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Leslie Kong (1933 – August 9, 1971) was an influential Chinese-Jamaican reggae producer.

Career[link]

Leslie and his two older brothers Cecil and Lloyd ran a restaurant, ice cream parlour and record shop called Beverley's in Orange Street, Kingston. In 1961, he encountered a young Jimmy Cliff outside of his shop singing a song he had written called "Dearest Beverly," in the hopes that the mention of the establishment would convince Kong to record him. This encounter led Kong to launch his own record label, "Beverley's", and to record Cliff's song, launching Cliff's career in the process.

In 1962, he recorded Bob Marley's first single: "One Cup of Coffee" and "Judge Not", and Jimmy Cliff's first hit, "Miss Jamaica". Kong, known in Jamaican music circles as "the Chinaman," quickly established himself as the island's leading producer of local popular music. Throughout the 1960s Kong kept recording many leading Jamaican artists from ska to reggae through rocksteady including Joe Higgs, Desmond Dekker, Toots & the Maytals, Derrick Morgan, John Holt and Stranger Cole. A wise businessman, Kong was one of the original shareholders in Island Records along with Chris Blackwell and Australian engineer Graeme Goodall. Starting in 1963 Kong began licensing ska recordings to Blackwell for release in the UK on Island's Black Swan imprint. After Blackwell bought out Kong and Goodall's share in Island, in 1967 Kong formed a second partnership with Graeme Goodall, who created the Pyramid label in the UK for the successful release of Kong's rocksteady and early reggae productions. When Pyramid folded in 1969, the licensing successes continued with Trojan Records.

Kong is known for being the first Jamaican producer to get international hits with long-time collaborator Desmond Dekker, in 1967 with "007 (Shanty Town)" and above all in 1969 with "Israelites" which topped the UK Singles Chart in April 1969 and went to number nine on the US charts in July 1969, selling over two million copies. During the early reggae period, he worked with Bob Marley The Wailers (The Best of the Wailers) and enjoyed several successful hits with The Pioneers' "Long Shot Kick The Bucket" or The Melodians' "Rivers of Babylon" and "Sweet Sensation". His works with The Maytals also led to many hits including "54-46 That's My Number" and the UK charting single "Monkey Man".

Other vocalists who recorded for him and the Beverley's label include Ken Boothe, Bruce Ruffin, The Gaylads and Delroy Wilson. Ex-Skatalites saxophonist Roland Alphonso cut numerous instrumentals for Kong during the rocksteady period. When reggae arrived in late 1968, lead instrumental duties were handled by organists Ansell Collins and Winston Wright.

Kong died of a heart attack, aged 38, in August 1971, after being allegedly 'cursed' by Bunny Livingston of The Wailers after a dispute over the release of an album entitled The Best of the Wailers; the Wailers believed that the release of such an album was premature, saying that their best music was yet to come. Contrary to popular belief Kong does not make a cameo appearance in the film The Harder They Come, as the Chinese man (most likely this was Byron Lee, Kong's sound engineer) overseeing a recording session with Toots & the Maytals. He is related to Errol Kong, who has recorded several singles and an album as I Kong a.k.a. Ricky Storme.

Discography[link]

• Various Artists - Original Reggae Hot Shots - 1969 - Beverley's/Trojan (1975)
• Various Artists - King Size Reggae - 1970 - Beverley's
• Various Artists - Golden Hits By The Greats - 1970 - Beverley's
• Various Artists - Reggae Chartbusters - 1970 - Beverley's
• Various Artists - King Size Reggae - 1970 - Trojan Records
• Various Artists - Hot Shots of Reggae - 1970 - Trojan Records
• Various Artists - Best Of Beverley's Records 1969-1970 - Trojan Records (1981)
• Various Artists - The Best Of Beverley's Records or Masterpieces From The Works of Leslie Kong - Island Records/Trojan (1981)
• Various Artists - The King Kong Compilation - Island Records (1981)
• Various Artists - Leslie Kong's Connection Vol 01 - 1969-1971 - Jet Set Records
• Various Artists - Leslie Kong's Connection Vol 02 - 1969-1971' - Jet Set Records

Bruce Ruffin
Bruce Ruffin photoshot
Background information
Birth name	Bernardo Constantine Balderamus
Born	(1952-02-17) 17 February 1952 (age 60) St Catherine, Jamaica
Origin	St Catherine, Jamaica
Genres	Reggae, pop, rocksteady
Occupations	Musician, singer, songwriter, CEO, Managing Director
Instruments	Vocals
Labels	Universal Music Group/Sanctuary Records Group, Rhino/EMI, Trojan & Beverley's
Website	www.bruceruffin.com

Bruce Ruffin (born Bernardo Constantine Balderamus, 17 February 1952, St Catherine, Jamaica)^[1] is a rocksteady and reggae artist.

Biography[link]

Ruffin got his start singing with Byron Lee and the Dragonaires briefly, before in 1967 joining The Techniques, one of the more successful rocksteady vocal groups of the late 1960s.^[1] There he sang alongside Pat Kelly,^[2] Winston Riley and Junior Menns. He was one of several talented singers to drift through the Techniques' ranks, but his stay with the group was highlighted by several rocksteady hits that he wrote, the most notable of which was "Love Is Not a Gamble".

Restless, Ruffin left the Techniques a year later, returning in 1969 as a solo artist with the upbeat reggae song, "Long About Now".

His greatest success came in the 1970s as a reggae-pop solo artist and writer.^[1] He continued to record with a number of record producers (Leslie Kong, Herman Chin Loy, Lloyd Charmers) and had some success with cover versions, including Paul Simon's "Cecilia". However, it was a José Feliciano tune, "Rain", that would give his solo career momentum, recorded on Trojan Records, it was a UK number 19 hit in 1971^[3] - the b-side of which was the karaoke favourite "Geronimo".

In 1972 he secured a crossover hit with "Mad About You", which featured odd background vocals and strings arrangement.^[1] It was released on the Rhino record label (not to be confused with Rhino Records), and gave him his biggest selling hit, reaching number 9 in the UK Singles Chart^[3] - it ultimately set the direction for his career. For the rest of the decade, Ruffin continued to release polished reggae-pop that had a strong audience in the UK and Europe. By the 1980s, Ruffin was concentrating on writing and publishing. He eventually moved away from music to study law, becoming a legal consultant to other reggae artists.^[1]

Ruffin is now the CEO of the BRM Music companies.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bruce Ruffin biography at Allmusic website

Prince Buster
Background information
Birth name	Cecil Bustamente Campbell
Born	(1938-05-28) 28 May 1938 (age 74) Kingston, Jamaica
Origin	Jamaica
Genres	Ska, rocksteady, reggae
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer
Labels	Blue Beat

Cecil Bustamente Campbell, O.D. (born 28 May 1938), usually known as Prince Buster, and also having the Muslim name Muhammed Yusef Ali, is a musician from Kingston, Jamaica. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of ska and rocksteady music. The records he made on the Blue Beat label in the 1960s inspired many reggae and ska artists.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Campbell began his professional career as a singer in 1956; performing in Kingston nightclubs. He formed a succession of bands with several of his friends, none of which were successful.

Campbell's music career reached maturity with the growth of the sound system. Across Jamaica, music promoters drove vans filled with stereo equipment to stage mobile parties. The operators of the sound system would play the popular R&B dance records of the day and often they would have a vocalist called a toaster call out the dancers' names, chant in rhythm, and make light-hearted boasts. Deejay "toasting" was one of the precursors to the style of vocal delivery that eventually evolved into rap.

Eventually, Campbell was introduced to Clement Dodd, a musically-inclined businessman who operated one of Kingston's most popular sound systems. Interestingly, Campbell was not hired as a musician but as security; because of rivalries between fans devoted to a particular sound system, the parties sometimes could become quite rough, and Campbell had been a skillful amateur boxer as a teenager. It was in this line of work that he earned the nickname "The Prince", which along with his boyhood moniker "Buster" (from his middle name Bustamente), formed the name under which he would later become famous.

Artistic and producing career[link]

In 1960, Buster produced a record for the Folkes Brothers for the Wild Bells label, "Oh Carolina", under his nickname. Buster dubbed himself 'The Voice of the People', and gave a voice to those people with "Oh Carolina", which expressed black Jamaicans through a commercially successful medium.^[1] This record was Jamaica's first to involve an element of African music - the drumming in the record was provided by Count Ossie, the lead nyabinghi drummer from the rastafarian camp, Camp David, in the hills above Kingston. It was an instant hit in Jamaica, and Buster's early records, which were released in the UK by Blue Beat Records, contributed greatly to the developing sound of ska. Buster was soon recording his own compositions as well as producing records for others.

From 1963 to the end of the decade, Buster wrote and produced hundreds of songs for Blue Beat. Soon after his initial success, Buster was drawing international attention. He toured Britain extensively during this period, playing to sellout crowds, and appeared on commercial TV broadcaster Rediffusion London's Friday early-evening pop show Ready, Steady, Go! in 1964. While in England, Buster met World Heavyweight Champion boxer Muhammad Ali, a meeting that resulted in Buster joining the Nation of Islam, as well as Ali being mentioned in the song "Earthquake on Orange Street",^[2][3] which was subsequently referenced by the UK group Madness, who took their name from one of his songs, in their first single "The Prince". He went on to be a popular as a recorded and touring artist in Europe, and though none of his singles charted as highly in the United States, he went on a successful American tour in 1967 to support the little-known RCA Victor LP releaseThe Ten Commandments (From Man To Woman). Today, the album (catalog LSP-3792) is a highly-sought-after rarity among collectors of ska and foundation reggae.

Prince Buster had two hit singles in the UK: first, "Al Capone" (#18, 1967), and much later, with an updated version of "Whine And Grine", which was used on a television advertisement (#21, 1998).^[4] In 1972 Buster gained notoriety for the title track of his album Big Five, a raunched-up re-write of Brook Benton's "Rainy Night in Georgia" with explicit references to sex and drugs.

Besides being a pioneering musician, Buster, like Clement Dodd, was also very interested in business. He started a record shop in Kingston in the early 1960s which is still owned and operated by his family today. Later he founded a jukebox company. He also started the Prince Buster Records label, at first as an attempt to keep the Melodisc label viable,^[5] but today is used to reissue his music.

Post-recording life[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2011)

The ska sound and rhythms were undergoing a change by the late 1960s, musicians were slowing the beat and introducing more subtle rhythmic pulses that audiences found less frantic and therefore easier to dance too. This new music was eventually called rocksteady, slower than ska and more influenced by gospel and soul. Rocksteady itself would eventually be replaced by reggae. In addition to the musical influence that ska and rocksteady exerted, many reggae lyrics expressed an Afrocentric, Marcus Garvey-inspired worldview, which had been present in some of Prince Buster's songs. Bob Marley, Toots Hibbert, and other reggae stars have acknowledged their debt. Buster also made a cameo appearance in the acclaimed international hit movie, The Harder They Come. However, reggae's Rastafarian orientation led the Muslim Prince to keep an arms distance away from the new music.^{[citation needed]} He turned toward more traditional tourist-based business ventures instead and gracefully exited the Jamaican music scene.

By the late 1970s, Buster was in serious financial trouble.^{[citation needed]} His business ventures were all posting losses or low profits, and the loans he had taken out to start them were catching up. Fortunately for him, ska was experiencing a revival in the United Kingdom, and the most prominent bands of the revival drew from his material. In 1979, the band Madness released their first record, a tribute to Buster called "The Prince", which urged ska fans to remember "the man who set the beat". The B-side to this record was a cover of the Prince Buster song "Madness" from which they took their name. Their second single was a cover of Buster's "One Step Beyond" which reached the Top 10. On their first album, The Specials covered "Too Hot" and drew heavily on "Judge Dread" in the song "Stupid Marriage", and "Al Capone" in the song "Gangsters". The Specials also included a cover of Buster's version of "Enjoy Yourself" on their second album. Not to be outdone, the The Beat included covers of the Buster originals "Rough Rider" and "Whine & Grine" on its first album. Interest in Buster soared during this time; he received royalties when his songs were covered by 2-Tone bands, and his old records were re-issued and sold well. Buster's songs continued to be popular sources for ska bands in the U.S., an example being The Toasters covering "Hard Man Fe Dead" in 1996. In 1989, Prince Buster recorded a 12" single with London based ska and blues band, The Trojans, which was released on Gaz's Rockin' Records in the UK. "Stack O Lee" was a limited edition and it sold out within weeks.

Prince Buster now lives in Miami, Florida. He has performed at several shows in the 21st century including: the 2002 Legends Of Ska festival in Toronto; Dedham, Massachusetts in 2002; the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in 2003; the 2006 Boss Sounds Reggae Festival in Newcastle upon Tyne, the 40th Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland with the Delroy Williams Junction Band, and 2007's Rhythm Festival. During the last day of the 2008 Notting Hill Carnival, Prince Buster made an appearance on the Gaz's Rockin' Blues stage, alongside the Trojans.

Album discography[link]

• I Feel the Spirit (1963)
• Fly Flying Ska (1964)
• It's Burke's Law (1965)
• Pain In My Belly (1965)
• Ska-Lip-Soul (1965)
• What A Hard Man Fe Dead (1967)
• Prince Buster On Tour (1967)
• Judge Dread Rock Steady (1967)
• Ten Commandments - RCA (1967)
• Wreck A Pum Pum (1968)
• Tutti Frutti - Melodisc (1968)
• FABulous Greatest Hits - FAB (1968)
• The Outlaw - Blue Beat (1969)
• 15 Oldies but Goodies - FAB
• Big Five - Melodisc (1972)
• The Message-Dub Wise - FAB/Melodisc (1972)
• Dance Cleopatra Dance - Blue Elephant (1972)
• Chi Chi Run - FAB (1973)
• Sister Big Stuff - Melodisc (1976)
• She Was A Rough Rider (1978)
• Jamaica's Greatest - Melodisc
• Subliminal Reaction - Subliminal Reacton
• FABulous Greatest Hits - 1963-1981 - Sequel (1993)
• The Original Golden Oldies Volume 1 (1998)
• The Original Golden Oldies Volume 2 (1999)
• The King of Ska (2002)
• Prince of Peace: Prince Buster with Determinations Live in Japan (2003)

UK hit singles[link]

References[link]

Roland Alphonso O.D. or Rolando Alphonso aka The Chief Musician (January 12, 1931, Havana, Cuba - November 20, 1998, Los Angeles, California, United States)^[1] was a Jamaican tenor saxophonist, and one of the founding members of The Skatalites.

Biography[link]

Alphonso came to Jamaica at the age of two with his Jamaican mother, and started to learn saxophone at the Stony Hill Industrial School.^[2]

In 1948 he left school to join Eric Deans' orchestra^[3] and soon passed through other bands in the hotel circuit and first recorded as a member of Stanley Motta's group in 1952, going on to record frequently as a session musician.^[2] In 1956 he first recorded for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, although these early recordings were lost before they were mastered.^[2] In 1959 he joined the band of Cluett Johnson named Clue J & His Blues Blasters and backed many of Dodd's recording sessions in a typical Jamaican R&B style.^[4] He also acted as arranger at many of Dodd's recording sessions.^[5] By 1960, he was recording for many other producers such as Duke Reid, Lloyd "The Matador" Daley and King Edwards, as well as continuing to work for Dodd, contributing alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones, and flute to recordings.^[2] During this period he played in many different bands, such as The Alley Cats, The City Slickers, and Aubrey Adams & The Dew Droppers. In 1963, after few months spent in Nassau, Bahamas, he took part in the creation of The Studio One Orchestra, the first session band at Dodd's newly-opened recording studio. This band soon adopted the name of The Skatalites.

When the Skatalites disbanded by August 1965, Alphonso formed the Soul Brothers (with Johnny "Dizzy" Moore, and Jackie Mittoo) to become The Soul Vendors in 1967.^[2][6] In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Alphonso led the Ruinaires, the resident band at the Ruins restaurant/nightclub, this coming to an end when he suffered a stroke at the age of 41.^[2] He recovered quickly from this setback, and relocated to the United States in late 1972, soon returning to performing and recording.^[2] He released the first album under his name in 1973 on the Studio One record label.

During the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, he kept on playing on numerous records coming out from Jamaican studios, especially for Bunny Lee, and he toured with many bands. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he played with the band Jah Malla, performing regularly on the live circuit around New York.^[2]

He was awarded Officer of the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government in 1977,^[7] and started to tour more often in the U.S. He took part in the reformation of the Skatalites in 1983, with whom he toured and recorded constantly until he suffered a burst blood vessel in his head during a show at the Key Club in Hollywood on 2 November 1998.^[2] He died on 20 November 1998 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, after suffering a second burst blood vessel, and spending four days in a coma.^[2][8]

Discography[link]

• I Cover The Waterfront - 1962 - Port O Jam Hi-Fi - Produced by Coxsone Dodd
• ABC Rock Steady (with The Originals Orchestra) - 1968 - Gayfeet/High Note - Produced by Sonia Pottinger
• The Best Of Rolando Alphonso - 1973 - Studio One (Compilation) - Produced by Coxsone Dodd
• King Of Sax - 1975 - Studio One (Compilation) - Produced by Coxsone Dodd
• Brighter Shade of Roots - 1982 - Imperial - Produced by Bunny Lee
• Roll On - 1984 - Wackies - Produced by Lloyd Barnes
• Something Special: Ska Hot Shots - 2000 - Heartbeat (Compilation) - Produced by Coxsone Dodd

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Kevin O'Brien Chang & Wayne Chen (1998) Reggae Routes: The Story of Jamaican Music, Ian Randle Publishers, ISBN 976-8100-67-2
• Steve Barrow & Peter Dalton (2004) The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn., Rough Guides, ISBN 1-84353-329-4
• Moskowitz, David V. (2006) Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall, Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-33158-8
• Dave Thompson (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6
• Richie Unterberger "Roland Alphonso Biography", Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation
• "Really Randoms", Rolling Stone, 24 November 1988

External links[link]

• Complete bio
• Obituary

Jason Bentley (born July 27, 1970) is a radio disc jockey of electronic music in Los Angeles, California. On December 1, 2008, Bentley replaced Nic Harcourt as the host of Morning Becomes Eclectic and as Music Director for KCRW.^[1] Previously he had hosted two radio programs: Afterhours on KROQ-FM, and Metropolis on KCRW, the latter for 16 years until November 28, 2008.^[2]

Jason began his career at KCRW as a phone volunteer in July 1988. Jason later attended Loyola Marymount University and worked as a DJ at their college station KXLU. He was recruited by former KCRW Music Director Chris Douridas after a softball game between the two stations in 1991 and he began working at KCRW on-air starting in the summer of 1992.

In 1995 Bentley co-founded the influential Los Angeles club night "bossa:nova" with Bruno Guez, and George Ghiz. The club began life as an extension of the record label Quango Music Group, an imprint on Island Records, and hosted many well-known DJs from around the world, including Daft Punk, Groove Armada, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Lazy Dog, and Gilles Peterson. Bentley remained a part of the regular "bossa:nova" night until the end of its run in 2008.^[3]

In 2004, Bentley was part of a group that successfully lobbied the Recording Academy to add a Best Electronic/Dance Album category to the Grammy Awards.^[4][5]

Bentley collaborated with other artists on remixes, such as Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell by The Flaming Lips.

He also coordinated music for all three Matrix films, as well as The Animatrix, Matrix video game titles and the film Tron:Legacy.^[6] Other films that include his music credits include City of Industry, The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury, Green Street Hooligans, Shooting Gallery, and DOA: Dead or Alive.^[6] In the video game field, he has worked on Full Spectrum Warrior, Destroy All Humans!,^[7] and The Matrix: Path of Neo.^[6]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Conversation with Jason Bentley and Danger Mouse – June 21, 2006
• Jason Bentley at the Internet Movie Database
• KCRW's Metropolis webpage
• Early 90's Jason Bentley Mixed Tapes
• Jason Bentely at KCRW.com