color	white
bgcolor	#FF8020
name	Ska
stylistic origins	Jamaican mento and calypso; American jazz and rhythm and blues
cultural origins	Late 1950s Jamaica
instruments	Guitar, bass guitar, trumpet, trombone, saxophone, piano, drums, organ
popularity	Highest in early 1960s; wide popularity in Jamaica & notable popularity in United Kingdom; notable revivals in 1970s/1980s UK and late-1990s North America
derivatives	Rocksteady, reggae
fusiongenres	2 Tone, ska punk, ska jazz, Oi!
regional scenes	Japan, Australia
other topics	Third wave ska, list of ska musicians, rude boy, mod, skinhead, Suedehead }}

Ska (, Jamaican ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. It is characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the upbeat. In the early 1960s, ska was the dominant music genre of Jamaica and was popular with British mods. Later it became popular with many skinheads.

Music historians typically divide the history of ska into three periods: the original Jamaican scene of the 1960s (First Wave), the English 2 Tone ska revival of the late 1970s (Second Wave) and the third wave ska movement, which started in the 1980s (Third Wave) and rose to popularity in the US in the 1990s.

Etymology

There are different theories about the origins of the word ''ska''. Ernest Ranglin claimed that the term was coined by musicians to refer to the "skat! skat! skat!" scratching guitar strum. Another explanation is that at a recording session in 1959 produced by Coxsone Dodd, double bassist Cluett Johnson instructed guitarist Ranglin to "play like ska, ska, ska", although Ranglin has denied this, stating "Clue couldn't tell me what to play!" A further theory is that it derives from Johnson's word ''skavoovie'', with which he was known to greet his friends. Jackie Mittoo insisted that the musicians themselves called the rhythm ''Staya Staya'', and that it was Byron Lee who introduced the term 'ska'.

Ernest Ranglin described the difference between the R&B; and the ska beat is that the former goes "''chink''-ka" and the latter goes "ka-''chink''".

History

After World War II, Jamaicans purchased radios in increasing numbers and were able to hear rhythm and blues music from Southern United States cities such as New Orleans by artists such as Fats Domino and Louis Jordan.

The stationing of American military forces during and after the war meant that Jamaicans could listen to military broadcasts of American music, and there was a constant influx of records from the US. To meet the demand for that music, entrepreneurs such as Prince Buster, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, and Duke Reid formed sound systems. As jump blues and more traditional R&B; began to ebb in popularity in the early 1960s, Jamaican artists began recording their own version of the genres. The style was of bars made up of four triplets but was characterized by a guitar chop on the off beat - known as an upstroke or skank - with horns taking the lead and often following the off beat skank and piano emphasizing the bass line and, again, playing the skank. Drums kept 4/4 time and the bass drum was accented on the 3rd beat of each 4-triplet phrase. The snare would play side stick and accent the third beat of each 4-triplet phrase. The upstroke sound can also be found in other Caribbean forms of music, such as mento and calypso.

One theory about the origin of ska is that Prince Buster created it during the inaugural recording session for his new record label Wild Bells. The session was financed by Duke Reid, who was supposed to get half of the songs to release. However, he only received one, which was by trombonist Rico Rodriguez. Among the pieces recorded were "They Got to Go", "Oh Carolina" and "Shake a Leg". According to reggae historian Steve Barrow, during the sessions, Prince Buster told guitarist Jah Jerry to "change gear, man, change gear." The guitar began emphasizing the second and fourth beats in the bar, giving rise to the new sound. The drums were taken from traditional Jamaican drumming and marching styles. To create the ska beat, Prince Buster essentially flipped the R&B; shuffle beat, stressing the offbeats with the help of the guitar. Prince Buster has explicitly cited American rhythm & blues as the origin of ska, specifically Willis Jackson's song "Later for the Gator", "Oh Carolina", and "Hey Hey Mr. Berry".

The first ska recordings were created at facilities such as Studio One and WIRL Records in Kingston, Jamaica with producers such as Dodd, Reid, Prince Buster, and Edward Seaga. The ska sound coincided with the celebratory feelings surrounding Jamaica's independence from the UK in 1962; an event commemorated by songs such as Derrick Morgan's "Forward March" and The Skatalites' "Freedom Sound." Because the newly-independent Jamaica didn't ratify the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works until 1994 copyright was not an issue, which created a large number of cover songs and reinterpretations. Jamaican musicians such as The Skatalites often recorded instrumental ska versions of popular American and British music, such as Beatles songs, Motown and Atlantic soul hits, movie theme songs, or surf rock instrumentals. Bob Marley's band The Wailers covered the Beatles' "And I Love Her", and radically reinterpreted Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone".

Byron Lee & the Dragonaires performed ska with Prince Buster, Eric "Monty" Morris, and Jimmy Cliff at the 1964 New York World's Fair. As music changed in the United States, so did ska. In 1965 and 1966, when American soul music became slower and smoother, ska changed its sound accordingly and evolved into rocksteady. However, rocksteady's heyday was brief, peaking in 1967. By 1968, ska evolved again into reggae.

2 Tone

The 2 Tone genre, which began in the late 1970s in the areas in and around the city of Coventry in England, was a fusion of Jamaican ska rhythms and melodies with punk rock's more aggressive guitar chords and lyrics. Compared to 1960s ska, 2 Tone music had faster tempos, fuller instrumentation and a harder edge. The genre was named after 2 Tone Records, a record label founded by Jerry Dammers of The Specials. In many cases, the reworking of classic ska songs turned the originals into hits again in the United Kingdom.

The 2 Tone movement promoted racial unity at a time when racial tensions were high in the UK. There were many Specials songs that raised awareness of the issues of racism, fighting and friendship issues. Riots in British cities were a feature during the summer that The Specials song "Ghost Town" was a hit, although this work was in a slower, Reggae beat. Most of the 2 Tone bands had multiracial lineups, such as The Beat (known as English Beat in North America and the British Beat in Australia), The Specials, and The Selecter. Although only on the 2 Tone label for one single, Madness was one of the most effective bands at bringing the 2 Tone genre into the mainstream.

Third wave

By the early 1980s, 2-Tone's influence began to spread internationally and ska bands started forming in the United States and other countries. The Uptones from Berkeley, California and The Toasters from New York City - both formed in 1981 - were among the first active ska bands in North America, often credited for laying the groundwork for American ska and establishing scenes in their respective regions.

The Uptones jumpstarted the San Francisco Bay Area ska scene in 1981 when the band, consisting of Berkeley High School students, began to play sold-out shows throughout the area for seven years. Their 1984 self-titled record was released on Howie Klein's 415 label. The Uptones' punk-influenced ska has been cited as inspiring California bands Operation Ivy, Rancid, and Sublime.

The Toasters played in a 2 Tone-influenced style and helped pave the way for the third wave ska movement. In 1981, The Toasters' frontman Robert "Bucket" Hingley created Moon Ska Records, which became the biggest American ska record label.

While many of the early American ska bands continued in the musical traditions set by 2-Tone and the mod revival, bands such as Fishbone, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Operation Ivy pioneered the ska punk subgenre, a fusion of ska and punk rock which typically downplayed ska's R&B; influence in favor of faster tempos and guitar distortion.

Orange County, California had one of the biggest and most influential third wave ska scenes, which started in the early 1990s. For about a decade, Orange County was the starting point for many successful third wave ska bands. Some of these bands had a great deal of commercial success, albeit short-lived. The Hippos and Save Ferris enjoyed commercial success with the albums ''Heads Are Gonna Roll'' and ''It Means Everything'', respectively. Both acts were featured in several major motion picture soundtracks during the 1990s. The Aquabats have remained one of the few original Orange County ska bands who still play today. However, the band generally doesn't play in a ska style in their two most recent releases, ''Charge!!'' and ''Hi-Five Soup!''. The same applies to Goldfinger, who, despite once being a forerunner in the scene, dropped the ska sound in 2001.

In the early 1990s, the ''Ska Parade'' radio show helped popularize the term ''third wave ska'' and promoted many Southern California ska-influenced bands, such as Sublime, No Doubt, Reel Big Fish, and Let's Go Bowling. In 1993, the ska-core band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones signed with Mercury Records and appeared in the film ''Clueless'', with their first mainstream hit "Where'd You Go?" Around this time, many ska-influenced songs became hits on mainstream radio, including "Spiderwebs" by No Doubt, "Sell Out" by Reel Big Fish (which reached #10 in the ''Billboard'' Modern Rock charts in 1997) and "The Impression That I Get" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.

In 1993, Luis P. Correa founded Steady Beat Recordings in Los Angeles. The label focused more on Jamaican 1960s-style ska and was a counter balance to the sounds coming out of Orange County at the time. Inspired by the originators such as The Skatalites, with a gritty Los Angeles feel mixed with jazz and Latin influences, the label became an epicenter for the more traditional sounding Los Angeles ska scene. Bands including Hepcat, Ocean 11, Yeska, The Allentons, King Willy, Mobtown and See Spot continue to thrive today.

In 1994, Matt Collyer of The Planet Smashers' founded the third wave ska label Stomp Records. In 1996, Mike Park of Skankin' Pickle founded Asian Man Records, which was the biggest west coast United States third wave ska label. Also in 1996, the band Less Than Jake started the record label Fueled by Ramen, which featured many lesser known third wave ska bands, and later became the home of successful pop punk bands like Fall Out Boy and Paramore. In 1997, Brett Gurewitz (of Bad Religion and Epitaph Records) and Tim Armstrong (of Rancid) founded Hellcat Records, which mostly featured punk bands, but also featured several ska and ska punk acts.

By the late 1990s, mainstream interest in third wave ska bands waned as other music genres gained momentum. Moon Ska Records folded in 2000, but Moon Ska Europe, a licensed affiliate based in Europe, continued operating in the 2000s, and was later relaunched as Moon Ska World. In 2003, Hingley launched a new ska record label, Megalith Records.

Footnotes

Further reading

Neville Staple (2009) ''Original Rude Boy'', Aurum Press. ISBN 978-1-84513-480-8

See also

List of ska musicians

Skank (dance)

Australian ska

Rude boy

External links

[ Allmusic] Section about third wave ska

Ska's Third Wave Article from Furious.com

SKAlovers.de Ska website for Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Ska Website with news of Ska in Wales and UK

Ska Information & Fan Zine

Category:Ska Category:Jamaican music

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Name	Toots and the Maytals
Landscape	yes
Background	group_or_band
Origin	Jamaica
Genre	ReggaeSkaRocksteady
Years active	1963 to early 1980searly 1990s to present
Label	Beverley'sTrojanV2Mango
Website	http://www.tootsandthemaytals.com/ http://www.myspace.com/tatm
Current members	Frederick "Toots" HibbertPaul DouglasCarl HarveyJackie JacksonMichelle EugeneLeba ThomasMarie "Twiggi" GittenNorris WebbCharles FarquarsonRadcliffe "Dougie" BryanAndy Bassford
Past members	Hux BrownHarold ButlerHenry "Raleigh" Gordon (deceased)Winston Wright (deceased)Nathaniel "Jerry" Matthias or McCarthyWinston Grennan (deceased) }}

Toots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group and one of the best known ska and reggae vocal groups. According to Sandra Brennan at Allmusic, "The Maytals were key figures in reggae music. Formed in the early 1960s when ska was hot, the Maytals had a reputation for having strong, well-blended voices and a seldom-rivaled passion for their music. Frontman Hibbert's soulful style led him to be compared to Otis Redding".

Career

Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, the frontman of the group, was born in May Pen, Clarendon, Jamaica in 1945, the youngest of seven children. He grew up singing gospel music in a church choir, and moved to Kingston in 1958 at the age of thirteen.

In Kingston, Hibbert met Henry "Raleigh" Gordon and Nathaniel "Jerry" Mathias, forming in 1961 a group whose early recordings were incorrectly attributed to 'The Flames' and 'The Vikings' in the UK by Island Records. The Maytals first had chart success recording for producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd at Studio One. With musical backing from Dodd's house band, The Skatalites, the Maytals' close-harmony gospel singing ensured success, overshadowing Dodd's other up-and-coming vocal group, The Wailers. After staying at Studio One for about two years, the group moved on to do sessions for Prince Buster before recording with Byron Lee in 1966. With Lee, the Maytals won the first-ever Jamaican Independence Festival Popular Song Competition with their original song "Bam Bam" (not to be confused with the Sister Nancy song of the same title). However, the group's musical career was interrupted in late 1966 when Hibbert was arrested and imprisoned for 18 months. He stated that he was not arrested for ganja, but whilst bailing a friend. He also stated that he made up the number 54-46 when writing "54-46 That's My Number" about his time in jail.

Following Hibbert's release from jail towards the end of 1967, the Maytals began working with the Chinese Jamaican producer Leslie Kong, a collaboration which yielded a string of hits throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. These included "Do the Reggay", one of several songs released in 1968 to first use the word 'reggae' (spelled 'reggay') in a Jamaican recording; "Pressure Drop"; "54-46 That's My Number" the 1969 Jamaica festival's popular song winner; "Sweet and Dandy"; and "Monkey Man", the group's first international hit in 1970. By 1971, they had not only become the biggest act on the island, they were also (thanks to signing a recording contract with Chris Blackwell's Island Records) international stars. In 1972 they won their third Jamaica festival popular song with "Pomps and Pride". The group was also featured twice in the soundtrack to ''The Harder They Come'', the 1972 film starring Jimmy Cliff, named as one of ''Vanity Fair'''s Top 10 soundtracks of all time.

After Kong's death in 1971, the group continued to record with Kong's former sound engineer, Warrick Lyn. Their re-instated producer Byron Lee renamed them Toots & the Maytals. The group released three best-selling albums produced by Lyn and Blackwell of Island Records, and enjoyed international hits with ''Funky Kingston'' in 1973 and ''Reggae Got Soul'' in 1975. Following the release of ''Reggae Got Soul'', Toots & the Maytals were invited to tour as the opening act for The Who during their 1975-76 North American tour. The tour went poorly and Toots & the Maytals never went on to the success of Bob Marley or Peter Tosh in the U.S.

Toots and the Maytals' compositions would be given a second airing in 1978-80 during the reggae punk and ska revival period in the UK, when The Specials included "Monkey Man" on their 1979 debut album and The Clash covered "Pressure Drop". They were also included in the lyrics to Bob Marley & The Wailers song, "Punky Reggae Party" - ''"The Wailers will be there, The Damned, The Jam, The Clash, The Maytals will be there, Dr. Feelgood too"''. In 1982, Toots & the Maytals' "Beautiful Woman", reached number one in New Zealand, but the group had already broken up.

They reformed in the early 1990s to continue touring and recording successfully.

In 2005, the group released ''True Love'', an album consisting of re-recorded versions of their earlier hits, alongside Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Trey Anastasio, No Doubt, Ben Harper, The Roots, and Shaggy. The album won the Grammy Award that year for best reggae album.

In 2006, they recorded a reggae/ska version of Radiohead's "Let Down" for the tribute album, ''Radiodread'', by the Easy Star All-Stars. The album was a song for song makeover of the English rock band's album ''OK Computer'' into reggae, dub and ska. In August 2007 Toots & the Maytals released ''Light Your Light'', which featured re-workings of older songs such as "Johnny Cool Man", as well as new material. The album was nominated in 2008 for a Grammy in the best reggae album category.

Toots & the Maytals hold the current record of number one hits in Jamaica, with a total of thirty one.

In March 2009 it was announced that Toots & the Maytals would be performing alongside Amy Winehouse, for their shared record label, Island Records' 50th anniversary. Winehouse had covered the band's "Monkey Man", and the act were supposed to support her at the Shepherds Bush Empire in London on 31 May 2009. However, Winehouse was forced to cancel, leaving the Maytals to play at the more intimate Bush Hall, round the corner from the Empire, to a sell-out crowd.

In the summer of 2009, Toots and the Maytals performed at the Mountain Jam festival at Hunter Mountain, New York.

On 8 July 2011, Toots and the Maytals played the Winnipeg Folk Festival to an outdoor dancing crowd of thousands.

In August 2011, Toots and the Maytals are due to appear at a small number of outdoor events, including Rhythm Festival

Discography

Studio albums

''Never Grow Old'' -- 1963 Coxsone Dodd production (N.D. Records/Coxsone 1963 JA. LP JBL1113) (Heartbeat 1997 US. CD HB143)

''Life could be a dream'' -- 1962-4 Coxsone Dodd production (Studio One 1992 JA.)

''The Original Golden Oldies Vol.3'' -- 1964 Prince Buster production (Prince Buster Record Shack 1974. LP PB11)

''The Sensational Maytals'' -- 1964-5 Byron Lee & Ronnie Nasralla production (Dynamic 1965. DBL1003) a.k.a. ''Sensational Ska Explosion'' (Hol. Jamaican Gold 1993. JMC 200.112)

''Do The Reggae'' -- 1966-70 Leslie Kong production (Attack 1988 U.K. ATLP103)

''Sweet and Dandy'' -- 1968 Leslie Kong production (Beverley's 1969 JA. LP005)

''From The Roots'' -- 1970 Leslie Kong & Warrick Lyn production (Trojan 1973 UK. TRLS65) (Sanctuary/Trojan 2003 UK. CD TJCCD091)

''Monkey Man'' -- 1970 Leslie Kong production (Beverley's/Trojan 1970 JA./UK. TBL107) (House Of 1997)

''The Maytals Greatest Hits'' -- 1970 Leslie Kong production (Beverley's 1971 JA. BLP021)

''Slatyam Stoot'' -- 1972 Warrick Lyn production (Dynamic Sounds 1972 US. DY3331)

''Funky Kingston'' -- 1972-3 Warrick Lyn, Chris Blackwell & Dave Bloxham production (Dragon 1973 UK. DRLS5002) (Mango 1973 JA. MLPS9330) (Island/Trojan 1975 US.)

''Roots Reggae'' -- 1974 Warrick Lyn production (Dynamic Sounds 1974 JA. DY3343)

''In the Dark'' -- 1974 Warrick Lyn production (Dragon 1974 UK. DRLS5004) (Trojan UK. CDTRL 202)

''Reggae Got Soul'' -- 1975-6 Warrick Lyn, Chris Blackwell & Joe Boyd production (Mango 1976. MLPS9374) (Island 1976 US. ILPS9374)

''Toots Presents The Maytals'' -- 1977 Warrick Lyn production (Chin Randy's 1977. CRRLP004) (State Records 1978. ETAT16)

''Pass the Pipe'' -- Karl Pitterson & Warrick Lyn production (Island 1979. ILPS9534) (Mango 1979)

''Just Like That'' -- Chris Blackwell, Karl Pitterson & Dicky Jobson production (Island 1980. ILPS9590) (Mango 1980)

''Knock Out!'' -- Chris Blackwell & Toots Hibbert production (Island 1981. ILPS9670) (Mango 1981. MLPS9670)

''Reggae Greats'' (Island 1984. IMCD38) (Mango 1985. MLPS9781) (Island 2001. CD remastered)

''Toots In Memphis'' (Mango 1988 US. 539818, CID9906, L38958)

''Recoup'' (Alla Son 1997. ASM CD01)

''Ska Father'' (Alla Son 1998)

''World Is Turning''(D&F; Music 2003) (XIII Bis 2005)

''True Love'' (V2 2004)

''Light Your Light'' 2005 Toots Hibbert production (D&F; Music 2007)

''Stinga 1'' (D&F; Music 2009)

''Flip and Twist'' (D&F; Music 2010)

Live albums

''Live'' (recorded 29 September 1980) (Island 1980, ILPS9647)

''Live at Reggae Sunsplash'' (recorded 4 August 1982) (Sunsplash Records 1983, VSLP8901, RS8901) (Mobile Fidelity 19??, MFCD753)

''An Hour Live "Straight from the Yard" Dedicated to Robert Nesta Marley'' (recorded 4 August 1982) (Sus 1990, SUS8924) (Genes 1997, GNS8924)

''Live in London'' (recorded 8 June 1998) (Trojan 1999, CDTRD420)

Compilation albums

''Roots Reggae (The Classic Jamaican Albums )'' (Trojan 2005) - six CD album boxset: Sensational Maytals, Sweet And Dandy, Monkey Man, Greatest Hits, Slatyam Stoot, Roots Reggae.

''The Best Of Toots And The Maytals'' (1979)

''Reggae Greats'' (1985)

''Do the Reggae 1966-70'' (1988)

''Bla. Bla. Bla.'' (1993)

''Time Tough: The Anthology'' (1996)

''Recoup'' (1997)

''The Very Best of Toots & The Maytals'' (2000)

''54-46 Was My Number: Anthology 1964-2000'' (2002)

Other Contributions

''Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino'' (Vanguard, 2007), performing Domino's "Let The Four Winds Blow"

Contemporary usage

Covers

The Clash, The Specials, Gov't Mule, Izzy Stradlin & the Ju Ju Hounds, Jack Johnson, Josh Heinrichs, Robert Palmer (on the album of the same name), and The Oppressed, have all covered "Pressure Drop".

The Specials, Peste & Sida, The Aggrolites, Reel Big Fish, Los Pericos, Big D and the Kids Table, Amy Winehouse, Melt Banana, No Doubt, Adam Ant (on the scrapped ''Save The Gorilla'' EP) and Ore Ska Band have all covered "Monkey Man".

The Australian musician Xavier Rudd covered "Famine".

"54-46 That's My Number" was covered by Sublime, Ernest Ranglin and Fermín Muguruza, plus the chorus is often played live by The Trews, in an extended version of their own song, "Tired of Waiting".

311 covered "Reggae Got Soul" on the soundtrack to the animated film, ''Surf's Up''.

"Bam Bam" has been covered by several artists, including Chaka Demus.

"Chaty chaty" was covered by the Basque band Kortatu in their song "Sarri Sarri"

Samples

The Manchester based band Sonic Boom Six sampled "Funky Kingston", for their song "Monkey See, Monkey Do", on the 2005 Champion Edition of their album, ''Sounds to Consume''.

Soundtrack appearances

The songs "Pressure Drop" and "Sweet and Dandy" were featured in the seminal Reggae soundtrack to the Jamaican film ''The Harder They Come'', (1972).

"Bam Bam" was featured in the soundtrack to the film ''Countryman''.

"Reggae Got Soul" was featured in the soundtrack to the film ''Surf's Up''.

"Funky Kingston" and "Pressure Drop" were featured on the reggae radio station, K-Jah Radio West in the video game, ''Grand Theft Auto San Andreas'' (2004). "Funky Kingston" was also featured in the video game, ''Scarface: The World Is Yours''; in the film, ''Notes on a Scandal''; and in 2004's Broken Lizard production , ''Club Dread''(which also had "Broadway Jungle"). In addition TLC's television series, ''Miami Ink'', used the song as its theme music.

Shane Meadows' 2007 film, ''This Is England'', featured the songs ''Louie Louie'', "Pressure Drop" and "54-46 Was My Number".

"Celia" was featured on ''Weeds: Music from the Original Series, Volume 4''.

"Time Tough" was featured in the soundtrack of ''Tony Hawk's Project 8''.

"54-46 Was My Number" was featured in the soundtrack to the film ''Repo Men'' (2009) and the game Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City on the reggae radio station RamJam FM (2009).

"It Must Be True Love" was heard in ''Skins (TV Series)'' Series 5, Episode 3 (Mini) (2011).

See also

List of reggae musicians

List of roots reggae artists

List of ska musicians

List of Caribbean music groups

References

External links

Official Toots Hibbert website

Toots Hibbert MySpace

Comprehensive discography at X-Ray Music

Maytals.net - fan site and lyrics

Toots interview by Daiana Feuer, L.A. Record

Category:Jamaican ska groups Category:First-wave ska groups Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Jamaican reggae musical groups Category:Charly Records artists Category:Trojan Records artists

ca:Toots and The Maytals de:Toots & the Maytals es:Toots and the Maytals fr:Toots and the Maytals gl:Toots and the Maytals it:Toots & the Maytals ht:Maytals hu:Toots & the Maytals nl:Toots and The Maytals ja:トゥーツ・アンド・ザ・メイタルズ no:Toots and the Maytals pl:Toots and The Maytals pt:Toots & the Maytals ru:Toots and the Maytals fi:Toots & the Maytals sv:Toots and the Maytals

name	Byron Lee
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Byron Aloysius St. Elmo Lee
alias	The Dragon
birth date	June 27, 1935
died	November 04, 2008 (aged 73)Kingston, Jamaica
origin	Christiana, Manchester, Jamaica
instrument	Bass guitar
genre	Ska, rocksteady, reggae, calypso, soca, mas
associated acts	Byron Lee and the Dragonaires
website	http://byronleemusic.com
notable instruments	}}

Byron Lee OD, OJ (born Byron Aloysius St. Elmo Lee, 27 June 1935, Christiana, Manchester, Jamaica, died 4 November 2008, Kingston, Jamaica) was a musician, record producer, and entrepreneur, best known for his work as leader of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.

Biography

Lee was born in Christiana in Manchester Parish to an Afro-Jamaican mother and a Chinese father (a language teacher) originally from Kowloon, Hong Kong. His mother was from Auchtembeddie, where mento and junkanoo were popular musical forms, and his family actively upheld the cultural and musical traditions of their African ancestors. The family moved to the Mountain View Gardens area of Kingston when Lee was around 8 or 9. He learned to play piano at a convent school in Mandeville, but put music on hold when he became a member of the Jamaican national football team. He taught himself to play bass on a homemade instrument, and around 1950, along with his friend Carl Brady, he formed the first incarnation of the Dragonaires, named after the college football team that they played for, at that time concentrating on mento. The band turned professional in 1956 and went on to become one of Jamaica's leading ska bands, continuing since and taking in other genres such as calypso, Soca, and Mas.

According to Michael E. Veal in his book ''Dub : soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican reggae'' *Wesleyan University Press, 2007), Byron Lee is known to have introduced the electric bass guitar to Jamaica in late 1959 or 1960. However, the reason Lee began to use the electric bass as opposed to its stand-up counterpart had nothing to do with sound. Rather, it was a way for Lee to avoid carrying the large and heavy stand-up bass to the truck to move from gig to gig. The bass guitar soon gained popularity throughout the country and soon became the standard. The electric bass' louder, clearer, and more in your face sound soon changed the entire sound of Jamaican music entirely, especially after Skatalites bassist Lloyd Brevett took a liking to it.

Lee also worked as a producer, producing many of the ska singles by The Maytals, and his entrepreneurial skills led to him setting up the ''Byron Lee's Spectacular Show'' tour, which involved several Jamaican acts (including The Maytals) touring the Caribbean. He also became the head of distribution in Jamaica for Atlantic Records. Lee purchased the West Indies Records Limited (WIRL) recording studios from Edward Seaga after fire had destroyed the pressing plant on the same site, and renamed it Dynamic Sounds, soon having a new pressing facility built on the site. It soon became one of the best-equipped studios in the Caribbean, attracting both local and international recording artists, including Paul Simon and The Rolling Stones, who recorded their famous song "Angie" there. Lee's productions included Boris Gardiner's ''Reggae Happening'', Hopeton Lewis's ''Grooving Out on Life'', and The Slickers' "Johnny Too Bad". Dynamic also acts as one of Jamaica's leading record distributors.

In 1990, Lee inaugurated what became an annual event, the ''Byron Lee Jamaica Carnival'', held on Constant Spring Road, and attended by hundreds of thousands of people that united the "uptown" and "downtown" residents of Kingston, an event that Lee calls "the happiest moment in my life". Lee had performed with the Dragonaires at carnivals around the Caribbean since the mid-1970s, and chose the location for the carnival to attract revellers from all of Jamaica's classes, stating "The biggest problem was that most Jamaicans said it wouldn't work, that it isn't a carnival country, but I persisted 'cause I believed in it. I wanted carnival to go to the public. You always had other carnivals that were held mostly indoor, where persons had to pay to get in. I went to the people and choose Half-Way Tree where uptown and downtown meet. That is where the route will remain". While in the early days of ska, Lee was credited in taking it from the ghettos and giving it appeal among Jamaica's "uptown" middle- and upper-classes, he has been credited with taking soca in the opposite direction, popularising a genre that had previously only been enjoyed in Jamaica among the upper classes, with the island's working class.

Lee missed the Jamaica Carnival in 2007 as he was receiving treatment for bladder cancer after having surgery in Florida, and no longer appeared on stage with the Dragonaires, although he was still involved in the band's management, and was involved with the festival again in 2008. A concert was held in his honour on June 30, 2007, to celebrate his 50 years in the music industry, with artists performing including fellow cancer-survivors Myrna Hague and Pluto Shervington. Proceeds went to the Jamaica Cancer Society.

Lee was awarded the Order of Distinction in 1982, upgraded to Commander level on 15 October 2007, in recognition of his "contribution in the fields of Music and Entertainment both locally and internationally".

In October 2008, after receiving treatment for several weeks in Florida, Lee returned to spend his final days in Jamaica. In a ceremony at the University Hospital of the West Indies on October 26, 2008, he was awarded the Order of Jamaica (OJ). Lee died on the 4th of November 2008, aged 73. In a statement on the day of Lee's death, the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, said "Jamaica, and indeed the world, has lost another great music pioneer with the passing this morning of Byron Lee, one of the greatest band leaders ever to grace the entertainment stages of the world".

References

External links

Band web page

Byron Lee's Bio

Eder, Bruce "[ Byron Lee Biography]", ''Allmusic'', Macrovision Corporation

Byron Lee at Roots Archives

Internet Movie Database">Byron Lee at the Internet Movie Database

Category:1935 births Category:2008 deaths Category:People from Manchester Parish Category:Deaths from bladder cancer Category:Cancer deaths in Jamaica Category:Jamaican people of Chinese descent Category:Jamaican record producers Category:Jamaican reggae musicians

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