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.
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.
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.
Prince Far I was a Jamaican reggae deejay and producer, and a Rastafarian. He was known for his gruff voice and critical assessment of the Jamaican government. His track "Heavy Manners" used lyrics about government measures initiated at the time against violent crime.
Long Life is a reggae album by Prince Far I, released in 1978 through Front Line. "Black Starliner Must Come" is about Marcus Garvey's Black Star Line.
Free from Sin is a 1979 reggae album by Prince Far I. It was produced by Prince Far I and engineered by Sylvan Morris & Errol Brown.
Jamaican Heroes is a 1980 reggae album by Prince Far I. The musicians included Roots Radics and The Flying Lizards. The album was mixed by Anthony "Crucial Bunny" Graham at Studio One, Jamaica. The cover was designed by Jill Mumfield.
Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Chapter 3 is a 1980 reggae album by Prince Far I & the Arabs. The album was originally released on vinyl in 1980 on the London-based Daddy Kool label, and was reissued on CD in 1996 by Pressure Sounds.
Pressure Sounds is a British DIY record label, specialising in releasing reggae music. Run by Pete Holdsworth, it is one of the most enduring reggae labels in the UK, specialising in reissuing obsolete tunes. It was originally a subsidiary of On-U Sound.
The Roots Radics Band was formed in 1978 by bass player Errol "Flabba" Holt, guitarist Eric "Bingy Bunny" Lamont and drummer Lincoln "Style" Scott. The nucleus of Holt and Lamont had previously worked together in the group The Morwells and in the backing band for Prince Far I called The Arabs. 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. In addition to their own catalogue, they have worked with artists such as Bunny Wailer, Gregory Isaacs, Michael Prophet, Eek-A-Mouse, and Israel Vibration.
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 as guitarist for Bob Marley & the Wailers, among others, and has recorded with many reggae artists, appearing on more than 500 albums.
Carlton "Santa" Davis is a musician from Jamaica, primarily known for his drumming with bands such as Bob Marley & The Wailers, The Aggrovators, Soul Syndicate and Roots Radics. He has worked with reggae artists such as Jimmy Cliff, Black Uhuru, Burning Spear, Big Youth, The Wailers, Peter Tosh, Andrew Tosh, Wailing Souls, Ini Kamoze, Big Mountain, Michael Rose, and Ziggy Marley.
Soul Syndicate, originally called the Rhythm Raiders, were one of the top reggae session bands in Jamaica from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s.
Eric Lamont, better known as Bingy Bunny, was a Jamaican guitarist and singer who recorded with the Roots Radics and The Morwells as well as recording solo material. He is regarded as one of Jamaica's most important and innovative guitarists.
Black Roots is a 1979 album by Sugar Minott. It was the first to appear on Minott's Black Roots label, and was described in the book Reggae: 100 Essential CDs – The Rough Guide as a "classic, which catches the singer on the cusp of the roots and dancehall phases, and with total control over his music." The album includes contributions from some of Jamaica's top session musicians including Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, Noel "Scully" Simms, Eric "Bingy Bunny" Lamont, Gladstone Anderson, Larry 'Professor Bassie' Silvera and Ansell Collins, with harmony vocals provided by Don Carlos, Lacksley Castell and Ashanti Waugh. Two of the tracks on the album had previously been issued as singles – "Hard Time Pressure" and "River Jordan". The album was described by Dave Thompson in his book Reggae & Caribbean Music as a "deeply dread collection...time has bestowed a stately uniqueness to it". Alex Henderson, writing for AllMusic, said of the album: "If you combined Stax's raw production style with the type of sweetness that characterized a lot of Chicago, Detroit and Philadelphia soul and added a reggae beat, the outcome might sound something like Black Roots."
Errol Holt, also known as Errol Carter and by his nickname Flabba, is a Jamaican bass guitar player and a singer who was a member of The Morwells and the Roots Radics and has played on hundreds of Jamaican albums.
Roydel Anthony Johnson, better known as Congo Ashanti Roy is a Jamaican reggae singer best known as a member of The Congos but who also recorded solo and as a member of Ras Michael's Sons of Negus.
Eric "Fish" Clarke is a Jamaican drummer who has been a member of the Roots Radics and Prince Far I's backing band, The Arabs.
Lincoln Valentine Scott, better known as Style Scott, was a Jamaican reggae drummer, famous for playing in the Roots Radics and, later, with Dub Syndicate. He also recorded and performed with Prince Far I, Bunny Wailer, Scientist and Creation Rebel.
Neville O'Riley Livingston, known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he is considered one of the longtime standard-bearers of reggae music. He was also known as Jah B, Bunny O'Riley, and Bunny Livingston.
