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.
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. Despite the name, rocksteady is not directly related to rock.
Natty Dread is the seventh album by Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in 1974. Previously Marley had recorded with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer as the Wailers, and this was his first record without them.
Neville Eugenton Staple is a Jamaica-born English singer for the 2-tone ska band The Specials as well as his own band, The Neville Staple Band. He also sang with Ranking Roger in Special Beat.
Desmond Dekker was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group The Aces, he had one of the earliest international reggae hits with "Israelites" (1968). Other hits include "007 " (1967), "It Mek" (1969) and "You Can Get It If You Really Want" (1970).
Bob Marley and the Wailers were a Jamaican reggae band led by Bob Marley. It developed from the earlier ska vocal group, The Wailers, created by Peter Tosh, Marley and Bunny Wailer in 1963. By late 1963 singers Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith had joined on. By the early 1970s, Marley and Bunny Wailer had learned to play some instruments and brothers Aston "Family Man" Barrett (bass) and Carlton Barrett (drums), had joined the band. After Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh left the band in 1974, Marley began touring with new band members as Bob Marley and the wailers. His new backing band included the Barrett brothers, Junior Marvin and Al Anderson on lead guitar, Tyrone Downie and Earl "Wya" Lindo on keyboards, and Alvin "Seeco" Patterson on percussion. The "I Threes", consisting of Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths, and Marley's wife, Rita, provided backing vocals.
Live! is a 1975 album by Bob Marley and the Wailers which was recorded live in concert during July 1975 at the Lyceum Theatre, London. "No Woman, No Cry" was released as a single.
Soul Revolution is an album by Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry and the Wailers. A "dub" version with the vocals removed was released as Soul Revolution Part II. In 1988 both versions were released as one set.
Marcus Garvey is the third album by the reggae group Burning Spear, released in 1975 on Fox Records in Jamaica and then internationally on Island Records later in the year. The album is named after the Jamaican National Hero and Rastafari movement prophet Marcus Garvey. A dub version of it was released four months later as Garvey's Ghost.
Heartbeat Records is an independent record label based in Burlington, Massachusetts. The label specializes in Jamaican music.
The Best of the Wailers is the fourth studio album by The Wailers, released in August 1971. Despite its title, it is not a compilation album. The album was recorded in 1969–1970 but only released in 1971.
Aston Francis Barrett, often called "Family Man" or "Fams" for short, is a Jamaican musician and Rastafarian.
The Gladiators are a Jamaican roots reggae band, most popular during the 1970s. The core was Albert Griffiths, Clinton Fearon and Gallimore Sutherland. The two most famous albums are Trenchtown Mix Up (1976) and Proverbial Reggae (1978) with songs such as "Hearsay", "Jah Works", "Dreadlocks the Time is Now". "Mix Up", "Music Makers from Jamaica", and "Soul Rebel" – a song written by The Wailers. Gladiators also cooperated with the toaster U-Roy.
Blackheart Man is the debut album by Bunny Wailer, originally released on 8 September 1976, in Jamaica on Solomonic Records and internationally on Island Records.
Robert Nesta Marley, was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and musician. 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 for over a decade. 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 the legalization of marijuana, while he also advocated for Pan-Africanism.
Africa Unite: The Singles Collection is a compilation album written and performed by the band Bob Marley and the Wailers. The album contains singles from 1970–1984 and includes three remix track with special guests will.i.am, Eric Clapton and Ashley Beedle.
Cry Tough is a 1993 collection of Alton Ellis recordings from the rocksteady era of 1966-1968. It was released in 1993 by Heartbeat Records, and features the pick of Ellis' work for Arthur "Duke" Reid, plus some tracks produced by Sonia Pottinger. The album contains most of Ellis' original Mr. Soul of Jamaica album, and contains the same tracks as the 1973 Greatest Hits compilation on Count Shelly Records, plus eight additional tracks. Several of the tracks are alternate takes of some of his biggest hits from the era. The backing band is the Treasure Isle studio band of the time, Tommy McCook and the Supersonics. The album was included in the Rough Guides book Reggae: 100 Essential CDs.
Time Will Tell: A Tribute to Bob Marley is an album by Bunny Wailer, released through Shanachie Records in 1990. In 1991, the album won Wailer the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Recording.
This Is Reggae Music: The Golden Era 1960-1975 is a reggae retrospective anthology issued as a 4-CD box set in 2001 by Trojan Records. The anthology, which was compiled by Colin Escott and Bas Hartong, is arranged in chronological order and features tracks by various artists, starting with mento and ska from first half of the 1960s, then progressing to the slower rhythms of rocksteady and reggae, which emerged later the decade, continuing into the 1970s. Several of the acts featured are Derrick Morgan, Desmond Decker& the Aces, Toots & the Maytals, Jimmy Cliff, and Bob Marley and the Wailers.
