Reggae Music Promoters You Need to Know
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Here are some of the most promising reggae music promoters you should keep an eye on.
Reggae promoters
Reggae promoters are people who work to promote and sell reggae music. They may work with record labels, booking agents, venues, and other music industry professionals to help get reggae artists exposure and gigs. Some promoters also work with radio stations and other media outlets to help promote reggae music. Promoters typically have a love for reggae music and a desire to see it succeed.
Ziggy Marley
Ziggy Marley is a reggae promoter who is the son of Bob Marley. He was born in Jamaica and raised in Miami, Florida. Ziggy has been promoting reggae music since he was a teenager. He has worked with many different artists, including his father, Sean Paul, and Beanie Man. Ziggy has also promoted reggae concerts and festivals, such as the Reggae Sunsplash festival.
Damian “Junior Gong” Marley
Damian “Junior Gong” Marley is a popular reggae artist who has been promoting the genre for many years. He is the son of reggae legend Bob Marley and has continued his father’s legacy by putting his own spin on reggae music. Junior Gong has won numerous awards for his work, including Grammy Awards, BET Awards, and MOBO Awards. He is also a successful businessman, owning his own record label and clothing line.
Stephen Marley
Stephen Marley is a reggae artist who has continued his father’s musical legacy. Stephen was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and was the youngest son of legendary reggae artist Bob Marley. Stephen began his musical career as a teenager, performing as a drummer in his brother Ziggy’s band. He soon began to write his own songs and by the early 2000s, he had released his own solo album. Stephen has continued to create music that promotes peace, love, and unity, just like his father did before him.
Ska promoters
Reggae and ska promoters are an important part of the industry, helping to get the music out there to the masses. Without them, the music would struggle to reach a wide audience. Here are some of the most important reggae and ska promoters you need to know.
Prince Buster
Prince Buster was a Jamaican record producer, singer and songwriter. He was born in 1938 as Cecil Bustamente Campbell in Kingston, Jamaica. His records were influenced by American R&B, but he developed his own sound by speeding up the R&B songs and adding drums and other instruments. He is credited with helping to develop the ska genre. Some of his hit songs include “Aloha Oe,” “One Step Beyond,” and “Hard Man fe Dead.”
Desmond Dekker
Desmond Adolphus Dacres, better known as Desmond Dekker, was a Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Desmond Dekker was one of the first international stars of Jamaican music. He is best remembered for his 1969 hit “The Israelites”, which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, an unusual feat for a song with such strongly accented vocals and PATOIS lyrics.
Dekker began his musical career in 1963, with the group The Four Aces, scoring a hit that year with “Storm Warning”. The following year he worked with Les Cochran and Korette Henry, recording the single “Honesty”. In 1965, he had success in Jamaica with “007 (Shanty Town)”, which was later covered by The Specials. He also achieved success in 1967 with “[Stop] That Train”.
The Skatalites
The Skatalites are a legendary Jamaican ska and rocksteady group. Founded in 1964, they played a pivotal role in the development of ska and rocksteady. The original members were Don Drummond, Lloyd Knibb, Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso, Lester Sterling, Lloyd Brevett, and Feathers beds. They were joined by Jackie Mittoo in 1965. The Skatalites disbanded in 1965 but re-formed in 1983 with a new lineup that includedoriginal members McCook, Sterling, and Brevett, as well as Ken Stewart, Rad Bryan, Anthony Stewart, and Chris Meredith.
The Skatalites have toured extensively throughout Europe, Japan, Australia, and the United States. They have been featured on numerous compilations and live albums. In 2009, they were awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government in recognition of their contribution to Jamaican music.
Rocksteady promoters
Reggae music promoters are people who are in charge of organizing and publicizing reggae events. They work to spread the word about reggae music and culture, and to get people to come to reggae shows. Rocksteady promoters are some of the best in the business, and they can help you get your reggae fix.
Alton Ellis
Alton Ellis was one of the most important voices in the history of Jamaican music. His clear, emotive voice helped to bring the message of love and peace that was at the heart of the rocksteady movement to a wider audience, and his songs remain as popular as ever today. As a member of The Paragons, he had a string of hits in the 1960s including “The Tide Is High” and “Only a Smile”, but it was as a solo artist that he really made his mark. His 1967 song “I’m Still in Love with You” is one of the most covered Jamaican tunes of all time, with versions by everyone from Al Green to Marcia Griffiths. It’s also one of the most popular songs for weddings in Jamaica!
The Paragons
The Paragons were a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae band, best known for their 1967 hit single “The Tide Is High”, which was later popularized by Blondie in 1980. The group was formed in 1966 by Tyrone Evans and Howard Barrett, who were joined by Winston Reid, Maurice Gregory, and Junior Menz. The Paragons’ first hit was “Only a Smile”, which reached the top ten on the Jamaican charts in 1966.
The group released a number of successful singles throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, including “Happy Go Lucky Girl”, “Riding High”, and their cover of The Beatles’ “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”. The Paragons also had two number one hits in Jamaica with “The Tide Is High” and “Wear You to the Ball”. In addition to their success in Jamaica, the Paragons also enjoyed moderate success in the United Kingdom with their singles “On the Beach” and “Riding High” both reaching the Top 40.
The group’s popularity began to decline in the late 1970s, and they disbanded shortly after Reid’s death in 1981. The Paragons were inducted into the Jamaica Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
The Techniques
One of the most influential reggae promoters of the 1970s was Vivian “Yabby You” Jackson, who helped organizing sound system battles. His tactics included selling his records for a low price in order to ensure that more people could afford to buy them, and he also released records on his own label, Prophets, which helped to increase his profile. He was also known for using gospel-style singing on his records, which helped to make them more appealing to a wider audience.
Another well-known reggae promoter from the 1970s is Michael Campbell, better known as Mikey Dread. Mikey Dread was known for his work with radio stations and for his work as a producer. He was also one of the first people to use dub techniques on his records, which helped to make them more interesting and innovative.
In the 1980s, Greensleeves Records was set up by Chris Cracknell and Jeremy Simmonds. The label quickly became one of the most important reggae labels of all time, thanks to its focus on quality music and its willingness to take risks with new artists. Greensleeves was responsible for releasing some of the most iconic reggae tracks of all time, including “Police and Thieves” by Junior Murvin and “Kingston Town” by UB40.
More recently, Joe Millington has been working hard to promote reggae music in the UK. He runs the website Reggaemani, which is dedicated to helping people discover new reggae artists and learn about the history of the genre. He has also written a book about British reggae called Babylon’s Burning: From Punk To Reggae – The Story Of Reggae In Britain ( Omnibus Press).
