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One account of rocksteady's inception comes from the film "Studio One
Drummie and the history of rocksteady music": rock steady music started at Studio One in 1966 because when Joe Isaacs at age 15 replaced Skatalites drummer Lloyd Knibbs, Isaacs could not play drums fast enough to keep up with the
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Despite its short lifespan, rocksteady's influence is great. Many reggae artists began in rocksteady (and/or ska)—most commonly reggae singers grew out of rocksteady groups, e.g., Junior Byles came from the
Versatiles, John Holt was in the Paragons, both Pat Kelly and Slim Smith sang with the
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The slowing that occurred with rocksteady allowed bass players to explore more fat, dark, loose, slow tones than ska bass. The slower tempo and smaller band-sizes in turn led to a much larger focus on the bass line in general, which eventually became one of the recognizable characteristics of
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The
Jamaican musicians and producers who developed rocksteady had grown up learning and playing jazz and had played through ska. In a similar way to what happened at Motown, the musicians responsible for playing this new sound would go to a jazz club after work.
574:(sometimes known as the 'answer rhythm') and "Real Rock" both from the Studio One label; "My Conversation" also sung by Slim Smith, produced by Bunny Lee; "Queen Majesty" sung by the Techniques and "Lonely Street" by the Conquerors, both for Treasure Isle label.
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disbanded (64/65—accounts vary) McCook went to work at the
Treasure Isle label and Jackie Mittoo went to the Studio One label—these two artists/arrangers became instrumental in the way these two labels became dominant and helped to form the sound of Rocksteady.
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comes from a popular (slower) dance style mentioned in the Alton Ellis song "Rocksteady", that matched the new sound. Some rocksteady songs became hits outside
Jamaica, as with ska, helping to secure the international base reggae music has today.
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made a suggestion to slow the music down whilst recording "Take It Easy". Taitt backed this up in a 2002 interview, stating: "I told 'Gladdy to slow the tempo and that's how Take It Easy and rocksteady came about. Rocksteady is really slow ska."
534:. Other developments included horns fading farther into the background; the introduction of a scratchier, more percussive rhythm guitar; the addition of African-style hand drumming, and a more precise, intricate and aggressive drumming style.
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546:, beginning with "Wake the Town"). Indeed, this collaboration provided rocksteady with an afterlife as U-Roy rocksteady-based songs rode high in the charts (1970–71), even as reggae began to establish itself as the new sound.
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Also, in the middle to later part of the decade, as ska began to fade in popularity and the optimism that accompanied
Independence in 1962 dwindled, young people from the Jamaican countryside were flooding into the urban
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Also around this time (1969–70) the use of a vocal-free or lead instrument-free dub or B-side "version" became popular in
Jamaica; at the beginning this involved the use of rocksteady tracks, most notably with U-Roy
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As a popular musical style, rocksteady was short-lived - the genre's heyday only lasted about two years, from around summer 1966 until spring 1968. However, its influence can still be heard in rhythms used today.
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was in the
Righteous Flames. The Wailing Wailers were similarly a vocal harmony trio (modelled on the Impressions) who came from ska, through rocksteady and became a reggae band with just the one main vocalist.
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became more popular in
Jamaica and rocksteady became less popular. Many reggae songs became focused less on romance and more on black consciousness, politics and protest. The release of the 1972 film
526:—and the upgrading of Jamaican studio technology—had a marked effect on the sound and style of the recordings. Bass patterns became more complex and increasingly dominated the arrangements, and the
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Alton Ellis was anti-rudie, and Alton Ellis and the Flames' "Cry Tough", released before the term rocksteady was in vogue, urged
Jamaicans in the ghettos to stay tough through the hard times.
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The tempo became slower with the development of rocksteady than it had been in ska. The guitar and piano players began to experiment with occasional accents around the basic offbeat pattern.
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Rocksteady's dominance meant that all record labels of the time released music in the genre; Studio One, Treasure Isle, Bunny Lee and Prince Buster were predominant.
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is significant. Many bass lines originally created for rocksteady songs continue to be used in contemporary Jamaican music. Such as the rhythm from "Never Let Go" by
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Due in part to the heavy borrowing from US soul songs, many rocksteady songs are love songs; e.g. "Sharing You" by Prince Buster, which is a cover of a soul singer
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is sometimes said to be the father of rocksteady for his hit "Rocksteady"; however, other candidates for the first rocksteady single include "Take It Easy" by
460:. Reid's work with these groups helped establish the vocal sound of rocksteady. Some would consider the rocksteady years to be Treasure Isle's best.
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and African Drumming feature, too. By the time rocksteady came around American Soul music was strong and that had an influence as well.
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and the rise of Jamaican superstar Bob Marley brought reggae to an international level that rocksteady never reached.
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noted, "Ask any Jamaican musician and they'll tell you the rocksteady days were the best days of Jamaican music."
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Jamaican music. In rocksteady, the lead guitar often doubles the bass line, in the muted picking style created by
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Although rocksteady was a short-lived phase of Jamaican popular music, its influence on what came after: reggae,
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Several factors contributed to the evolution of rocksteady into reggae in the late 1960s. The emigration to
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released Alton Ellis' "Girl I've Got a Date" on his Treasure Isle label, as well as recordings by
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Techniques (Pat Kelly sings lead on "You Don't Care") and Ronnie Davis was in the Tennors while
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and some rocksteady songs reflect this (usually negatively) such as "Rude Boy Gone A Jail" by
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pace of ska - music director Jackie Mittoo (The Mozart of Jamaica), slowed down the tempo.
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816:"Judge Dread Featuring Prince Buster – Jamaica's Pride [LIBRARY RECORDS]"
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This article is about the music genre. For the video game developer, see
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935:(1st ed.). Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 352.
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659:"From The Aces To The Zodiacs, A Primer in Jamaican Rock Steady"
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Another account comes from a Jamaican radio interview, pianist
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389:—in neighborhoods such as Riverton City, Greenwich Town and
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731:"Reggae Bass and Reggae Music: Everything You Need to Know"
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791:"The Techniques – Queen Majesty (AKA Minstrel And Queen)"
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991:
Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae (2009 documentary film)
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Gladstone Anderson: Key player in rocksteady’s genesis
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People Funny Boy – The Genius Of Lee 'Scratch' Perry
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and, most famously, "Judge Dread" by Prince Buster.
706:"Learn the Difference Between Ska and Reggae Music"
353:There are rocksteady songs about religion and the
16:Music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966
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632:"ZonaReGGae reviews "Many Moods of…Alton Ellis""
959:Dubwise: Reasoning from the Reggae Underground
346:, which is a cover of "Minstrel and Queen" by
307:- Fats Domino, Louis Jordan and many others -
303:Other influences were: most notably, American
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880:, 3rd edn, Rough Guides, ISBN 1-84353-329-4.
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996:The History of Jamaican Music: Rock Steady
876:Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004),
849:The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music
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120:Learn how and when to remove this message
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1002:The History of Jamaican Music 1959-1973
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1274:Man in Business Suit Levitating emoji
1249:Caribbean music in the United Kingdom
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933:The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music
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342:'s original, and "Queen Majesty" by
58:adding citations to reliable sources
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604:"Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae"
756:Katz, David (17 November 2009).
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762:. Omnibus Press. pp. 1–5.
45:needs additional citations for
1264:List of Caribbean music genres
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463:Notable solo artists include
584:List of rocksteady musicians
215:around 1966. A successor of
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25:Rocksteady (disambiguation)
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911:Campbell, Howard (2012), "
682:Johnston, Richard (2004).
507:Transformation into reggae
407:, "Tougher Than Tough" by
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326:(as on "Run for Cover" by
239:; soulful singers such as
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878:The Rough Guide to Reggae
684:How to Play Rhythm Guitar
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1325:Jamaican styles of music
636:Zonareggae.wordpress.com
1294:Sound system (Jamaican)
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931:Du Noyer, Paul (2003).
549:By the late 1960s, the
956:Walker, Klive (2005).
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284:Ska/rocksteady rhythm
23:. For other uses, see
1269:List of ska musicians
426:said that bandleader
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556:The Harder They Come
255:; musicians such as
54:improve this article
901:on 17 January 2008.
854:Guinness Publishing
735:Smartbassguitar.com
411:and "Hold Them" by
328:Lee "Scratch" Perry
219:and a precursor to
211:that originated in
1254:Culture of Jamaica
852:(First ed.).
551:Rastafari movement
424:Gladstone Anderson
355:Rastafari movement
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164:Mid-1960s, Jamaica
21:Rocksteady Studios
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1190:Asian Man Records
1175:Blue Beat Records
998:, ReggaeTrain.com
973:978-1-894663-96-0
769:978-0-85712-034-2
737:. 2 February 2015
363:the Clarendonians
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43:This article
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1242:Other topics
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899:the original
894:
891:"Lynn Taitt"
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847:
844:Colin Larkin
824:. Retrieved
820:the original
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798:. Retrieved
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773:. Retrieved
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739:. Retrieved
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668:December 14,
666:. Retrieved
663:Tallawah.com
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640:. Retrieved
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481:Tommy McCook
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247:, Bob Andy,
233:the Heptones
229:the Paragons
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191:Other topics
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69:"Rocksteady"
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52:Please help
47:verification
44:
1199:Subcultures
642:14 December
413:Roy Shirley
401:Alton Ellis
267:. The term
241:Alton Ellis
237:the Gaylads
209:music genre
1320:Rocksteady
1314:Categories
1289:Ska stroke
1259:Dance hall
1216:Scooterboy
1165:Studio One
1144:Rocksteady
1112:Influences
826:2021-04-12
795:Genius.com
613:28 October
590:References
572:Slim Smith
544:King Tubby
524:Lynn Taitt
469:Ken Boothe
428:Lynn Taitt
391:Trenchtown
324:Lynn Taitt
269:rocksteady
261:Lynn Taitt
249:Ken Boothe
205:Rocksteady
135:Rocksteady
80:newspapers
1233:Suedehead
1093:Australia
800:7 October
741:7 October
715:7 October
686:, p. 72.
568:dancehall
540:deejaying
517:arrangers
442:Duke Reid
395:rude boys
359:rude boys
1299:Toasting
1221:Skinhead
1211:Rude boy
1077:Two-tone
1062:Ska punk
1057:Ska jazz
775:12 April
578:See also
387:Kingston
110:May 2010
1139:R&B
1119:Calypso
383:ghettos
372:History
213:Jamaica
94:scholar
1134:Reggae
1067:Spouge
1045:Genres
970:
939:
860:
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