Top 50 Greatest Reggae Singers of All Times

Thursday, June 26, 2014

R

eggae is a music genre that originated out of Jamaica in the 1960’s that evolved out of the earlier genres ska and rocksteady. Reggae is also strongly influenced by traditional mento and calypso music, as well as American jazz and rhythm and blues, which has spread to many countries across the world.

We took a look at some of the greatest reggae singers of all times, but narrowing down the list of the greatest was difficult, because there were so many to choose from.

 

List of the 50 greatest Reggae Singers

1.             Bob Marley – The most popular artists in modern culture

2.             Peter Tosh - The “Steppin Razor” was a  self-taught guitarist and keyboardist

3.             Jimmy Cliff - Reggae’s Lost King. With a career spanning 50 years, Cliff is best known among mainstream audiences for  his  song  “Many Rivers to Cross”

4.             Burning Spear - One of the most influential and long-standing roots artists

5.             Alton Ellis - The Godfather of Rocksteady. In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.

Bunny Wailer

6.             Bunny Wailer- A three-time Grammy award winner, he is considered one of the longtime standard bearers of reggae music. He was named by Newsweek as one of the three most important musicians in world music

7.             Dennis Brown - The Crown Prince of Reggae, who have been influential on future generations of reggae singers

8.             Gregory Isaacs - The Cool Ruler

9.             Jacob Miller – Known as one of the most distinctive vocal stylists, with a trademark vibrato

10.          Beres Hammond – Best known for romantic lovers rock and soulful voice

11.          Errol Dunkley – He started his recording career at age 14 and his best known for his hit song “OK Fred”

12.          Lee "Scratch" Perry – Was on Rolling Stone list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time”

13.          Larry Marshall – His musical career stretches back to the early 1960s. His hit song  "Nanny Goat"  is regarded as the record that began the shift from rocksteady  to reggae

14.           I-Roy - The mighty poet

15.          Laurel Aitken – The Godfather of “Ska".

16.          John Holt - One of the biggest stars of reggae

 

U-Roy

17.          U-Roy – He is the pioneer of toasting

18.          Leroy Smart - One of Jamaica's most outrageous and colourful artiste

19.          Bob Andy- Reggae vocalist and songwriter. He is widely regarded as one of reggae's most influential songwriters

20.          Desmond Dekker - "King of Ska"

21.          Prince Buster - He is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of ska and rocksteady music

22.          Millie Small- Best known for her 1964 cover version of "My Boy Lollipop".

23.          Mad Professor – Guyanese who is one of the grand kings of Dub

24.          Scientist – He came to prominence in the early 1980s and produced many albums. Five of his songs from the album Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires were used as the playlist songs on the K-Jah radio station in the 2001 video game Grand Theft Auto 3

25.          Sugar Minott – He was able to encompass different styles from rough roots, to sweet lovers, through to classic dancehall, he was an artist of some influence 

26.          Judge Dread – A ska and reggae artiste from London, who was the white recording artist.

27.          Ras Michael aka Dadawah – Nyabinghi specialist

28.          Ken Boothe – Known for his distinctive vibrato and timbre

29.          JC Lodge – British reggae singer, actress and fine artist, best known for her song “Someone Loves You Honey”

30.          Johnny Clarke - One of Jamaica's most outstanding vocal talents

Pablo Moses

31.          Pablo Moses - Best known for his debut, 1975's Revolutionary Dream

32.          Freddie McGregor – The "I Was Born A Winner" artiste is one of the most durable and soulful reggae singers.

33.          Maxi Priest - British reggae vocalist British reggae vocalist, who best known for singing reggae music with an R&B influence, otherwise known as reggae fusion

34.          Shaggy - Another reggae fusion singer, best known for his hit singles "Boombastic", "It Wasn't Me" and "Angel".

35.          Yellowman – Reggae (rub-a-dub) singer known for hits such a “Blueberry Hill"

Max Romeo

36.          Max Romeo - A reggae and roots reggae recording artist

37.          Linval Thompson – A reggae and dub musician

38.          Delroy Wilson - Ska, rocksteady and reggae singer

39.           Barrington Levy – The "Here I Come" is known as reggae's 'Mellow Canary'

40.          Mikey Dread - He was one of the most influential performers and innovators in reggae music

41.          Derrick Morgan – He became the first artist ever to fill the places from one to seven on the Jamaican pop chart simultaneously

42.          Junior Delgado - Was a reggae singer, famed for his roots style

43.          Eek-a-Mouse - He is one of the early artists to be described as a “singjay”. His music career began  when he was in college with the release of two roots reggae singles

44.          Junior Reid – The “One Blood", the song became an anthem for unity in America and around the world

45.          Capelton aka King Shango, King David, The Fireman and The Prophet - His lyrics are deep, precise, and thoughtful and has left fans eager for more.

46.          Johnny Osbourne – He rose to success in the late 1970s and mid-1980s, best known for his hit single “Buddy Bye"

47.          Garnet Silk – Known for his emotive, powerful and smooth voice

48.          Ijahman Levi – He released his first album Haile I Hymn, was released on Island Records in 1978

49.          Horace Andy – A roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land" also "Angel" & "Five Man Army"

Augustus Pablo

 

50.          Augustus Pablo - Roots reggae and dub record producer, melodica player and keyboardist

Please note this list does not include dancehall, or reggae DJs, groups or bands.

 

Copyright 2014 Caribbean E-Magazine All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without credit..
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Remembering Peter Tosh

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Grammy-winning artist and  activist Peter Tosh , born Winston Hubert McIntosh in Grange Hill, Westmoreland on October . 19, 1944.   Today the singer who died on September 11, 1987, he was murdered at his home during a robbery would have turned   67.


At the age of fifteen, Tosh went  Kingston, where he met Robert Nesta (Bob) Marley and Neville O’Reilly “Bunny” Livingston, who had similar musical dreams., and formed the popular group “Wailing Wailers”, which he left in 1974

Tosh first single Legalize It, in 1976, became an instant hit, as many thought he was singing about marijuana legalization

Peter Tosh continued to record international hit records for the rest of the 1970s and early 1980s, and never relaxed his intense message of revolution. After a live concert release in 1984, Peter Tosh took a few years off, and his 1987 comeback record No Nuclear War was nominated for a Grammy Award.


On September 11, 1987, Tosh was gunned down at his home by three men, one of whom was an acquaintance of Peter Tosh's, Dennis Lobban.    Tosh and his house guests were  in the head, where   Tosh died instantly, as did two of his friends, including  disc jockey Jeff "Free I" Dixon


Peter Tosh Release studio albums

• Legalize It (1976)
• Equal Rights (1977)
• Bush Doctor (1978)
• Mystic Man (1979)
• Wanted Dread And Alive (1981)
• Mama Africa (1983)
• No Nuclear War (1987)

 

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Today In Entertainment History September 11

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Jamaica singer Peter Tosh  was shot to death in his home ,September 11, 1987. According to Police reports  Tosh was shot in the head after he refused to turn over money to three robbers.

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Bob Marley and Peter Tosh to be honored

Monday, March 8, 2010

Jamaicans will honour late reggae greats BOB MARLEY and PETER TOSH when the doors to the nation's music museum open next year (11).

Rare pieces of memorabilia will go on display at the Jamaica Music Museum, which will document and preserve artifacts from the Caribbean country's rich music history.

Items to be exhibited include the album Marley produced before he became famous - Martha Velez's Escape from Babylon - as well as a cassette tape that features Tosh performing a blues track with Rolling Stones stars Keith Richards and Sir Mick Jagger in 1977.

The country's preservationists took a hit after historic film footage and thousands of original records were stolen from a collection of archives in Kingston during a raid in January 2008.

The reels have still not been located - and government authorities are appealing for donations to help invest in the new music museum, according to the Associated Press.

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