Wayne Jobson (born December 4, 1954), also known as Native Wayne, is a Jamaican record producer of European ancestry. He has worked with such artists as No Doubt, Gregory Isaacs and Toots & the Maytals. He hosts the weekly radio show "Alter Native" every Sunday afternoon on Indie 103.1. He previously hosted a similar radio show, "Reggae Revolution", at Indie's main competitor KROQ-FM. Jobson is also known as a musician. He recorded an album in 1977 produced by Lee 'Scratch' Perry at the Black Ark.
In the punk rock and post punk period in London, Jobson contributed some Discomixes to Jah Wobble's debut album, which featured a largely "guitar-free" sound, infused in reggae and punk-inspired dub." [1] [2] According to Trouser Press , Wobble "accentuates his reggae pretensions, fiddles with electronics and overdubbing and plays shadowy, threatening bass." [3]
Wayne Jobson also provided Jah Wobble with a Black Ark Discomix, which Wobble retitled "Dreadlock Don't Deal in Wedlock" , with Jah Wobble toasting over backing tracks provided to him by Wayne Jobson. The backing track Jobson provided was originally titled "Black Tracks," originally recorded by Lee Perry, September 1977 at Channel One Studios.
Born on Dec 4, 1954 in Jamaica, Wayne Jobson also known as "Native Wayne", is a Jamaican record producer and produces films, is a radio personality, host a syndicated radio show and a music historian. He grew up in the hills of St. Ann, just nine miles from ‘Nine Mile’ the birthplace of Bob Marley, Wayne started off with close ties to both reggae and the Marley family. Diki Jobson, a cousin started Island Records along with Chris Blackwell and managed Bob Marley and the Wailers, while another cousin, Diane Jobson was Marley's attorney.
After graduating high school in Jamaica, Jobson studied law at Kings College in London and received a Master of Laws in Entertainment Law. As both writer and producer of the documentary film “STEPPING RAZOR-RED X”, which follows the life story of Reggae legend, Peter Tosh, Wayne was awarded with a nomination for a Canadian Academy Award, a ‘Genie’, and won for “Best Documentary” at the Jamaican Film Festival in Jamaica.
In addition, he produced two “Behind the Music” episodes for Viacom's VH1. “Behind the Music” is considered the most successful music television show in recent history. Jobson produced both an episode on Peter Tosh and also on the life of Bob Marley which made history by being the first show to air for 90 minutes versus the standard one hour.
No stranger to successful films and television shows produced in Jamaica, Wayne assisted with the production of the Alec Baldwin/Meg Ryan Film “PRELUDE TO A KISS’ and helped put together the music for the most successful Jamaican film of all time, Disney's “COOL RUNNINGS” which was made for $14 million and grossed over $200 million, with its soundtrack going gold. He was also a part of putting together the ABC TV series “GOING TO EXTREMES” with “NORTHERN EXPOSURE” producers Falsey and Brand.
Wayne helped Adam Sandler put together the reggae soundtrack for his ’50 First Dates’ movie which went gold and was #1 on Billboard soundtrack charts.
As a Producer on NO DOUBT's multiplatinum album ‘ROCK STEADY’, Wayne/s singles ‘HEY BABY’ and ‘UNDERNEATH IT ALL’ both went to #1 in America and won him two Grammys, with the album reaching 25 million sold worldwide.
He has also produced two compilations for Polygram which spent 6 months at #1 on Billboard's reggae chart and sold over a half of a million copies.
A renowned artist himself, “Native Wayne” was spotted by Clive Davis’ Arista Records and was the first Reggae artist to be signed to the label. With his band, “NATIVE”, he recorded albums for Arista, RCA, Buddah, A&M and MCA Records. “NATIVE” opened shows for both reggae greats, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. NATIVE performed at its biggest show ever at the US Festival in California with David Bowie where the audience was over 300,000 people. He produced the critically acclaimed compilation “REGGAE BLITZ ALL STARS” which featured such artists as Maxi Priest, Toots and the Maytals, Third World, Black Uhuru, Big Mountain, Shabba Ranks and the Gregory Isaacs.
Wayne has recorded with and produced a wide range of artists including: Keith Richards of “THE ROLLING STONES”, Jimmy Cliff, Toots and the Maytals, Willie Nelson (playing guitar and putting together the ‘Countryman’ reggae album), Gregory Isaacs, 311, Thievery Corporation, Paris Hilton, Herb Alpert and Garth Brooks.
As a songwriter he has had his songs covered by such artists as Willie Nelson, Leon Robinson, Richie Stevens and Junior Reid. Wayne co-wrote with Jimmy Buffett, one of the songs on the Jimmy Buffett album “FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD” which entered the Billboard album charts at #5.
Diving into the world of radio, Wayne was both producer and DJ at the #1 modern rock station in the world, KROQ 106.7 FM in Los Angeles, on which he had the #1 reggae show in America, “REGGAE REVOLUTION” running for a seven-year period.
A longtime grammy member, Wayne has also worked as consultant to the Grammy Foundation, hosted P&E Wing events, and continues to be involved in Reggae Grammy nominations and submissions.
Jobson also produced a live album and DVD for Jamaican guitar legend Ernie Ranglin featuring Robbie Krieger (from the Doors), Elliot Easton (from the Cars) and No Doubt. This resulted in a film on the history of reggae music and Ernie Ranglin called ‘Roots of Reggae’ which was voted as one of the top films at the Flashpoint Film Festival in 2007 – Photo: Arthur Gorson “Native” Wayne was Program Director at XM Satellite Radio in Washington DC, the first nationwide, 24 hour, 7 day a week station in America. As program director and DJ for “The Joint”, Jobson helped to bring reggae to a national audience. When they launched the largest ($2 billion) radio operation on the planet in 2001, Wayne arranged for Bob Marley's ‘One Love’ to be the first song ever to be broadcast.
Wayne worked as consultant and DJ with Jimmy Buffett on his Radio Margaritaville, which can be heard on Sirius Satellite Radio.
Wayne also worked as a consultant to Napster to develop their Reggae and World Music Department.
Wayne is presently a producer and DJ at modern rock powerhouse Indie 103.1 Radio in Los Angeles which Rolling Stone describes as ‘the best station in America’
As producer and remixer, Wayne's recent project include Gavin Rossdale (Bush), Salvador Santana (Carlos's son), OAR (Atlantic Records), Long Beach Dub Allstars (Sublime), Brand New Heavies, The Doors, Jason Mraz, Maroon 5, No Doubt, Garbage, Shaggy and Magic.
Wayne is developing a feature film on the life of reggae legend Peter Tosh with Academy Award-winning director Kevin Mcdonald.
Wayne is currently working with Academy Award-winning director Daniel Junge on the Alpha documentary about the famous music school in Jamaica.
The recordings were released in a CD format in 2007.
He won two grammies w No Doubt as executive producer for the songs "Hey Baby" and "Underneath it All" from the Rock Steady Album. On the same album Wayne Jobson also was executive producer for "Underneath it All" which was a nominee for a Grammy. Wayne Jobson also has made the following documentaries. 1992 Stepping Razor: Red X (Documentary) (co-executive producer) 2006 Roots of Reggae: The Ernest Ranglin Story (Video documentary short) (producer)
Island Records is a Jamaican multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another label recently acquired by PolyGram, were both at the time the largest independent record labels in history, with Island having exerted a major influence on the progressive music scene in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. Island Records operates four international divisions: Island US, Island UK, Island Australia, and Island France. Current key people include Island US president Darcus Beese, and MD Jon Turner. Partially due to its significant legacy, Island remains one of UMG's pre-eminent record labels.
Ewart Beckford OD, known by the stage name U-Roy, was a Jamaican vocalist and pioneer of toasting. U-Roy was known for a melodic style of toasting applied with a highly developed sense of timing.
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.
Leslie Kong was a Jamaican reggae producer.
Lowell Fillmore "Sly" Dunbar is a Jamaican drummer, best known as one half of the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and reggae production duo Sly and Robbie.
Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell OJ is a Jamaican-British former record producer and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels." According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to which Blackwell was inducted in 2001, he is "the single person most responsible for turning the world on to reggae music." Variety describes him as "indisputably one of the greatest record executives in history," while Barron's has described him as "a contender for most interesting man in the world."
Frederick Nathaniel "Toots" Hibbert, was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist for the reggae and ska band Toots and the Maytals. A reggae pioneer, he performed for six decades and helped establish some of the fundamentals of reggae music. Hibbert's 1968 song "Do the Reggay" is widely credited as the genesis of the genre name reggae. His band's album True Love won a Grammy Award in 2005.
Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separately in Jamaica as professional musicians. Shakespeare died in December 2021 following kidney surgery.
Tilmann Otto, better known by his stage name Gentleman, is a German reggae musician.
Marcia Llyneth Griffiths is a Jamaican singer. One reviewer described her by noting "she is known primarily for her strong, smooth-as-mousse love songs and captivating live performances".
Junior Marvin, also known as Junior Marvin-Hanson, Junior Hanson,Junior Kerr, and Julian Junior Marvin, is a Jamaican-born guitarist and singer best known for his association with Bob Marley and The Wailers. He started his career as Junior Hanson with the band Hanson in 1973. Marvin has also been associated with Gass, Keef Hartley Band, Toots & the Maytals and Steve Winwood.
Beverley's was a Jamaican record label active between 1961 and 1971, owned by the record producer Leslie Kong. Beverley's was essential to the development of ska and rocksteady into reggae. The label launched the careers of Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley, having released Cliff's first recording "Dearest Beverley" in 1961 and Marley's early singles "Judge Not" and "One Cup of Coffee" in 1962.
Karl Pitterson is a Jamaican record producer and sound engineer.
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.
Funky Kingston is the name of two albums by Jamaican reggae group Toots and the Maytals. The first was issued in Jamaica and the United Kingdom in 1973 on Dragon Records, a subsidiary label of Island Records, owned by Chris Blackwell. A different album, with the same cover and title, was issued in the United States in 1975 on Mango Records. That album was compiled from three previous Maytals albums by Island Records employee Danny Holloway and peaked at #164 on the Billboard 200. It was also voted the eleventh best album of 1975 in the annual Jazz & Pop poll. In 2003, the American version was placed at number 378 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, 380 in a 2012 revised list and 344 in a 2020 revised list.
John Masouri is a journalist, author, reviewer and historian for Jamaican music and several of its musical offshoots including dub, roots and dancehall. He is one of the world's foremost reggae music journalist and has worked extensively over it.
Andrew Tosh is a Jamaican reggae singer and the son of Peter Tosh. He is the nephew of reggae singer Bunny Wailer, also an original member of the Wailers. Andrew has a strong vocal resemblance to his late father and like his father, rides the unicycle.
Donald Kinsey was an American guitarist and singer, best known as a member of the Word Sound and Power Band, the reggae backing group for Peter Tosh.
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.
Paul Douglas is a Jamaican musician, 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."