Winston Rodney OD, better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian and one of the most influential and long-standing roots artists to emerge from the 1970s.
James Chambers OM, known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievements in the arts and sciences.
Horace Andy is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", as well as "Angel", "Spying Glass" and "Five Man Army" with English trip hop duo Massive Attack. He is also famous for a cover version of "Ain't No Sunshine". Andy is often described as one of the most respected and influential singers in Jamaica.
The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music.
Errol Thompson, better known as "ET", was a record producer, audio engineer, and one of the first studio engineers to be involved in dub music.
Ernest Ranglin is a Jamaican guitarist and composer who established his career while working as a session guitarist and music director for various Jamaican record labels including Studio One and Island Records. Ranglin played guitar on many early ska recordings and helped create the rhythmic guitar style that defined the form. Ranglin has worked with Theophilus Beckford, Jimmy Cliff, Monty Alexander, Prince Buster, the Skatalites, Bob Marley and the Eric Deans Orchestra. He is noted for a chordal and rhythmic approach that blends jazz, mento and reggae with percussive guitar solos incorporating rhythm 'n' blues and jazz inflections.
Prince Far I was a Jamaican reggae deejay, producer and a Rastafarian. He was known for his gruff voice and critical assessment of the Jamaican government. His track "Heavy Manners" used lyrics against measures initiated towards violent crime.
Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lovers rock, a subgenre of reggae. Bob Marley cited Brown as his favourite singer, dubbing him "The Crown Prince of Reggae", and Brown would prove influential on future generations of reggae singers.
Showcase In A Suitcase is a reggae album comprising showcase format material produced by Prince Far I, and performed by Prince Far I, Ashanti Roy, The Wailing Souls, and Naggo Morris. The backing band throughout is the Roots Radics. The tracks on the album were taken from singles released on Prince Far I's Cry Tuff label, and remixed for inclusion on the album. The album reached number six in the UK Reggae Chart published by Sounds in December 1980.
The Roots Radics Band was formed in 1978 by bass player Errol "Flabba" Holt, guitarist Eric "Bingy Bunny" Lamont and drummer Lincoln "Style" Scott. They were joined by many musicians, including guitarist Noel "Sowell" Bailey, Dwight Pinkney and Steve Golding, keyboard player Wycliffe "Steelie" Johnson, Pianist Gladstone "Gladdy" Anderson and saxophonist Headley Bennett. As a combined force the Roots Radics became a well-respected studio and stage band, which dominated the sound in the first half of the 1980s. They supported artists like Bunny Wailer, Gregory Isaacs, Michael Prophet, Eek-A-Mouse, and Israel Vibration and have released several albums to their name as well. As an aside, the English word 'Radical' is derived from the Latin word 'Radix', which is the Latin word for 'Root'.
Kevin Mark Trail is a British R&B, soul, reggae and hip hop singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to fame by appearing on two tracks on The Streets debut album Original Pirate Material, including the hit single, "Let's Push Things Forward", which made the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart.
Christopher MacFarlane, better known as Macka B, is a British-born Jamaican reggae artist, performer and activist with a career spanning thirty years in the United Kingdom and Jamaica. According to AllMusic.com "Macka B was one of Britain's most influential dancehall DJs."
Rod Taylor, also known as Rocky T, is a reggae singer and producer.
Ansel Collins is a Jamaican musician, composer, singer, songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Dave Barker as Dave and Ansel Collins.
Keith Blake, better known as Prince Alla is a Jamaican roots reggae singer whose career began in the 1960s, and has continued with a string of releases into the 2000s.
Huford Brown, better known by the stage name U Brown, is a reggae deejay who released eleven albums between 1976 and 1984.
Right Time is the 1976 studio album debut of influential reggae band the Mighty Diamonds. The album, released by Virgin Records after they signed the Mighty Diamonds following a search for talent in Jamaica, is critically regarded as a reggae classic, a landmark in the roots reggae subgenre. Several of the album's socially conscious songs were hits in the band's native Jamaica, with a few becoming successful in the UK underground. Influential and sometimes unconventional, the album helped secure the success of recording studio Channel One Studios, and rhythm team Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare.
Front Line was a reggae subsidiary of Virgin Records established in 1978. Over forty albums were issued on the label before it folded in 1979.
Errol Holt, also known as Errol Carter and by his nickname Flabba, is a Jamaican bass guitar player who was a member of The Morwells and the Roots Radics and has played on hundreds of Jamaican albums.
Beris Simpson, better known as Prince Hammer, is a Jamaican reggae deejay, singer, and record producer.
