Roots Archives Forum

Prompted by another thread...

We all know about Dodd, Marley, King Tubby etc etc and these guys are rightly now enjoying hero status in the reggae world.

But what about the guys (and girls) who did lots for reggae and don't hardly get a mention.

So let's nominate some unsung reggae heroes.

Like Sister Ignatius of the Alpha Boys School. Yes! Seriously, this lady must be recognized as one of most important persons in the history of ska and reggae music.

Or Pat Kelly who was at the controls for many tracks but never seemed to get a credit on any artwork for his efforts.

How about Scully Simms who must have worked overtime with the amount of contributions he made in the 70's.

I thing some of the unsung heroes are those who made reggae fantastic without being musicians. Like the graphical artists;
Wilfred Limonious, Tony McDermott, Jamaal Pete etc.

The pioneering journalists;
Penny Reel, Ray Hurford, Carl Gayle etc.

The distributors (don't dare to say any names though as I don't have enough insight to mention the most important ones). And so forth.

People tend to focus primarily on the musicians but they are just a small part of the music reaching us (at least if you weren't living in JA at the time of the musics creation).

Barry Biggs was also a great producer (and indeed vocalist). Check Deejay "Jah Ruby's" Dread Affair LP on the "Afrik" label. Tuff riddims and a wicked production from Biggs.

I've never managed to get in to the Jah Ruby album. Always thought it was a bit ... boring? But if you say it's good I'll give it another chance!

bagga brown he did a lot anyone know him

Alvin Ranglin from Hit and GG

Jerry Brown from Summer Records, Toronto, Canada

I give it up to all lot of session musician like: Horsemouth wallace, Dean Fraser, Chinna Smith, Fully fullwood, Keith Sterling and others.... for i still find it unbelievable how much work this guys did during a small era where roots reggae was really dominant in JA.

Let's not forget guys like Mortimer Planno who was one of the most revered figures of the Rastafari movement, who taught the likes of Bob Marley and help establish his faith in that religion.

All those scouts who were responsible for discovering the many talents we've come to know and appreciate.

Respect....

Raw D

im suprised to not see tony chin up on this list. the man with the wicked riddim skills. or how about rad bryan, or any and all the session musicians that were used thru the 70's, they are the ones who made it happen, everybody talks about the producer and the engineer but without those musicians they would of had nothing to record!
as far as unsung singers go you can basically mention any name except bob marley and burning spear

Raw D wrote: Let's not forget guys like Mortimer Planno

a crucial one!

thanks raw d!