50 Fun Facts About Reggae

In which decade did reggae emerge as a distinct genre?

The first bona fide reggae records, 'Nanny Goat' and 'No More Heartaches', came out in early 1968.

Which 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals was the first popular song to use the word 'reggae'?

The Oxford English Dictionary credits the group in the etymology of the word.

Which genre came immediately before reggae in Jamaica, slower than ska and with more romantic lyrics?

It dominated Jamaican music for barely two years from about 1966 before reggae took over.

What is the name for the short, scratchy offbeat guitar chop that defines reggae?

It is also called the 'bang'; the intro to the Wailers' 'Stir It Up' uses a double chop.

Reggae is closely associated with which Afrocentric religion that emerged in Jamaica in the 1930s?

From the 1970s reggae's global success helped spread Rastafarian beliefs worldwide.

Reggae historian Steve Barrow credits which artist with turning the patois word 'streggae' into 'reggae'?

Toots Hibbert insisted 'reggay' simply came out of his mouth one morning while jamming with two friends.

Bob Marley claimed the word reggae came from a Spanish term meaning what?

The 1967 Dictionary of Jamaican English instead links it to rege-rege, meaning rags or a quarrel.

Ska became the music of choice for young Jamaicans when the island gained independence in which year?

Ska also became popular among mods in Britain.

One theory says ska slowed down because which singer couldn't perform 'Take It Easy' at ska tempo?

The name rocksteady was codified after Alton Ellis's single of that name.

The genre between ska and reggae was named after a song by which soulful singer?

The song's subject was a popular slower dance style that matched the new sound.

Which two 1968 records are counted as the first bona fide reggae releases?

Larry Marshall sang the first; the Beltones the second.

Which 1968 Lee 'Scratch' Perry single is cited as a transitional record into reggae?

The organ shuffle by players like Jackie Mittoo and Winston Wright marked the shift.

Improvised rhythmic vocals over records by deejays such as U-Roy and Big Youth are known as what?

Dubplates and instrumental versions gave deejays room to perform live on sound systems.

Which American artist's 1968 hit 'Hold Me Tight' is credited with first putting reggae on the US charts?

He returned to No. 1 for four weeks in 1972 with 'I Can See Clearly Now'.

Which 1968 Beatles song is cited as an early example of reggae influence in rock and pop?

By late 1972 reggae-based records had reached the very top of the Billboard Hot 100.

Which trio founded the Wailers in 1963?

Over a dozen Wailers songs borrow from Jamaican mento songs.

Millie Small's 1964 international smash was a bluebeat/ska cover of which song?

Small was among the ska stars, with Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker and Ken Boothe, who later moved into reggae.

Which label, founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica in 1960, partnered with Trojan on UK reggae?

Between 1968 and 1972 reggae sold more in the UK than in Jamaica.

Trojan Records took its name from what?

The Croydon-built lorry had 'Duke Reid - The Trojan King of Sounds' painted on its sides.

Which Jamaican label founded by Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd has been called the Motown of Jamaica?

Its first recordings were cut in 1963 on Brentford Road, with the Skatalites as house band.

Which ska instrumental group served as Coxsone Dodd's house band in 1964-65?

Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Tommy McCook and Jackie Mittoo were recruited from Kingston's jazz scene.

Which 1972 film starring Jimmy Cliff introduced Jamaican music to cinema audiences abroad?

Its soundtrack was the best-selling reggae album until Bob Marley's Legend in 1984.

Ivanhoe Martin, hero of the 1972 reggae film, was based on which real 1940s Jamaican outlaw?

Rhygin was the film's working title before shooting.

Which album finally overtook the 1972 film soundtrack as the best-selling reggae album, in 1984?

The film soundtrack has been described as having 'brought reggae to the world'.

Which rock guitarist's 1974 cover of 'I Shot the Sheriff' brought Marley to a wider audience?

The recording used modern rock production while keeping most of the original's reggae elements.

Paul Simon recorded 'Mother and Child Reunion' with Jimmy Cliff's backing group in which Jamaican city?

Billboard ranked it the No. 57 song of 1972.

Which US band hit No. 1 in September 1972 with a cover of the Maytones' version of 'Black and White'?

Two months later Johnny Nash spent four weeks at No. 1 with 'I Can See Clearly Now'.

Which British DJ played reggae alongside punk at clubs like The Roxy in the late 1970s?

The Clash, the Ruts, the Police and the Slits all recorded reggae-influenced songs.

Which softer, female-led reggae subgenre grew up in South London, exemplified by Janet Kay?

Unlike its male-dominated Jamaican namesake led by Gregory Isaacs, the UK version had a more commercial sound.

In which year did the Grammys introduce the award for Best Reggae Album?

Toots and the Maytals won it for True Love; UK bands like Steel Pulse and Aswad also flourished in the 1980s.

Which term is used, often disparagingly, for the genre when played by non-Caribbean people?

Boy George has been called 'one of the great cod reggae artists of all time'.

In November 2018 'reggae music of Jamaica' was added to which UNESCO list?

The citation praised reggae's contribution to discourse on injustice, resistance, love and humanity.

Which Jamaican prime minister declared February 2008 the first Reggae Month?

The month includes tributes to Dennis Brown, whom Bob Marley named his favourite singer.

Reggae's profile in Africa was boosted by Bob Marley's 1980 visit to which newly independent country?

Reggae en Español, meanwhile, spread from Panama across South America.

Dub pioneer Osbourne Ruddock mixed under which royal nickname?

Osbourne 'King Tubby' Ruddock stripped tracks to drum and bass and drenched them in delay and reverb.

Which dub pioneer is credited with bringing the melodica to the genre?

He collaborated with most of the great dub producers of the 1970s.

What was the name of the backyard recording base Lee 'Scratch' Perry built in 1973?

Perry always insisted he burned it down himself in a fit of rage.

Toots Hibbert's soulful vocal style was most often compared with which American singer?

Rolling Stone named him one of the 100 Greatest Singers.

What was Peter Tosh's birth name?

He was born in Westmoreland, Jamaica's westernmost parish, and was murdered in a 1987 home invasion.

What was the title of Peter Tosh's debut solo album, recorded at Treasure Isle in 1975-76?

Bush Doctor followed in 1978 on Rolling Stones Records.

On what unusual vehicle did Peter Tosh like to ride onto the stage?

He could ride it forwards, backwards and hop.

Under what name was Winston Rodney, the roots singer of 'Marcus Garvey' and 'Slavery Days', known?

The name came from a military award given by Jomo Kenyatta; Bob Marley pointed him toward Coxsone Dodd's label in 1969.

Jimmy Cliff was one of five performers inducted into which institution in 2010?

He also held Jamaica's Order of Merit and won two Grammys from seven nominations.

Which 1985 Wayne Smith hit, produced by King Jammy, introduced an entirely digital rhythm to dancehall?

The Sleng Teng riddim was reused on more than 200 later recordings.

What is the dancehall term for the instrumental backing track shared across many songs?

Dancehall took its name from the venue and was not formally named until the 1980s.

Reggae is played in which time signature?

The offbeat chords accent beats two and four while the drum stresses beat three.

Reggae drummers are advised to go without which piece of kit, keeping time on the hi-hat instead?

They also stuff the bass drum so the kick becomes a deep, punchy thud.

Summerjam, Europe's biggest reggae festival, takes place in which German city?

Crowds of 25,000 or more attend; Sweden's Uppsala Reggae Festival is the big draw in the north.

What is the local form of reggae that dominated Hawaii's music scene by the end of the 1980s called?

Hawaiian reggae also built a large following on the US West Coast, alongside the Southern California scene.

New Zealand reggae was heavily inspired by a Bob Marley tour of the country in which year?

Early groups such as Herbs paved the way for later acts like Fat Freddy's Drop and Katchafire.