Louise Bennet. Photo: A. Boot, Prince Buster (early)

Mento, the traditional music of Jamaica, is a melancholy hybrid of ancient folk music. It remains more a piece of valued museum-like heritage than a popular music with great contemporary relevence

By 1950 Sound Systems sprung up everywhere. Tom"The Great" Sebastian was the first significant operator followed by the contentious Duke Reid "The Trojan" famous for his gunslinging tactics for dealing with opposing sound systems. Clement Seymour Dodd and his "Sir Coxsone Downbeat" sound system used DJ Prince Buster who by 1958 had his own system. These three innovators started to record sound purely for their own dances.

Jackie Edwards Photo: A.Boot, and John Holt

By 1959 Dodd, Reid and Buster all began to record music for commercial release. In that same year Dodd, Clue-J and Ernest Ranglin dreamt up Ska.

Beckford, Edwards, Blackwell, Seaga and others all helped to create Jamaican music, and by 1964 Chris Blackwell's label Island had the first international hit by a Jamaican artiste "My Boy Lollipop" by Millie Small.

Ernest Ranglin & "My Boy Lollipop"
view ISDN/DSL movie

By 1966 Ska began to change and Rock Steady emerged and though some doubt remains as to who produced the first hit, one thing was certain, Duke Reid seized the rock steady movement with a grip that eluded his rival Coxsone Dodd. Within a year, however, a trio of producers - Bunny Lee, Lee "Scratch" Perry and Osbourne "King Tubby" Ruddock - were to have brought about a third change - REGGAE MUSIC®

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