60 greatest rocksteady personalities (30 – 16)

60 greatest rocksteady personalities (30 – 16) While never revered as ska, roots-reggae or dancehall, rocksteady is arguably the most loved of the Jamaican music forms. The genre, which produced a series of top-flight vocalists, harmony groups and musicians, celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2026 and Observer Online marks that milestone with the 60 Greatest Rocksteady Personalities. The list is compiled by Jamaica Observer contract writers Howard Campbell and Claude Mills, with assistance from Michael Barnett, a respected broadcaster and rocksteady authority.

The team looked at impact and the significance of contribution in assembling this august table which will be completed by a Top 20 Most Influential People in Rocksteady, five of whom (numbers 20 to 16) are previewed on this list. Here are numbers 30 to 21 on our list, presented in no specific order, as well as numbers 20 to 16, which are in order. Headley Bennett 30 – Headley Bennett A saxophonist who played on Judge Not, Bob Marley’s first song, Bennett was a graduate of the Alpha Boys’ School where his contemporaries included trombonist Don Drummond and trumpeter Bobby Ellis.

Some of the many rocksteady songs which Bennett played on include: Dancing Mood (Delroy Wilson), on which he played a memorable solo; Dancing Shoe (The Wailers), I’m The Toughest (Peter Tosh) and I Wanna Go Back Home (Bob Andy). His phrases can also be heard on Satta Massagana by The Abyssinians and Ballroom Floor by Bunny Wailer. Headley Bennett died in August 2016 at age 85.

Sid Bucknor (Photo: Irie Magazine) 29 – Sid Bucknor The engineer with the Midas touch, Bucknor was behind the console for many of rocksteady’s biggest hit songs. Fittingly,he was engineer for Hopeton Lewis’ Take it Easy, considered by many to be the genre’s first song, as well as Rock Steady, Alton Ellis’ tribute to the uptempo sound. Bucknor was also the engineer on Hold Them by Roy Shirley, Ba Ba Boom (The Jamaicans), Loving Pauper (Dobby Dobson), and Born to Love You by The Sensations.

After moving to the United Kingdom in the 1970s, Sid Bucknor worked with leading recording studios including Island and Chalk Farm. He died in that country on May 9 2010. Roy Shirley 28 – Roy Shirley The High Priest was big on drama in terms of his live act, which included flashy costumes.

His seminal 1967 hit song, Hold Them, is considered by some to be the first rocksteady song. Hold Them was produced by Joe Gibbs, an electrician from Montego Bay who was making a name for himself. Get on The Ball, another Shirley hit, was produced by Ken Lack.

The Kingston-born Shirley debuted as a recording artiste in the early 1960s with producer Leslie Kong. He next joined The Uniques, which also included Slim Smith and Franklin White. After leaving that group, Shirley re-cast himself as a recording artiste whose stage act was embellished by an outrageous wardrobe and bouts of weeping.

As his reputation grew in the United Kingdom, he moved to that country in the early 1970s. He died there in July 2008 at age 64. 27 – Joe Isaacs Born Clinton Donaldson Isaacs, the prolific drummer is considered by music aficionados as one of the influential musicians in the rocksteady era.

He played a major role in the evolution of ska to rocksteady in the mid-1960s. Isaacs was a member of the legendary Sound Dimension band at Studio One that created many of that label’s greatest rhythms. Isaacs played on Delroy Wilson’s Dancing Mood, Ken Boothe’s Artibella, Marcia Griffiths’ Feel Like Jumping, The Heptones’ Fatty Fatty and many others.

After leaving Studio One in 1968, Isaacs worked at the rival Treasure Isle (owned by Duke Reid); Federal Records and Beverley’s Records. He currently lives in Canada. Ernest Wilson.

26 – Ernest Wilson One of Jamaican music’s great vocalists, he first found fame as a member of The Clarendonians with Peter Austin, which had several ska hits at Studio One for producer Clement Dodd. Wilson embarked on a solo career in 1967, scoring hits like Storybook Children, Undying Love and If I Were a Carpenter, all produced by Dodd. The multi-talented Wilson also did well as a reggae artiste, making the charts with the Channel One-produced I Know Myself.

He played bass guitar on Gregory Isaacs’ Cool Ruler album, and guitar on several songs by various artistes. Ernest Wilson died in Kingston on November 2, 2021, at the age of 69. Sonia Pottinger 25 – Sonia Pottinger Sonia Pottinger was the first female Jamaican music producer.

She was marriedto Lindon Pottinger, a producer who sold his recording equipment to Duke Reid in 1964. After the Pottingers separated, Sonia decided to continue producing records. She opened her Tip Top Records shop in 1965 and recorded hit songs by The Ethiopians (The Whip), That’s Life (Delano Stewart), and The Melodians (Swing And Dine).

Arguably her biggest hit as a producer is Dreamland by Marcia Griffiths. She released numerous songs on her Gay Feet, Tip Top, Rainbow, and High Note labels including Stay A Little Bit Longer by Stewart. An astute businesswoman, Pottinger bought the Treasure Isle Records catalogue from long-time friend Duke Reid.

Sonia Pottinger retired from the music business in 1985. She died at her home in Kingston on November 3, 2010, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. 24 – Joe Gibbs Usually associated with the success of Dennis Brown and Culture during the 1970s, Gibbs first made his mark in the rocksteady era with a series of hit songs including Hold Them by Roy Shirley.

Some of Gibbs’ other rocksteady hits are You Gonna Need Me and Stop Your Lying by Errol Dunkley, Just Like A River and Seeing is Knowing by Stranger and Gladdy. He exploded in the 1970s, producing songs such as Nicky Thomas’ Love Of The Common People which was a hit in the United Kingdom. His biggest success came with Dennis Brown, for whom Gibbs produced many hits such as How Could I Leave, Ain’t That Loving You, Stay at Home and Love Has Found its Way.

Gibbs also produced Two Sevens Clash by Culture, Tribal War by George Nooks and Someone Loves You Honey by J C Lodge. Joe Gibbs died in 2008 at age 67. Desmond Dekker 23 – Desmond Dekker and The Aces A unique artiste, Dekker (born Desmond Dacres) was a member of producer Leslie Kong’s champion stable which also included Jimmy Cliff and Toots and The Maytals.

He and The Aces (Winston Samuels and Barry Howard) had two of the biggest-selling rocksteady songs — 007 (Shantytown) and Israelites, which made the British national chart. Dekker and The Aces had a good run prior to their UK success. Songs like Unity, Intensified, Honour Your Mother and Father, Mother Young Gal and It Mek showed Dekker’s songwriting talent in a period when most Jamaican acts were covering songs by American soul singers.

Desmond Dekker died in 2006 in the UK at age 64. Lynford “Hux” Brown 22 – Lynford “Hux” Brown One of the most influential guitarists in Jamaican music, Brown started his career at producer Clement Dodd’s Studio One in the early 1960s.