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.
Ska is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the off beat. It was developed in Jamaica in the 1960s when Stranger Cole, Prince Buster, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, and Duke Reid formed sound systems to play American rhythm and blues and then began recording their own songs. In the early 1960s, ska was the dominant music genre of Jamaica and was popular with British mods and with many skinheads.
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the post-punk and new wave movements that emerged in the wake of punk and employed elements of a variety of genres including reggae, dub, funk, ska, and rockabilly. For most of their recording career, the Clash consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Joe Strummer, lead guitarist and vocalist Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simonon, and drummer Nicky "Topper" Headon.
The music of Jamaica includes Jamaican folk music and many popular genres, such as mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub music, dancehall, reggae fusion and related styles.
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 reggae 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.
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish reggae, including harmony groups such as the Techniques, the Paragons, the Heptones and the Gaylads; soulful singers such as Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, Bob Andy, Ken Boothe and Phyllis Dillon; musicians such as Jackie Mittoo, Lynn Taitt and Tommy McCook. The term rocksteady comes from a popular (slower) dance style mentioned in the Alton Ellis song "Rocksteady", that matched the new sound. Some rocksteady songs became hits outside Jamaica, as with ska, helping to secure the international base reggae music has today.
The Long Beach Dub Allstars are an American dub/ska/reggae rock band formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2002, but reformed 10 years later.
Studio One is one of Jamaica's most renowned record labels and recording studios; it has been described as the Motown of Jamaica. The record label was involved with most of the major music movements in Jamaica during the 1960s and 1970s, including ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub and dancehall.
Michael Rose is a Grammy award-winning reggae singer from Jamaica. He is most widely known for a successful tenure as the lead singer for Black Uhuru from 1977 to 1984, followed by a lengthy solo career. He has been praised as "one of Jamaica's most distinguished singers" and for launching a distinctive form of reggae singing that originated in his home neighborhood of Waterhouse in Kingston.
The Dangermen Sessions, Vol. 1 is a cover album and the eighth studio album by the British ska band Madness, released in 2005. The album reached No. 11 in the UK which at the time was their highest chart position in the UK since 1984's Keep Moving.
"Clash City Rockers" is a song by English rock band the Clash. It was first released in February 1978 as a single with the B-side "Jail Guitar Doors", the latter a re-worked version of a song from Joe Strummer's pub rock days. "Clash City Rockers" was the second of three non-album singles released between the group's eponymous first album in 1977 and their second album, Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978). It was later included as the opening track of the belated US version of the band's debut album.
The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many other Jamaican artists who recorded during that period, including Bob Marley & The Wailers, on their first single "Simmer Down." They reformed in 1983 and have played together ever since.
Andru Branch is a Canadian reggae musician. He is the lead singer-songwriter of the reggae band Andru Branch & Halfway Tree. He was nominated for a Juno Award for his debut 1998 album What If I Told You.
"The Harder They Come" is a reggae song by the Jamaican singer Jimmy Cliff. It was first recorded for the soundtrack of the 1972 movie of the same name, in which it is supposed to have been written by the film's main character, Ivanhoe Martin.
Boom One Records is an independent record label that specializes in reggae, dub, dubtronica, cumbia, and ragga jungle. Based in North Carolina, Boom One Records was founded in 2007 by Peter Brown and Justin Butler. In addition to music publishing, Boom One Records is also involved in artist tour and concert promotion.
Jay Douglas is a Canadian musician, based in Toronto. He is a long-time member of the Toronto music scene.
Fujahtive is an eight piece reggae band based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The band was known for their powerful, horn section-driven brand of reggae during their live performances in Toronto and tours across Canada throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. Fujahtive's second album, The Sound, received a nomination for Best Reggae Recording at the 1995 Juno Awards.
Dubmatix is a Canadian reggae and electronic music artist and producer based in Toronto, Ontario. He has won a number of Juno Awards.
Clifton "Jackie" Jackson is a Jamaican bass player, who was an important session musician on ska, rocksteady and reggae records in the 1960s and 1970s, and later a member of Toots and the Maytals.
Bumpin Uglies is an American punk reggae band from Annapolis, Maryland.
