Barrington Levy (born April 30, 1964) is a reggae and dancehall artist. He was born in Clarendon, Jamaica and soon formed a band with his cousin, Everton Dacres, called the Mighty Multitude; the pair released "My Black Girl" in 1977. Levy established his solo career the next year with "A Long Time Since We Don't Have No Love"; though the single was a failure, the fourteen year old was a popular performer at Jamaican dancehalls.
Junior Murvin (born Murvin Smith Jr. in Port Antonio, circa 1949) is a Jamaican reggae artist. He is best known for the classic single "Police and Thieves", produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry in 1976. Murvin's soaring voice and the infectious rhythm made "Police and Thieves" into an international hit during the summer of 1976. The song was so influential that it was recorded by the punk rock pioneers The Clash on their debut album the following year.
Toots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are considered legends of ska and reggae music. Their sound is a unique, original combination of gospel, ska, soul, reggae and rock. Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, the leader of the group, was born in May Pen in the Parish of Clarendon, Jamaica. He was the youngest of seven children. He grew up singing gospel music in a church choir, but moved to Kingston in 1961 at the age of sixteen.
King Shiloh Sound System, based in Amsterdam, Holland, is an international, independently operating, roots reggae sound system, founded and inspired through the inspiration of Jah Rastafari. In addition and complimentary to the sound system, other activities include a recording studio & record label; King Shiloh Records, a weekly radio programme; Roots&Culture on Radio 100, an informative website; www.kingshiloh.com and the promotion of regular dance events in Amsterdam's prestigious Paradiso club under the banner DubClubY2K.
Black Roots were a powerful and potent force in the British reggae music scene throughout the Eighties and left a legacy of no less than ten albums and more than eight singles before bowing out of the public eye in the mid-90's. Hailing from the St Paul's area of Bristol, the original eight-member band were formed in 1979 and quickly gained a large following by touring almost non-stop around the country, playing their brand of 'militant pacifism' roots reggae in the nation's major colleges, universities and festivals.
Kiran Leonard fornicates instruments and makes jazzy/pop things. used to release electronic things under this name, but now under the name Pend Oreille. His new single 'A Purpose' will be released on the 16-track LP 'BOWLER HAT SOUP' in late November/December. It can be downloaded here.
The Abyssinians are a Jamaican roots reggae group, famous for their close harmonies and promotion of the Rastafari movement in their lyrics. The vocal trio was originally formed in 1969 by Bernard Collins, Donald Manning and Linford Manning. Their most famous songs are "Satta Massagana" and "Y Mas Gan", both of which are delivered partially in the Ethiopian language of Amharic. Another crucial track is "Declaration of Rights", whose riddim has been reprised many times during the years by many other roots reggae artists.
