seen as one of the mod's own. The single looted and shot its way into the U.K. Top 15, and Dekker immediately set off on his first visit to England. The response there astonished him, and he was trailed everywhere by mods almost acting as informal bodyguards. More rudeboy hits followed, including the indeed soulful "Rudy Got Soul and "Rude Boy Train." Others were often in keeping with the more temperate subjects of Dekker's past: the religious-themed "Wise Man," "Hey Grandma," the warning for "Mother's Young Girl," the lovelorn "Sabotage," the bouncy "It's a Shame" (wherein another girl gets a telling off), and the inspirational "Unity" (which took second place at Jamaica's Festival Song Competition that year). One of the most evocative was "Pretty Africa"; one of the earliest repatriation songs composed, it's haunting beauty and yearning quality has kept it a strong favorite. "It Pays," another hit from 1967, features some of the most exquisite falsetto harmonies ever to be recorded and showcases the Aces as their best. Although none repeated the success of "0.0.7.," Dekker remained a powerful force in the U.K. and a superstar at home. Many of the hits from this era were included on the singer's debut album, which was naturally titled after "0.0.7. (Shanty Town)."

In 1968, the singer unleashed the mighty sufferers' lament "Israelites" on an unsuspecting world. For half a year, the song simmered on the U.K. charts, finally coming to a boil in March, when it topped the chart. Meanwhile in the U.S., the song had also begun to rise, peaking thee months later just inside the Top Ten. Dekker had achieved the dream of every Jamaican artist, to break into the U.S. market. He was the first to do so, at least with a pure Jamaican song. Although Dekker would never put another single so high into the U.S. charts, his career continued unabated both at home and in the U.K. The heartbreak of "Beautiful and Dangerous" was the perfect theme for another smash, as was the exuberant "Shing a Ling" and the equally infectious "Music Like Dirt." For the more religiously minded there was "Writing on the Wall," but what did buyers of that popular single make of the highly suggestive and equally successful "Bongo Girl"? Before the year was out, the Beverley's label gathered up a group of hits from the year for the Action! collection.

In 1969, the upbeat "Problems" spoke directly to the Jamaican public, who bought the single in droves. But the year was defined by "It Mek," wherein another girl gets her comeuppance. Dekker composed the song about his rambunctious younger sister. Initially released to muted response, the original was a charmer but lacked punch; the re-recorded version was much stronger and smashed into the Jamaican chart, then soared into the Top Ten across the water. "Pickney Gal," however, although very successful in Jamaica, did less well in the U.K. As to be expected, Beverley's rounded up this year's hits for a new album, Israelites. In the U.K., fans were treated to This Is Desmond Dekker, which the Trojan label also released in 1969, a virtual nonstop chart-busting party, drawn from the three Beverley's sets.

By the time the '70s dawned, Dekker had relocated to Britain and was spending most of his time touring. However, he continued releasing excellent singles, as always backed by the superb Beverley's All Stars house band and accompanied by the exquisite Aces. Neither the band nor singers have ever received the credit they were due. The former's flawless and sympathetic performances powered every one of Dekker's songs, while the latter's sublime soaring vocals and perfect harmonies helped define his sound. Unusually, Dekker's next hit would not come from his own pen, but another's. Leslie Kong had to argue vociferously to convince the singer to cover Jimmy Cliff's "You Can Get It If You Really Want," but in the end, Dekker put his faith in the producer. He was rewarded with a timeless masterpiece that was a smash on both sides of the Atlantic. The song titled yet another hit-laden collection, released by Trojan in 1970 as well. In retrospect, it was fitting that Kong's two greatest stars should have combined talents in this way. In August 1971, the great producer, still only in his thirties, died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Unlike virtually every other artist on the island, Dekker had spent his entire career under Kong's wing and was devastated by his death. (Barring a few very early recordings, Cliff had as well and was equally distraught and directionless in the aftermath.) The definitive collection of Dekker's work with Kong is found on the Trojan label's Original Reggae Hitsound of Desmond Dekker and the Aces compilation.

Initially at a total loss of how to now proceed, eventually Dekker found his way, and over the next few years, he released a steady stream of fine singles. However, he seemed to have lost his grip on Britain and none of his releases charted there. In hopes of remedying this situation, in 1974 Dekker joined forces with the pop production team Bruce Anthony (aka Tony Cousins) and Bruce White. Their session together resulted in the singles "Everybody Join Hands" and "Busted Lad," released in the U.K. by the Rhino label. They had little impact however, but in 1975, another song from the session, "Sing a Little Song," charmed its way into the British Top 20. A sugary offering with lush production, it was far removed from the work Dekker had done with Kong. A new album, titled Israelites, and not to be confused with the Beverley's album of the same name, was also released this year. Although it featured a ferocious version of the title track, it then sank quickly into syrupy waters, much like "Sing..." After that and for the next five years, Dekker disappeared off the U.K. radar almost entirely. He continued to release records in Jamaica, although they were sporadic in comparison to his prolific output in the '60s.

However, as the '70s came to a close, the 2-Tone movement gave fresh impetus to the singer's career, and Dekker inked a deal with the independent punk label Stiff. His debut for them was the wittily titled Black & Dekker album, which featured re-recordings of past hits, backed by the British rock band the Rumour. The Rumour, of course, were famous as the group behind Graham Parker. A series of singles also announced his return, with the first, a re-recorded "Israelites," almost breaking into the Top Ten in Belgium. That was followed by "Please Don't Bend" and a cover of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross." A fourth single, "Book of Rules," was especially strong and produced by Will Birch, best known for his work with power pop bands. Dekker's follow-up, 1981's Compass Point, in contrast, featured mostly new compositions and was produced by Robert Palmer. Both it and the single "Hot City," however, did poorly. Regardless, Dekker was in big demand on-stage, where he continued to be accompanied by the Rumour. As the 2-Tone movement disintegrated, so too did Dekker's revival. In 1984, the singer was forced to declare bankruptcy, although this was less a reflection on him than on his past management.

Dekker veritably disappeared from view for the rest of the decade, with only Trojan's 1987 Officially Live and Rare album breaking the drought, which was recorded during an enthusiastic live club appearance in London. A new version of "Israelites," utilized in a Maxell tape ad, brought the singer back into public view in 1990. The following year, Dekker released King of Ska, again featuring re-recordings of past glories. Two years later, he entered the studio with an equally revitalized Specials for the King of Kings album. And although this set too featured old hits, this time around the vast majority weren't Dekker's own, but his personal heroes, including, of course, Derrick Morgan, the man who had discovered him.

In 1996, Moving On appeared, not one of Dekker's best. However, the Trojan label has continued to keep the singer's back catalog to the fore. Beginning back in 1974, when they released the humorously titled Double Dekker, across Sweet 16 Hits (1978), The Original Reggae Hitsound in 1985, and 1992's Music Like Dirt, there's never been a dearth of excellent Dekker material for fans to revel in. Other labels have jumped in on the action, and the shelves have quickly filled with compilations of the singer from varying stages of his career. Dekker's vast catalog of music, songs that defined the ska, rocksteady, and reggae eras have provided the singer with a rich legacy that has rarely been equaled. On May 25, 2006, Dekker passed away at age 64 in his London home. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide [-] Hide

U-Roy
Genre: International
Decades: 7936
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Known as the Originator, U-Roy wasn't the first DJ, nor even the first to cut a record, but he was the first to shake the nation and he originated a style so distinctly unique that he single-handedly changed his homeland's music scene forever. Born Ewart Beckford in Jones Town, Jamaica, in 1942, he received his famous moniker from a young family... [+] Read More

Known as the Originator, U-Roy wasn't the first DJ, nor even the first to cut a record, but he was the first to shake the nation and he originated a style so distinctly unique that he single-handedly changed his homeland's music scene forever. Born Ewart Beckford in Jones Town, Jamaica, in 1942, he received his famous moniker from a young family member unable to correctly pronounce Ewart and the nickname stuck.

U-Roy's rise to fame was slow, and took almost a decade. He began back in 1961, DJing at the Doctor Dickie's Dynamite sound system. Eventually, he moved onto the Sir Mike the Musical Thunderstorm outfit, and then in 1968 to the Sir George the Atomic sound system. The DJ was then lured away by Coxsone Dodd; however, soon tiring of playing second fiddle to longtime veteran King Stitt, he returned to Sir George. Around this same time, he met up with another royal figure, King Tubby, then working as a disc cutter at Duke Reid's studio. The mechanic was just beginning his musical experiments that eventually led him to develop dub, and at the moment he was giving his proto-dub experimental discs to a handful of his favorite DJs. The following year, King Tubby launched his own Hi-Fi sound system and brought in U-Roy as his top DJ. By then, the DJ had established himself as one of the premier talents of the sound system scene. Producer Keith Hudson was the first to recognize the possibilities and took U-Roy into the studio in late 1969 to cut the song "Dynamic Fashion Way." However, the tape lay in the studio while the producer went off on a trip to the U.S. and the DJ went off to try his luck elsewhere. Lee Perry paired U-Roy with Peter Tosh and recorded "Selassie," a version of Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus' "Ethiopian National Anthem." The single was originally credited to the Reggae Boys and on its subsequent reissue, under the title "(Earth's) Rightful Ruler," it was then credited to Peter Tosh and Hugh Roy, a spelling the DJ would adhere to for the next several years. U-Roy cut one more single with Perry ("O.K. Corral") then moved on to Keith Hudson, for whom he recorded "Dynamic Fashion Way," and Bunny Lee, with whom he cut "King of the Road." He next linked with producer Lloyd Daley for two singles, "Scandal" and "Sound of the Wise," which like their predecessors,created a stir amongst the grassroots sound system crowds, but barely registered beyond them.

John Holt would change all that. One night early in 1970, he attended a sound system party and caught U-Roy DJing. The singer was blown away, not least of all because the chatterer was exhorting the enthusiastic crowd over Holt's own hit "Wear You to the Ball." The next day the singer went around to see Duke Reid and adamantly stated that the producer must record the DJ. Reid was convinced and U-Roy was promptly put into the studio to cut two songs, over classic Treasure Isle singles, of course. The first release, "Wake the Town," did exactly that and an aroused Jamaica swiftly sent the single to the top of the charts. That song was a version of Alton Ellis' "Girl I've Got a Date"; the next, "Rule the Nation," was cut over the Techniques' "Love Is Not a Gamble," and that single was as prophetic as the first. It, too, slammed up the chart, as did its follow-up, "Wear You to the Ball." For a month and a half, all three singles boldly stood astride the top three spots in the Jamaican charts. U-Roy went on to cut another 29 songs with Reid, all versions of Treasure Isle's most beloved singles. The Frontline label's 1970 compilation Version of Wisdom bundled up much of the DJ's classic work for Reid, bringing together two previous albums: Versions Galore, initially released by Trojan in 1971, and Frontline's own 1979 compilation With Words of Wisdom. The British Attack label also sports a slew of this material on 1974's U-Roy, while Trojan's Ace From Out of Space grabs up 30 of them. The definitive collection comes from France's Esoldun label and Super Boss boasts all the classic cuts the DJ recorded for Reid. "Versions galore, you can hear them by the score," U-Roy exclaimed on "Versions Galore," and indeed you could.

Every producer in town was now vying to record DJs, pillaging through their back catalogs for appropriate rhythms. In U-Roy's wake came a flood of young hopefuls, Dennis Alcapone, I- Roy, Big Youth, Scotty, Lizzy, U-Roy Junior, and many, many others. Many of these early progenitors of the DJ scene, U-Roy included, can by found on the Trojan label compilation With a Flick of My Musical Wrist. U-Roy himself would never again place three singles at the top of the chart, but he continued to have smash hits and made his way happily around the studios. He recorded a number of notable songs for producer Alvin Ranglin, including "Way Down South" (a version of Billy Dyce's hit "Take Warning") and "Nana Banana." Working with Glen Brown, he cut "Number One in the World" over the much-versioned "Dirty Harry" rhythm, while also recording intriguing offerings for Niney Holness and Lloyd Daley.

In 1975, U-Roy teamed up once again with Bunny Lee, cutting a number of songs with the producer. In 1983, the Vista Sounds label released remixes of these cuts as DJ Masterpieces, which also boasts tracks by other DJs, U-Roy amongst them, recorded for the producer. Now the reigning hero of the Jamaican DJ scene, U-Roy would come to international attention via a totally unexpected source. The American soul-lite duo Hall & Oates surprisingly enough recorded a cover of the DJ's hit "Soldering" on their eponymous album. This prompted the Virgin label to sign him and, paired with producer Prince Tony Robinson, U-Roy recorded his debut album (Dread Inna Babylon), backed by the Skin, Flesh & Bones Band. The following year's Natty Rebel, again with Robinson at the helm, found the DJ now backed by the rootsy rhythms of Lloyd Parks and Sly Dunbar, and accompanied by a pair of singers.

U-Roy was now reaching the peak of his power. His toasts were utterly relaxed and conversational, yet always in perfect synchronicity with the rhythms. The DJ had now gained a significant following in the U.K., as well, and in August 1976, visited Britain for the first time. He performed at the London Lyceum, backed by the always excellent Revolutionaries, and the 1978 Live EP was drawn from this phenomenal show. Back in Jamaica, U-Roy began recording his new album, Rasta Ambassador, filling the studio with musicians and singers, 15 strong in all. The Gladiators provided particularly sonorous backing vocals, while the band, led by the rhythm team of Sly & Robbie, created a deep roots sound appropriate to the album's title and accentuated by Robinson's deeply dubby production.

Somehow, U-Roy found time in his busy schedule to launch his own sound system, Stur-Gav, that year. He also continued to run his own labels, Del-Ma and Mego-Ann, which the DJ had set up a few years back. 1978 brought a new album, Jah Son of Africa, arguably U- Roy's best. Again, a deeply rootsy outing; with a superb supporting cast (this time the Gladiators were joined by Ken Boothe), the album showcased the DJ at his cultural height. It was to be his final album for Virgin. In 1991, the label released the Natty Rebel -- Extra Version album, which pulled tracks from both Natty Rebel and Jah Son of Africa, and also included the Live EP. A limited edition three-CD box set Three From the Frontline appeared this same year, and bundled together Version of Wisdom, Rasta Ambassador, and Natty Rebel -- Extra Version.

In the runup to the 1980 election, Stur-Gav fell victim to the violence that swept Jamaica and the sound system was destroyed. Undeterred, U-Roy relaunched it the following year and brought in new DJs, including up and coming stars Josey Wales and Charlie Chaplin. U-Roy would collaborate with the former for the entertaining Teacher Meets the Student, whose tracks date from around this period. But perhaps the DJ was taking on too much between his sound system, labels, and live appearances, for his next album, Love Is Not a Gamble showed a sharp decline in standards. U-Roy seemed to recognize this and subsequently his recorded output slowed to a trickle of singles. He did, however, continue to perform live and on-stage, and his power remained undiminished.

In 1982, he appeared at Reggae Sunsplash for the first time and a song from his powerful set can be heard on the Best of Festival -- Day One compilation. In 1983, the DJ was behind the superb King Stur-Gav Hi Fi Lee Unlimited album, a live session recorded at his own sound system that featured a clutch of crucial DJs from Dillinger to the young Beenie Man, his two favorite protégés Charlie Chaplin and Josey Wales, as well as U-Roy himself. The follow-up, King Stur-Gav Sounds Live at Clarendon J.A., amazingly doesn't feature U-Roy at all, except in the capacity of selector. The next year brought the excellent "Hustling" single, cut for producer Gussie Clarke, "Get Ready" recorded for Ossie Thomas, and a return engagement at Reggae Sunsplash that year, with a second appearance in 1985.

Silence then followed for two years; then as if to make up for lost time, in 1987 U-Roy jumped back into recording with a vengeance. He teamed up with Tappa Zukie for the Line Up and Come album, a stunning return to form that cruelly gained little notice. He also released Music Addict, overseen by Prince Jazzbo, that same year. However, halfway through that latter album, the DJ seems to run out of steam. Afterwards, U-Roy once again lapsed into a lengthy silence, at least in the studio; he found his voice for Reggae Sunsplash the next summer, though, and kept it well exercised for another appearance in 1990. The following year found him back in London, on-stage at London's Hammersmith Palais. But during all this time, the DJ continued steering clear of the recording studio. It was U.K. producer Mad Professor who coaxed him back in during 1991 for the True Born African album. Since then, U-Roy has continued recording under the Professor's aegis. Smile Awhile appeared in 1993 and featured a number of guest stars, including Yabby You, Aisha, Sandra Cross, and lovers rock heroine Susan Cadogan. Incidentally, the album's title was inspired by a line from the DJ's old hit "Flashing My Whip" ("smile awhile and give your face a rest"). Also in 1993, the DJ guested on Nolan Irie's album Work So Hard. In 1996, U-Roy joined Cadogan for a remake of her classic hit "Hurt So Good," which the DJ had previously versioned on Smile Awhile. U-Roy also released his own new album that year (Babylon Kingdom Must Fall). Four more years passed before its follow-up hit the shops. Serious Matter found the DJ toasting over an album's worth of classic songs, accompanied by a host of veteran vocalists, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, and Horace Andy amongst them. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Peter Tosh
Genre: International
Decades: 1792
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Singer, musician, composer, and rebel Peter Tosh cut a swathe through the Jamaican musical scene, both as a founding member of the Wailers and as a solo artist. He toured with the Rolling Stones and had an international hit with a duet with Mick Jagger, then toured again to equally rapturous world audiences as the headlining act. His words would... [+] Read More

Singer, musician, composer, and rebel Peter Tosh cut a swathe through the Jamaican musical scene, both as a founding member of the Wailers and as a solo artist. He toured with the Rolling Stones and had an international hit with a duet with Mick Jagger, then toured again to equally rapturous world audiences as the headlining act. His words would cause an uproar at the One Peace concert, but then unlike fellow Wailer Bob Marley, Tosh always made his true feelings known. He was born Winston Hubert McIntosh on October 19, 1944, in the small rural village of Grange Hill, Jamaica. Like so many young island teens searching for a better life, he left home at 15 and headed for Kingston. Once there, he made his way to Joe Higgs' tenement yard, joining other aspiring youths eager for the vocal coaching lessons the singing star provided to local teens. Amongst these youthful wannabes were Bunny, Bob Marley, and the much younger Junior Braithwaite; the four, buttressed by backing vocalists Cherry Green and Beverley Kelso, joined forces initially as the Teenagers before eventually settling on the moniker the Wailers.

Success was immediate; the group's debut single, "Simmer Down," was an instant hit, and the band's career was off and running. Tosh's talent didn't end with his vocal skills as he was also an excellent guitarist; his playing was first showcased in 1963 on the Wailers' single "I'm Going Home." He was also a gifted songwriter, as was Bunny Livingston, which helped the band survive Marley's hiatus from the group while he went to work in the U.S. in 1966. The Wailers, by then reduced to a trio with the departure of Braithwaite, Green, and Kelso, continued on without him. During this time, the remaining duo, with Constance "Dream" Walker filling in, continued releasing singles now credited to either the Wailers, Tosh, or Livingston alone. Thus, over the next year, Tosh's dance-friendly "Hoot Nanny Hoot," "The Jerk," a cover of Sir Lancelot's calypso hit "Shame and Scandal in the Family," the R&B-fired "Making Love," and "It's Only Love," a duet with Rita Marley, all arrived from Studio One. "Rasta Shook Them Up" celebrated Haile Selassie's Jamaican visit, while Tosh also offered up the rudie-fueled "The Toughest."

With Marley's return, the Wailers departed Studio One and launched their own short-lived Wail'n'Soul'M label. With its demise, they returned to the studio circuit. Sessions with producer Bunny Lee went nowhere, but Lee and Tosh had a rapport, and between 1969 and 1970, the Wailers cut a string of instrumentals for the producer and released them under the alias Peter Touch. Tosh was now attempting to learn to play the melodica, and the singles chart his progress on the instrument. "Crimson Pirate," "Sun Valley," the almost psychedelic "Pepper Seed," "The Return of Al Capone," "Selassie Serenade" (actually a rather frenetic version of "Blue Moon") and more, were the end results.

However, in 1971, Tosh made the momentous decision to pursue a true solo career in conjunction with his work with the Wailers. His debut single, "Maga Dog," was cut with producer Joe Gibbs. The song had initially been recorded by the Wailers with Coxsone Dodd, and in its original rhythm arrangement was suspiciously similar to "Simmer Down."

Gibbs would totally re-create it, slowing the tempo down and creating a rhythm perfect for the latest dance rage, the John Crow skank. The single was a major hit and became a favorite of the DJs, with a flood of versions quickly following. The equally hard-hitting "Dem Ha Fe Get a Beating" arrived soon after. In the brief period Tosh spent with Gibbs, he recorded a clutch of seminal numbers, including "Arise Blackman," "Black Dignity," and "Here Comes the Judge." The latter track was built around the haunting rhythm from the Abyssinians' "Satta Massa Gana," but lyrically hearkened back to Prince Buster's "Judge Dread," as Tosh's magistrate tries and convicts Christopher Columbus, Sir Francis Drake, and Vasco da Gama for myriad of crimes against black people. Even on a cover of "Nobody's Business," Tosh's militancy shines through, with the line "Leave my business and mind your own," carrying a definite hint of menace in the delivery. Jumping on the current bandwagon for golden oldie medleys, the singer also delivered up a trio of rude boy hits, Desmond Dekker's "Rude Boy Train" and "007 Shanty Town," and his own, "I'm the Toughest." Tosh split with Gibbs before the end of the year, allegedly over the lack of money he'd received from "Maga Dog." The artist's retaliation was swift and the self-produced "Once Bitten" was allegedly aimed directly at the producer. That single utilized the "Maga Dog" rhythm, as did its follow-up, "Dog Teeth." Initially, Tosh was releasing his latest self-produced solo singles via the Wailers' own Tuff Gong label, but soon the artist set up his own label, Intel Diplo HIM (Intelligent Diplomat for His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie). The label was inaugurated with "Dog Teeth," with "Ketchy Shrub" following before the end of 1971.

As the Wailers' international breakthrough began, Tosh had less and less time to devote to his solo career. However, a few singles did arrive during 1972, including "No Mercy" and "Can't Blame the Youth." More followed in 1973, among them "Mark of the Beast," "Foundation," "What You Gonna Do," and a re-recording of "Pound Get a Blow," originally a single released by the Wailers back in 1968. At the end of the Wailers' 1973 U.K. tour, Livingston announced he would no longer tour outside of Jamaica with the band. The group initially carried on without him, completing a tour of the States, then a second tour of Britain. Tensions were already high between Tosh and Marley, and the situation finally came to a head on November 30, in Northampton. It ended with a punch up and Tosh quitting the band. Although the Wailers reunited six months later for a benefit show, and again in late 1975 for another benefit concert, the group itself was now defunct, and the Wailers went their separate ways.

Tosh's first post-Wailers solo single, "Brand New Secondhand," was a new version of a song initially recorded by the Wailers for Lee Perry. However, it was Tosh's follow-up, "Legalize It," that packed the greatest punch and swiftly becoming a ganja anthem even though the single was slapped with a radio ban.

In 1975, Tosh signed to the Columbia label in the U.S., and began work on his first solo album. Sessions were held in Kingston at Treasure Isle studio, Miami, and even in Tulsa, OK. A number of the tracks were new versions of old songs, including "Burial" and "Ketchy Shuby." The resulting album, Legalize It, arrived in 1976 to acclaim both at home and abroad. With interest running high, Tosh set off on tour, accompanied by a band comprised of the Sly & Robbie rhythm section, keyboardists Earl "Wire" Lindo and Errol "Tarzan" Nelson, and guitarists Donald Kinsey and American Al Anderson. Sony/Legacy's Live & Dangerous album captured one of the band's steaming shows in Boston during this tour. Like Marley, Tosh was moving effortlessly into a hybrid style that paid homage to American rock, but was still shot through with strong Jamaican roots. However, Tosh's lyrical vision was much darker than his former bandmate's. Love always ended in tears, as on "Why Must I Cry" and the country & western-tinged "Til Your Well Runs Dry," both updated Wailers' numbers; while "Burial," ostensibly about a gangster but with pointed political overtones, was never going to endear him to the mass market. Tosh's follow-up album, Equal Rights, was even more uncompromising. Recording began just a few months after its predecessor was completed and again featured the deep dread rhythms of Sly & Robbie, Earl Lindo's atmospheric keyboards, and Anderson's funky rock guitar, amongst a host of other guest Jamaican session men. Bunny Livingston also joined his former bandmate on backing vocals; Tosh himself had guest starred on Livingston's own solo album, 1976's Black Man Heart. More focused than Legalize It, Equal Rights revolved around the themes of the plight of blacks around the world, and particularly in South Africa and Rhodesia. A new version of "Downpressor Man," the original cut coming with Lee Perry earlier in the decade, was turned into a dread classic. However, the most seminal tracks were the new songs -- the anthemic "Get Up, Stand Up," the menacing rocker "Stepping Razor," and the artist's personal manifesto, "Equal Rights." This was to be Tosh's final album for Columbia. In Jamaica, events were spinning out of control, politically inspired violence was rampant, and gang warfare had reached a level so extreme that a rogue army unit decided to put a permanent end to the combatants. In late 1977, they gunned down ten members of the Skull gang, whose members were mostly Rastafarians, killing five. This event, known as the Green Bay Massacre, so shocked the island that, for a brief moment, the gangs put aside their differences and called a truce. The One Love Peace Concert was organized to help cement this cessation of violence with a billing headed by Marley, who returned to the island for the show.

The concert was held on April 22, 1978, and Tosh was slated to appear right before his former bandmate. His performance was captured for posterity on the Live at the One Love Peace Concert released in 2001. Tosh's set comprised his most militant numbers -- "400 Years," "Stepping Razor," "Burial," "Equal Rights,""Legalize It," and "Get Up, Stand Up," and if that was not enough, between songs he spoke at length in a series of uncompromising speeches that scathingly attacked the government, the opposition, and the concept of peace itself. Although the audience appreciated his words, the government and the press did not, and the Jamaican papers the next day were filled with rabid condemnations. The singer, however, remained unrepentant. Tosh's performance had also impressed visiting British rock star Mick Jagger, who'd been backstage that night. The Jamaican now signed to the Rolling Stones' own label, and that summer toured the States opening for the band. The two singers joined forces on a cover of the Temptations "(You Gotta Walk And) Don't Look Back," a song Tosh had previously recorded with the Wailers. Tosh would also briefly unite with Marley during the latter's Burbank, CA, concert for a show-stopping "Get Up Stand Up."

Back in Jamaica that autumn, Tosh was arrested for drug possession, taken to jail, and beaten so badly he required 30 stitches to close the gaping wounds in his cracked skull. Even with these severe injuries, the artist began work on his next album, Bush Doctor, co-produced with Robbie Shakespeare. A much more "Jamaican" album than its predecessors, the record featured the exquisite Tamlins on backing vocals, and some of the island's top session men, led of course by Sly & Robbie, but boasting Keith Richards' seminal guitar on two tracks. Musically, the album may have sounded less dread, but new versions of "I'm the Toughest" and "Dem Ha Fe Get a Beaten" suggested that Tosh wasn't going soft. However, thematically Bush Doctor was less a cultural album than a religious one. Mystic Man arrived in 1979, and again featured a lighter touch, although songs like "Rumours of War" and "Jah Seh No" were as tough as anything Tosh had offered up in the past. The year also saw the release of the wittily titled "Buk-In-Hamm Palace" single and a re-recorded "Stepping Razor" for the soundtrack for the legendary film Rockers. The highlight of 1980 was a spectacular appearance at Reggae Sunsplash, and the year also brought the excellent "Bombo Klaat" single, a Jamaican-only single released on Tosh's revived Intel Diplo HIM label. A duet with Gwen Guthrie, "Nothing but Love," was offered up to the rest of the world. The slowing output was deliberate as Tosh needed the time off to continue his recovery from the beating he'd received at the hands of the police.

However, he returned with a vengeance in 1981, releasing the Wanted Dread & Alive album, which shot into the lower reaches of the U.S. chart, and toured both the U.S. and Europe. After all that activity, the artist took the next year off, returning in 1983, with a phenomenal cover of "Johnny B. Goode" which landed in the lower reaches of the U.S. Top 50. The single was a taster for his new album, Mama Africa, which also arrived that year. Another tour followed, including a concert in Swaziland and headlining appearances at the Reggae Superjam festival in Kingston. Captured Live, released the following year, was recorded during these tours. Tosh then disappeared off the musical map for the next three years, and it wasn't until 1987 that a new single, "In My Song," arrived. In September, it was joined by the album No Nuclear War.

Staying at Tosh's home during this time was an old friend of the Wailers, Dennis Lobban. However, he left in a fury after an argument with Tosh's girlfriend, Marlene Brown, returning a few days later on September 11, with a gang of friends. Lobban later claimed he had merely intended to threaten the artist, and perhaps rob him, but panicked. The end result was that Tosh and all six of his friends who were hanging out in the room were shot in the head. Tosh lay dead, as did the radio DJ Jeff "Free I" Dixon and a third friend. Marlene Brown, ex-Soul Syndicate drummer Carlton "Santa" Davis, and two other of Tosh's friends miraculously survived. Lobban was arrested and sentenced to death. Jamaica had forever lost one of its most talented artists and eloquent spokesmen. However, Tosh's legacy remains undiminished, and since his death a number of compilations have appeared to safeguard his memory. Heartbeat's The Toughest focuses exclusively on early recordings with Dodd and Lee Perry, while Trojan's Arise Black Man picks up the story with cuts for Bunny Lee, Perry, and Gibbs. Columbia remastered both Tosh's albums for release in 1999, and two years earlier compiled the Honorary Citizen three-CD box set. This boasts a disc devoted to singles released only in Jamaica, a second disc of songs recorded live, and a third of hits and favorites. Scrolls of the Prophets, released in 1999, is a compilation drawn from Tosh’s major-label recordings of 1976-1987. Tosh's back catalog with the Wailers is equally well-served and his influence, even in death, remains strong. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Jimmy Cliff
Genre: International
Decades: 7936
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It's one of life's great ironies that today, outside of reggae circles, Jimmy Cliff is better known for his film appearances than his music. Even after a string of hits, the singer never quite managed to break into the mainstream, although in the late '60s/early '70s, he seemed poised for international stardom. The singer was born in St.... [+] Read More

It's one of life's great ironies that today, outside of reggae circles, Jimmy Cliff is better known for his film appearances than his music. Even after a string of hits, the singer never quite managed to break into the mainstream, although in the late '60s/early '70s, he seemed poised for international stardom. The singer was born in St. Catherine, Jamaica, on April 1, 1948, with the less prosaic name James Chambers. His talent was obvious from childhood, and he began his career appearing at local shows and parish fairs. At 14, he felt ready for the big time, moved to Kingston, and took the surname Cliff to express the heights he intended on reaching. Cliff recorded two unsuccessful singles before he was spotted by Derrick Morgan, who brought him to Leslie Kong. His first single for the budding producer, "Hurricane Hattie," was an instant hit. Unusually, Cliff remained with Kong until the producer's death; most Jamaican artists flit from studio to studio. The singer's loyalty was rewarded, however, as the hits just kept coming. In the early years, the pair helped set the ska scene alight, both in Jamaica and in Britain, where the singer's singles were picked up by Island Records. "Miss Jamaica," "King of Kings," "One Eyed Jacks," and "Pride and Passion" were all classics from the ska era.

By 1964, Cliff's star was so bright that he was selected as one of Jamaica's representatives at the World's Fair. A successful residency in Paris followed, and soon Island head Chris Blackwell had convinced the singer to relocate to Britain. The label itself was in the process of shifting away from Jamaican music and into progressive rock, and thus Cliff began composing songs with an eye to cross over into that market.

It was a risky plan, but a successful one. In 1968, Cliff released his debut album, the excellent Hard Road to Travel, and won the International Song Festival with "Waterfall," a song which was a smash hit in Brazil. He swiftly moved to that country to take advantage of his success, but even greater heights were in the offing. The following year, "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" proved to be his international breakthrough. The single soared to number six on the British charts, and charmed its way into the Top 25 in the States. Not surprisingly, the anti-war follow-up, "Vietnam," proved to be less popular, even if Bob Dylan called it the best protest song he'd ever heard. Regardless, Cliff's new album, 1969's Wonderful World, was critically acclaimed, and saw the singer starting to build a following amongst the AOR crowd.

The title track, a cover of Cat Steven's "Wild World," was another smash in 1970, while Desmond Dekker took Cliff's own "You Can Get It if You Really Want" to number two in Britain. And then tragedy struck. Leslie Kong, who had continued to oversee Cliff's career during this entire period, died unexpectedly of a heart attack in August, 1971. The singer was at a loss as he'd grown up under the producer's wing and was forced to fend for himself. Another Cycle, which arrived later that year, was proof that Cliff was beginning to get his career back on track. One of the last projects Kong had undertaken was overseeing the soundtrack to the movie The Harder They Come. Produced and written by Perry Henzell, this powerful film featured Cliff in the leading role, and upon its release swiftly became an underground classic. The soundtrack, which boasted a clutch of Cliff's own compositions, was an equally seminal record.

This should have pushed the singer into the mainstream, but Island dropped the ball and turned their attention to Bob Marley. The timing was also off in the U.S., where the movie didn't see release until 1975. Cliff departed Island and signed to Reprise in the U.S. and EMI in the U.K., but fared no better there. 1973's Unlimited, 1974's Struggling Man, and the following year's Brave Warrior were unable to sustain the success of Another Cycle, never mind improve on it. During this time, Cliff had converted to Islam and traveled to Africa in search of his roots. His new found religious devotion began to heavily influence his music. In 1975, with the release of The Harder They Come in the U.S., Cliff's second album for the year, Follow My Mind, immediately grabbed America's attention and became his first album to reach into the bottom of the chart. Reprise now decided it was time for a greatest-hits collection, although this would be accomplished via a live album. Rolling Stones' producer Andrew Loog Oldham was brought in to oversee the project, and Cliff was sent out on the road to tour and record. What the label then received was one of Cliff's most ferocious albums to date, Live -- In Concert. The singer was not ready to wallow in nostalgia, and across the rest of the decade he continued releasing albums that were thoroughly modern in sound and fierce in delivery. Cliff closed his account with Reprise in the new decade with 1981's "Give the People What They Want, and moved to Columbia. He formed a new backing band, Oneness, and embarked on a tour of the U.S. with Peter Tosh, there was also a fabulous performance at Reggae Sunsplash that year. 1983's The Power and the Glory inaugurated his partnership with Kool & the Gang, and the album was nominated for a Grammy. Its follow-up, Cliff Hanger, would win the award in 1985. However, 1989's Hanging Fire would be his last for Columbia, although the singer continued to release both singles and albums both in Jamaica and the U.K. During this period, Cliff also co-starred in the movie Club Paradise. He returned to the U.S. charts in 1993, when his cover of "I Can See Clearly Now," from the soundtrack for Cool Runnings, glided into the Top 20. More singles and albums have followed, and the singer remains a potent musical force. A comeback album of sorts, Black Magic, which featured duets with high profile stars like Sting, Joe Strummer, Wyclef Jean and others, appeared from Artemis Records in 2004. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Big Youth
Genre: International
Decades: 7680
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A man with a message, Big Youth arrived on the music scene in the wake of U-Roy, Dennis Alcapone, and I-Roy, but quickly established his own style, threatening to eclipse them all. The consummate cultural toaster, the DJ ruled the dancehalls across the '70s, and although his career flagged in the next decade, he returned with a vengeance in the... [+] Read More

A man with a message, Big Youth arrived on the music scene in the wake of U-Roy, Dennis Alcapone, and I-Roy, but quickly established his own style, threatening to eclipse them all. The consummate cultural toaster, the DJ ruled the dancehalls across the '70s, and although his career flagged in the next decade, he returned with a vengeance in the '90s, and continues to have an impact on both his own nation and beyond. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, on April 19, 1949, Manley Augustus Buchanan had his moniker long before he had picked up a mic. He was named Big Youth by his co-workers at the Kingston Sheraton hotel, where the tall teen was employed as a mechanic. Initially, he toasted to himself (the DJing equivalent of air guitar), but eventually he took the chance of picking up the mic at a few parties. The enthusiastic response he received prodded him to perform at dances, and by the late '60s, he had a small, but avid following. This fan base swiftly grew and as the new decade arrived, Big Youth was now DJing regularly at Lord Tipperton's sound system, quickly becoming the top DJ for the outfit.

By this point, U-Roy, Alcapone, and I-Roy had already made their vinyl debuts, but Big Youth would wait another year, finally releasing his first single in January 1972. He cut "Movie Man" for African Museum, Errol Dunkley and Gregory Isaacs' label, and the song fittingly utilized the rhythm to Dunkley's own "Movie Star." Surprisingly, the single was barely noticed; other producers had no better luck. "The Best Big Youth" (also known as "Black Cindy"), cut with Jimmy Radway, sank without a trace. Lee Perry did no better with "Moving," a version of the Wailers' "Keep on Moving." Producer Phil Pratt thought for sure his two cuts were chartward bound, but both "Tell It Black," a version of Dennis Brown's cover of "Black Magic Woman," and "Phil Pratt Thing," a sublime version of Derrick Harriott's "Riding for a Fall," followed its predecessors into oblivion. Even "Fire Bunn," produced by Niney Holness over his own smash "Blood & Fire" rhythm, failed to ignite the Jamaican buying public. The drought was finally broken by a young (just out of his teens) up and coming producer, Gussie Clarke. For "The Killer" single, he had the DJ toast over the rootsy Augustus Pablo number, and the result was magnificent. The pair followed it up with "Tippertone Rocking, another major hit. Big Youth was now in demand.

The ever-innovative producer Keith Hudson dragged a motorcycle into the studio to capture its revving engine for "S.90 Skank," a tribute to the popular Honda motorcycle, and roared Big Youth to the top of the Jamaican chart. Their follow-up, "Can You Keep a Secret," a duet between the toaster and his singing producer, did almost as well. In between times, Big Youth cut a pair of songs for Glen Brown, "Come Into My Parlour" and "Opportunity Rocks," the latter employing the popular "Dirty Harry" rhythm. Both were actually recorded the same day as "S.90 Skank." That same week, the DJ also cut a quartet of songs for Prince Buster: "Leggo Beast," "Cain and Abel," "Leave Your Skeng" (a version of "Get Ready"), and "Chi Chi Run" (cut over the rhythm of John Holt's "Rain From the Skies"). That latter track titled a various artists compilation that featured the DJ, a young acolyte Little Youth, a trio of top vocalists (Alton Ellis, John Holt, and Dennis Brown), all produced by Prince Buster.

Big Youth's own debut album, Screaming Target, arrived in 1973. Produced by Gussie Clarke, the album was stuffed with classic rhythms from the likes of Gregory Isaacs and Lloyd Parks, and filled with hits as well, including the magnificent title-track. The DJ seemed to have now glued himself to the chart and during that year, four of his songs, including "Screaming Target" (a version of K.C. White's "No No No" and Buster's "Chi Chi Run"), the Derrick Harriott-produced "Cool Breeze," and the Joe Gibbs-produced "A So We Stay" (a version of Dennis Brown's "Money in My Pocket"), sat proudly on the Jamaican Top 20 for the entire year. Gibbs notched up a total of three hits with Big Youth in 1973, along with the aforementioned single, there was also "Chucky No Lucky" and the topical "Forman Versus Frazier."

From boxing bouts to the "Facts of Life," a hit cut for Sonia Pottinger, Big Youth was the tops on any topic. He'd matured swiftly, from a barely understandable mumbler who exhorted the crowds with typical U-Roy or Alcapone-sque exhortations, to a more relaxed, conversational style. And it was this very ease of delivery -- relaxed, but so perfectly timed to the rhythms -- that had entranced the nation. In 1974, Big Youth launched his own label, Negusa Nagast, it was later followed by a second, Augustus Buchanan. The former's name was particularly telling and is Amharic (the Ethiopian language) for King of Kings. It announced a further shift in the DJ's performance toward a full-on cultural chanter/toaster. Negusa Nagast debuted with a quartet of the DJ's singles, "Hot Cross Bun," "Mr. Bunny," "Children Children," and most spectacularly of all, "Streets in Africa." This latter was a cover of War's "The World Is a Ghetto," and features Dennis Brown backed by the equally sonorous tones of the Heptones. Big Youth released his second album this same year, Reggae Phenomenon, and it was as phenomenal as its title suggested. It featured new songs (all chart-bound), remakes of earlier cuts, and smash hits like the title cut (another version of Dennis Brown's "Money in My Pocket") "Dread Inna Babylon," and "Natty Dread No Jester") (a version of the Paragons' "Only a Smile"). And the DJ's phenomenal chart success continued with producer after producer. Glen Brown scored with "Dubbie Attack," Tony Robinson oversaw the mighty "House of Dreadlocks" and "Mammy Hot and Daddy Cold," Buddy Davidson produced "Johnny Dead," while Yabby You sat behind the desk for the most seminal of them all, "Yabby Youth," the first of several versions the DJ would cut over the "Conquering Lion" rhythm.

Big Youth would again pair up with Dennis Brown for the Harry J.-produced "Wild Goose Chase." Niney Holness liked what he heard and kept the duo together for his "Ride on Ride On." The two would go on to record a stunning version of Bob Marley's "Get up Stand Up." Marley's version wasn't alone; besides toasting over classic rocksteady rhythms, Big Youth was now increasingly utilizing heavier roots rhythms. Most notable was "I Pray Thee," a version of the Abyssinians' "Satta Amasa Gana," which was another seminal smash hit, and the DJ also cut a version of Burning Spear's classic "Marcus Garvey." Two more Wailers' versions also appeared around this time, Marley's "Craven Choke Puppy" and Bunny Wailer's "Bide Up" became, respectively, "Craven Version" and "Black on Black."

In 1975, the Dreadlocks Dread album appeared, a seminal album overseen by Prince Tony Robinson and split between Big Youth's toasts and instrumental dubs. Accompanied by Skin, Flesh & Bones Band, the album remains a masterpiece of dread roots and provocative cultural toasts.

Dreadlocks Dread had a massive impact on the U.K., where it was picked up by the Klik label and prompted Big Youth to tour there the following year. 1976 brought two albums in its wake, Natty Cultural Dread and Hit the Road Jack, both self-produced by a self-confident Big Youth at the peak of his powers. Again the albums featured a clutch of Jamaican smashes -- "Ten Against One" and "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" amongst them -- and new numbers equally biting at the chart bit. Interestingly enough, Natty Cultural Dread also boasts "Every Nigger Is a Star," backed by the I-Threes making their recording debut. Also featured are some of Big Youth's surprising covers. In the past, he'd versioned Motown hits, Gene Pitney, Al Green, and Otis Redding, "Dock of the Bay" of course. Now along with the title-track, there was even "If I Had a Hammer." 1977 brought the masterful "Four Sevens," a clever version of Culture's "Two Sevens Clash." Produced by Niney Holness, the pair followed up with the provocative "Six Dead, 19 Gone to Jail."

Having now signed to the Frontline label in the U.K., Big Youth's debut album for the Virgin subsidiary was 1978's Isaiah First Prophet of Old, a fiercely roots record produced by D Russell. The DJ also had a cameo role in the movie Rockers. He's absolutely unmistakable, stepping out of a flash car and flashing a smile that shows off his front teeth embedded with red, yellow, and green jewels, as his long dreads whip around his face. But behind these eye-catching trappings was a thoughtful and thought-provoking DJ, as his records proved time and time again. 1978 also saw the release of the "Green Bay Killers" single, a fierce diatribe on the death of a group of rastafarians at the hands of the Jamaican army. Perhaps Big Youth was now seen as too radical for Virgin, and the label chose not to release the DJ's next two albums, Progress and Rock Holy. Nor did they pick up on the former's dub companion, the excellent Reggae Gi Dem Dub, remixed by the up and coming master Sylvan Morris. However, the toaster's grip on Jamaica was also beginning to loosen, and a new generation of chatterers were beginning to come to the fore.

Big Youth continued to record, but no longer ruled the charts, and most of his singles were now self-produced and released through his own labels. The Heartbeat labels' Some Great Big Youth collects up many of these late-'70s, early-'80s material; the label's follow-up collection, The Chanting Dread Inna Fine Style, concentrates on earlier Negusa Negast singles.

The increasing violence in the dancehalls prompted him back into the studio in 1982 for "No War in the Dance," cut for producer Lloyd Parks. He proved his popularity wasn't totally gone, with a steaming, hits-filled set at Reggae Sunsplash before an adoring audience that summer, giving a repeat performance the following year, and again in 1987. In 1985, Big Youth released a surprising new album, A Luta Continua, where he transformed from toaster to singer and roots rasta to jazzman, accompanied by Jamaican jazz hero Herbie Miller. However, 1988's Manifestation found the DJ regaining his footing, for a roots-drenched set split between excellent toasting and sub-quality singing. Two years later, Niney Holness brought Big Youth back into the studio and cut the remarkable "Chanting." The DJ also contributed a fierce "Free South Africa" to the One Man One Vote artists' album. Big Youth later performed at the Japansplash festival in Osaka, with his powerful set caught on 1991's Jamming in the House of Dread album. He reappeared with a vengeance at Reggae Sunsplash the following summer.

With his profile now the highest it had been in years, Big Youth guest-starred on Capleton's I Testament album, Mutabaruka's Gathering of the Spirits, and Creation Rebel's Feat of a Green Planet. In 1995, the DJ released his own new album, Higher Grounds; overseen by Junior Reid, it was an intriguing mixture of R&B, reggae, and other styles. Another powerful set at Reggae Sunsplash was delivered the following year. The new millennium saw the release in the U.K. of the compilation Tell It Black, a two-CD set that rounds up 31 seminal songs from 1972-1975. But that pales next to Natty Universal Dread, released by the British Blood & Fire label that same year. Three albums and a total of 51 tracks brilliantly wrap up the best from 1973-1979 and include a clutch of Negusa Negast singles that have never been reissued. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Yellowman
Genre: International
Decades: 7168
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Jamaica's first dancehall superstar, Yellowman ushered in a new era in reggae music following Bob Marley's death. His early-'80s success brought the popularity of toasting -- the reggae equivalent of rapping -- to a whole new level, and helped establish dancehall as the wave of the future. For better or for worse, he also epitomized dancehall's... [+] Read More

Jamaica's first dancehall superstar, Yellowman ushered in a new era in reggae music following Bob Marley's death. His early-'80s success brought the popularity of toasting -- the reggae equivalent of rapping -- to a whole new level, and helped establish dancehall as the wave of the future. For better or for worse, he also epitomized dancehall's penchant for "slack" lyrics -- that is, casual violence, sexism, homophobia, and general rudeness. Graphic sexuality was his particular forte, reaching levels of explicitness previously unheard in Jamaica. It brought him numerous detractors, but it was also a big reason for his early popularity. There was more to it than that, though; Yellowman was one of the most verbally nimble toasters of his time, with a loose, easy flow, a talent for improvisation, and a definite wit in his wordplay. Plus, all the boasting about his prowess on the mic or in the bedroom had to be over the top to be convincing: true to his stage name, Yellowman was an albino, which carries a tremendous social stigma in Jamaica. His rise to stardom was unlikely enough, but his transformation from untouchable outcast into sex symbol was staggering -- and may not even have taken place without his trademark lewdness. Shocking though it could be, it affirmed him as a sexual being just like his listeners, and was delivered with enough humor to let the audience know that he wasn't taking himself too seriously. Bouts with cancer pushed him into more thoughtful, socially conscious territory in the '90s, but his initial style remains the most influential, paving the way for countless dancehall toasters to follow.

Yellowman was born Winston Foster in Negril, Jamaica, in 1959 (some accounts say 1956). An early target for abuse because of his albinism, he grew up in an institution in Kingston, with little to keep him company besides music. Influenced by early toasting DJs like U-Roy, he practiced rhyming and got a job with the Gemini Sound System as a substitute DJ. Christening himself Yellowman and dressing in a bright yellow suit, he peppered his lyrics with jokes about his skin color and outlandish tales of his sexual conquests. In 1979, he won a landslide victory at the well-known Tastee Talent Contest, and within months he had become one of Jamaica's top concert draws, thanks to a dynamic, humorous stage show in which he often used the microphone to mimic his anatomical gifts.

Yellowman recorded prolifically in the early '80s, at one point flooding the Jamaican market with more than 40 singles. His first full-length album, Them a Mad Over Me, was recorded for Channel One in 1981 and featured the hit title track and the single "Me Kill Barnie," an answer record to Lone Ranger's hit "Barnabas Collins." He also scored with singles like "Operation Eradication" and the infamously slack "Shorties," which Peter Tosh condemned as degrading to women (hardly the first time such a criticism would be leveled at him). Despite this success, Yellowman didn't truly hit his stride on record until he hooked up with groundbreaking dancehall producer Henry "Junjo" Lawes. The 1982 LP Mister Yellowman kicked off their collaboration; released internationally by Greensleeves, it started to break him in the U.K. and U.S., and is still often acclaimed as his best album. It also launched a series of Jamaican hit singles over the next few years that included including "Yellowman Getting Married" (a rewrite of the My Fair Lady number "I'm Getting Married in the Morning"), "Mr. Chin," "Who Can Make the Dance Ram" (a rewrite of "The Candy Man"), "Zungguzungguguzungguzeng" (sampled by several hip-hop acts), "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," "Soldier Take Over," "Nobody Move Nobody Get Hurt," and "Wreck a Pum Pum," among others. Many of his recordings during this era featured vocal contributions from fellow DJ/toaster Fathead, whose specialty was punctuating lines with animal noises ("ribbit" and "oink" were his favorites).

After 1983's Zungguzungguguzungguzeng album, Yellowman signed a major-label deal with CBS Records, which encouraged him to maintain the stylistic versatility of his previous work. However, his lone album for the label, 1984's King Yellowman, sported mixed results, attempting everything from slack toasts to R&B and pop-tinged crossover tracks, including covers of "Sea Cruise" and "Take Me Home Country Roads," and the much-maligned fusion attempt "Disco Reggae." He subsequently released several albums on Shanachie, including 1984's Nobody Move Nobody Get Hurt, 1985's Galong Galong Galong, 1986's Going to the Chapel, and 1987's Don't Burn It Down. The latter found him delving more into social consciousness; the title cut was a pro-marijuana protest, while "Stop Beat Woman" condemned domestic violence, and "Free Africa" criticized apartheid. Around the same time, he suffered a bout with throat cancer, but fortunately recovered. He returned to action with the hit Fats Domino cover "Blueberry Hill," and moved to the Ras label to record the well-received Yellow Like Cheese album with producer Philip "Fatis" Burrell.

Yellowman's recording career continued apace, as his sexual boasts and gay jokes kept getting raunchier and nastier. His popularity had slipped after 1985, due in part to less consistent material, and also in part to the emergence of a legion of new dancehall artists, many of whom harked back to his early material for inspiration. Things changed, however, after an early-'90s bout with skin cancer. Greatly shaken after this second life-threatening illness, Yellowman completely rethought his approach to music, and thereafter devoted himself almost exclusively to spiritual and social concerns. 1994's Prayer album (still on Ras) was the first effort in this new direction, and it was followed quickly by Message to the World in 1995. 1997's Freedom of Speech continued in a similar vein, after which Yellowman switched over to the Artists Only label. His first effort was 1999's Yellow Fever, which concentrated on conscious reggae but also featured some good-natured party tracks. New York followed in 2003, and Round 1 in 2005. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Freddie McGregor
Genre: International
Decades: 7936
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Freddie McGregor is one of reggae's most durable and soulful singers, with an incredibly steady career that started all the way back in the '60s, when he was just seven years old. Since then, he's spanned nearly every stylistic shift in Jamaican music, from ska and rocksteady to Rastafarian roots reggae to lovers rock (his particular specialty)... [+] Read More

Freddie McGregor is one of reggae's most durable and soulful singers, with an incredibly steady career that started all the way back in the '60s, when he was just seven years old. Since then, he's spanned nearly every stylistic shift in Jamaican music, from ska and rocksteady to Rastafarian roots reggae to lovers rock (his particular specialty) to dabblings in dancehall, ragga, and dub. Not just a singer, he wrote some of his own material, and grew into an accomplished producer as well. McGregor's heyday was the early '80s, when he released several high-quality albums and reached the peak of his popularity in Jamaica and England. However, he remained a strong presence on the reggae scene well into the new millennium.

McGregor was born in Clarendon, Jamaica on June 27, 1956. At age seven, he started singing backup for a local ska harmony duo called the Clarendonians (naturally, with the nickname of Little Freddie McGregor). The Clarendonians recorded for producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's legendary Studio One label for a time, and when they split in the mid-'60s, McGregor teamed up with ex-member Ernest "Fitzroy" Wilson to form a new duo, Freddie and Fitzroy. They recorded several single sides, including "Why Did You Do It" and "Do Good and Good Will Follow You." McGregor stayed at Studio One for much of the '70s, working as a session drummer and backup singer while developing his own vocal style, which owed much to smooth, Philadelphia-style soul. He sang lead for groups like Generation Gap and Soul Syndicate, and also recorded off and on as a solo act during the '70s, though always in the singles medium. During this period, he began writing some of his own material, including songs like "Go Away Pretty Woman," "Tomorrow Is Like Today," and "What Difference Does It Make."

In 1975, McGregor converted to Rastafarianism, which had a profound impact on his music. Still with Studio One and working with Earl "Chinna" Smith, he recorded the classics "Rastaman Camp" and "I Am a Rasta" right off the bat, and followed them with a string of singles that substantially raised his profile in Jamaica: "Mark of the Beast," "Sergeant Brown," "Jogging," "Natural Collie," "Zion Chant," "Walls of Jericho," "Africa Here I Come," "Come Now Sister," and "Bobby Bobylon" among them. He issued his first album, Mr. McGregor, in 1977, under the auspices of producer Niney the Observer. Returning to Studio One, he offered his first LP for the label in 1980 with the classic Bobby Bobylon, which featured a mixture of new material and reworkings of older singles. The album was a smash hit in Jamaica, establishing McGregor as a budding star, and revitalizing Coxsone Dodd's production career. Around the same time, he started producing and arranging for other artists, most notably on Judy Mowatt's solo debut, Black Woman; he also worked with Johnny Osbourne and Jennifer Lara.

In 1981, McGregor scored a huge hit single with "Big Ship," which catapulted him to the front rank of reggae stars in the immediate post-Marley era, along with Dennis Brown and Gregory Isaacs. His next LP arrived in 1982, also titled Big Ship, and featured production by Linval Thompson and musical backing by the Roots Radics. It too was highly successful, both creatively and commercially. Signing with Ras for 1983's Come On Over, McGregor extended his creative hot streak to an international audience, making a name for himself in the U.K. and U.S. His 1984 follow-up Across the Border was a slightly poppier effort that contained his hit reggae cover of "Guantanamera." Continuing in this crossover vein, in hopes of surviving amid the dancehall revolution, McGregor released All in the Same Boat in 1986; it produced a major hit in "Push Come to Shove," which became his first U.K. chart entry. He sparked the interest of Polydor Records, and found further U.K. success with "That Girl" and a cover of the Main Ingredient's "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely," which made the U.K. Top Ten in 1987.

McGregor's relationship with Polydor proved short-lived, however, and he formed his own label, Big Ship, in 1989. The first release was an all-covers LP called Jamaican Classics, which was so well-received that he quickly recorded a second volume (and, eventually, a third in 1996). 1991's Now also featured several covers, and 1993's Legit was an equal-time collaboration with Dennis Brown and Cocoa Tea. Also in 1993, he had a hit with his lovers rock cover of Justin Hinds' "Carry Go Bring Come." 1994's Push On provided much of the foundation for what many would call his finest outside production work, Luciano's 1995 After All album (which featured the major hit "Shake It Up Tonight"). Also in 1995, McGregor issued his own Forever My Love, one of his more sentimental offerings.

After slowing his pace in the late '90s, McGregor returned in 2000 with the acclaimed Signature, which restored his typical balance of roots reggae and lovers rock with touches of dancehall. He followed it two years later with a similarly well-received album, the Grammy-nominated Anything for You. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Bob Marley & the Wailers
Genre: International
Decades: 0
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For marketing purposes, Bob Marley, the Wailers, and Bob Marley & the Wailers have become interchangeable names, used indiscriminately to refer to recordings actually made by separate entities. So, it is worth recalling the distinctions that existed at the times these entities performed and recorded. The Wailers, formed in Kingston, Jamaica, in... [+] Read More

For marketing purposes, Bob Marley, the Wailers, and Bob Marley & the Wailers have become interchangeable names, used indiscriminately to refer to recordings actually made by separate entities. So, it is worth recalling the distinctions that existed at the times these entities performed and recorded. The Wailers, formed in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1963, was a vocal group consisting of Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, Bunny Livingston, Bob Marley, Peter McIntosh, and Cherry Smith; they were called variously the Teenagers, the Wailing Rudeboys, the Wailing Wailers, and finally the Wailers. Braithwaite, Kelso, and Smith had departed by 1966, leaving the trio of Livingston, Marley, and McIntosh. By the early '70s, they had begun playing musical instruments and added a rhythm section consisting of brothers Aston "Family Man" Barrett (bass) and Carlton (Carlie) Barrett (drums). After recording extensively in Jamaica, this unit was signed to Great Britain's Island Records, which issued its label debut, Catch a Fire, in April 1973, followed by Burnin' in November. These albums attracted critical attention but did not chart at first.

By the time of Natty Dread (1974), the original group had split, with McIntosh (later billed as Peter Tosh) and Livingston (later billed as Bunny Wailer) leaving. The album was credited to Bob Marley & the Wailers, the group consisting of Marley, the Barretts, keyboard player Bernard "Touter" Harvey, and lead guitarist Al Anderson, with backing vocals by the I-Threes (Marcia Griffiths, Rita Marley, and Judy Mowatt). The breakthrough for this group was their appearance at the Lyceum in London on July 18, 1975. The show was recorded and quickly released on LP as Live!, and Marley and his reggae music became an international sensation. The success of Eric Clapton's cover of "I Shot the Sheriff," a Marley song from Burnin', in the summer of 1974, had done much to popularize reggae (the original version made the U.S. R&B charts that fall), but Marley himself now achieved stardom as a performer. "No Woman, No Cry," a song originally heard on Natty Dread, reached the U.K. charts in its live rendition in September 1975, becoming a Top 40 hit. With that, both Natty Dread and Live! reached the British charts. In the U.S., Natty Dread had charted in May; it was followed by Burnin' and Catch a Fire in the fall. (Live! was held back from U.S. release for a year; when it appeared, it charted in the Top 100.)

Bob Marley & the Wailers reached their commercial apex in the U.S. with the April 1976 release of their next studio album, Rastaman Vibration, which hit the Top Ten as "Roots, Rock, Reggae" became a minor pop chart entry and a Top 40 R&B hit. At this point, the group consisted of Marley, the Barretts, the I-Threes, keyboard player Tyrone Downie, percussionist Alvin "Seeco" Patterson, rhythm guitarist Earl "Chinna" Smith, and lead guitarist Donald Kinsey. Exodus, released in May 1977, found Marley & the Wailers taking a slightly more uptempo (and disco-influenced) direction; it produced three Top 40 chart hits in the U.K. ("Exodus," "Waiting in Vain," and the Top Ten "Jamming," backed by the non-LP "Punky Reggae Party") and became their first Top Ten album in Great Britain. In the U.S., it sold about as well as Rastaman Vibration, but the band began meeting resistance from category conscious radio programmers who couldn't figure out whether to slot it as rock or R&B. "Exodus" became a Top 20 R&B hit and "Waiting in Vain" made the R&B Top 40, but neither single charted pop. Once again, Marley had tinkered with the band's personnel, which for Exodus consisted of himself, the Barretts, the I-Threes, Downie, Patterson, and lead guitarist Julian (Junior) Marvin.

Kaya, the fourth studio album by Bob Marley & the Wailers, appeared in March 1978. In the U.K., it was the band's biggest success yet, reaching the Top Five, powered by the advance single "Is This Love," which was a Top Ten hit, and by the follow-up single "Satisfy My Soul," which reached the Top 40. But the story was far different in the U.S., where the album struggled. Black radio seemed to have decided that the band did not fit formats dominated by disco, while pop radio was increasingly attracted to new wave sounds and treated reggae as a fad that had passed. The double live album Babylon by Bus, released in November, which marked the return of Al Anderson and the addition of keyboard player Earl "Wire" or "Wya" Lindo, was a modest seller, again doing better in England than in America.

The fifth Bob Marley & the Wailers studio album, Survival, was released in October 1979. It reached the Top 20 in the U.K., with the single "So Much Trouble in the World" reaching the charts, but in the U.S. it sold only moderately well, though "Wake Up and Live" became a minor R&B chart entry. Uprising, released in June 1980 and prefaced by the propulsive single "Could You Be Loved," gave Marley a commercial rebound. Single and album were Top Ten hits in the U.K. The U.S. was more resistant, but "Could You Be Loved" reached the R&B charts and the album charted higher than any of the band's albums since Exodus. Uprising might have done better domestically if Marley had not become ill shortly after its release and been forced to cancel his tour promoting it after only a few dates. His death in May 1981 of course brought an end to the band known as Bob Marley & the Wailers, but it did not end his and the band's success. Even before his death, the back catalog began to sell, with a British single release of "Three Little Birds" from Exodus reaching the Top 20 in the fall of 1980. Shortly after Marley's death, "No Woman, No Cry" was reissued and reached the U.K. Top Ten, with Live! (retitled Live at the Lyceum) returning to the album chart. The posthumous album Confrontation was issued two years after Marley's death, in May 1983. Both its single, "Buffalo Soldier," and the LP made their way up the U.K. Top Five. In the U.S., the single made the R&B charts, and the album was another moderate seller.

But the album that really established the defunct band as an across-the-board sales success was the hits collection Legend -- The Best of Bob Marley & the Wailers, released in the U.K. three years after Marley's death, in May 1984, and in August in the U.S. The album topped the British charts with "One Love/People Get Ready," originally released on Exodus, becoming a Top Five single, "Waiting in Vain" returning to the Top 40, and "Could You Be Loved" returning to the charts. American chart statistics were not as spectacular, but the album became a perennial seller; before the end of the century, it had been certified for sales of ten million copies. Its success, in turn, stimulated sales of the Marley catalog in the U.S., and in the '90s Burnin', Live!, Rastaman Vibration, Exodus, Kaya, Uprising, and Confrontation all went gold, while Island continued to scale the charts with compilations such as Rebel Music (1986), Talkin' Blues (1991), and Natural Mystic (1995). Often, the focus was on Marley alone. For example, the 1992 four-CD box set Songs of Freedom, which included recordings dating back to the early '60s, was billed to Marley, not Marley & the Wailers, as was the 1999 chart album of newly created duets Chant Down Babylon. On the other hand, the many repackagers of '60s Wailers' recordings have long tended to credit their wares to Bob Marley & the Wailers even though the material was cut by the Livingston/McIntosh/Marley group, and Island has long credited reissues of Catch a Fire to Bob Marley & the Wailers (indeed, the initial U.S. release carried that credit). Thus, in practice, recordings by Bob Marley & the Wailers can refer to any music featuring Marley and made in the '60s, '70s, and '80s, though careful listeners will insist that the credit should apply only to the recordings and performances of Marley and his regular backup group from the breakup of the original Wailers trio in 1974 to Marley's death in 1981. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide [-] Hide