Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the word "reggae", effectively naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience. While sometimes used in a broad sense to refer to most types of popular Jamaican dance music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that was strongly influenced by traditional mento as well as American jazz and rhythm and blues, and evolved out of the earlier genres ska and rocksteady. Reggae usually relates news, social gossip, and political commentary. It is instantly recognizable from the counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat and the offbeat rhythm section. The immediate origins of reggae were in ska and rocksteady; from the latter, reggae took over the use of the bass as a percussion instrument.
Osibisa are a Ghanaian-British highlife band founded in London in the early 1960s by four expatriate West African and three Caribbean musicians.
Bob Marley and the Wailers were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer.
Gregory Anthony Isaacs OD was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in The New York Times, described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae".
The Upsetters was the name given to the house band for Jamaican reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. The name of the band comes from Perry's nickname of Upsetter, after his song "I Am the Upsetter", a musical dismissal of his former boss Coxsone Dodd.
Junior Murvin was a Jamaican reggae musician. He is best known for the single "Police and Thieves", produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry in 1976.
The Heptones are a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae vocal trio most active in the 1960s and early 1970s. They were one of the more significant trios of that era, and played a major role in the gradual transition between ska and rocksteady into reggae with their three-part harmonies. The Heptones were contemporaries of the Wailers and the Maytals, and every bit their equal in the mid-1960s.
Earl "Chinna" Smith, a.k.a. Earl Flute and Melchezidek the High Priest, is a Jamaican guitarist active since the late 1960s. He is most well known for his work with the Soul Syndicate band and has recorded with many reggae artists, appearing on more than 500 albums.
Robert Nesta Marley was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements of reggae, ska, and rocksteady, as well as his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Marley's contributions to music increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide, and made him a global figure in popular culture to this day. Over the course of his career, Marley became known as a Rastafari icon, and he infused his music with a sense of spirituality. He is also considered a global symbol of Jamaican music and culture and identity, and was controversial in his outspoken support for democratic social reforms. In 1976, Marley survived an assassination attempt in his home, which was thought to be politically motivated. He also supported legalization of marijuana, and advocated for Pan-Africanism.
The Twinkle Brothers are a Jamaican reggae band formed in 1962, and still active in the 21st century under Norman Grant's lead.
The Meditations are a reggae vocal harmony group from Jamaica formed in late 1974. They have released several studio albums and are still performing in the 2000s and today.
Jah Roots were a reggae band from Springfield, Missouri. The band was active from 2001 to 2009. They released several albums under the independent label GanJah Records, with a local and international following. Jah Roots broke up in 2009. Since then, lead singer Josh Heinrichs has established a successful solo career.
Pamela Agatha Nestor is a former singer, songwriter and actress who was active in the entertainment industry in the 1960s and 1970s. She left the music industry in 1979 and in later life took to academic pursuits, gaining a doctorate in 2009 from Birkbeck College, University of London.
Black Prophet, born Kenneth Wilberforce Zonto Bossman on 3 April 1977 in Accra, Ghana, is a Ghanaian reggae music composer and a member of the Rastafari movement.
Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad is an American reggae and jam band from Rochester, New York, founded in 2001 and known for their live performances and authentic roots reggae and dub sound.
Natural Vibrations,, is a reggae band originally from Kahalu'u, Oahu, Hawaii, based out of San Diego, California with rock and pop influences. The band has received several awards at the Hawaii Music Awards and three Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.
FC Apatride UTD is a Roots Reggae band from Belgrade city. The band was born in a ravaged country as a response to the neo-colonial atmosphere in political, economic and cultural trends dominating all fields of life in the Balkans, in the aftermath of the imperialist intervention. Using reggae music as a rebellious means of expression, the band addresses the issues of importance in neo-colonies from the Marxist perspective, and links art to actual class struggles on the ground, involving anti-xenophobia, shelter for refugees, anti-NATO shows, boycott of the bourgeois media etc. Signed for a Parisian label Makasound, the band released two albums before moving to British label Urban Sedated Records.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Bob Marley:
Earl “Paul” Douglas is a Jamaican Grammy Award-winning drummer and percussionist, best known for his work as the drummer, percussionist and bandleader of Toots and the Maytals. His career spans more than five decades as one of reggae's most recorded drummers. Music journalist and reggae historian David Katz wrote, “dependable drummer Paul Douglas played on countless reggae hits."
Kerida Shushana Johnson, known professionally as Hempress Sativa, is a contemporary reggae singer and songwriter from Jamaica. Her music aligns with the roots reggae tradition with variants of hip hop, afrobeats and R&B.
