Lloyd Knibb is best remembered as the longtime drummer for influential Jamaican ska band, the Skatalites. Helping to form the group in 1964, Knibb was their for the early development of ska, a form of Caribbean music that included elements of calypso, mento, American jazz, and R&B that was the foundation of reggae. The Skatalites’ biggest hit was “Guns Of Navarone.” Knibb began his career during the 1940s when he played in various Jamaican jazz bands. That lead to session work for legendary producer Coxsone Dodd and recordings for the likes of reggae pioneers, Duke Reid and Prince Buster. He provided the backbeat for the Skatalites from their inception in 1964 until their break up just a year later, and then from their much heralded 1983 reunion at Reggae Sunsplash until the time of his death. He performed his last show with the band in April of 2011. On May 12, 2011, Lloyd Knibb died of liver cancer. He was 80.
Lincoln “Sugar” Minott
May 25, 1956 – July 10, 2010
Sugar Minott was a reggae pioneer who began his career during the late ’60s as a member of the African Brothers. Their early recordings are noted to have shown the Rastafaris’ influence on the development of reggae music. Minott soon went to work at Coxsone Dodd’s legendary Studio One as a back up musician, singer and overall apprentice, eventually branching out to make his first solo records there. His recordings of the late ’70s and early ’80s are considered some of the biggest influences on reggae’s dancehall scene. He also released several UK charting roots and lovers rock style records throughout the ’80s. Meanwhile, Minott operated one of Jamaica’s most popular sound systems which was set up in public parks and afforded countless young reggae artists their first opportunities to perform in front of an audience. He also produced records by the likes of Daddy Freddy, Horace Andy and Barrington Levy. Others with which he collaborated were Sly & Robbie and Mikey Dread, to name a couple. Sugar Minott was 54 when he died in a Kingston hospital. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Bob Marley was a Jamaican musician and singer-songwriter who is widely recognized for bringing reggae music to the rest of the world. He is arguable the most beloved performer of reggae. His greatest hits album, Legend, is the biggest selling reggae album of all times, selling a staggering 20 million copies. in 1963, producer Coxsone Dodd discovered Marley in a group that also included Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. They would soon become the Wailers. Over the next several years, Marley would release a string of albums that would help define a sound and movement. Those classic albums included Catch A Fire, Burnin’, Rastaman Vibration, and of course, Exudus. In July of 1977, Marley was diagnosed with a form of malenoma in his big toe. Citing his Rastafarian belief that the body most remain whole, Marley refused to receive any form of surgical treatment. Instead, he sought more controversial and holistic forms of treatment, but the cancer had already progressed too far. Bob Marley passed away in a Miami hospital at the age of 36.
Clement “Coxsone” Dodd
January 26, 1932 – May 5, 2004
Coxsone Dodd was the pioneering Jamaican DJ and producer that many credit for early development of reggae and ska. Dodd’s career in music began at an early age when he would spin records at this parents’ store. He grew that into a popular sound system business, employing the likes of Lee “Scratch” Perry an U-Roy to run the sound systems. Having spent some time in the United States, Dodd featured early American R&B records, first introducing many Jamaicans to the music. Realizing that he couldn’t keep up with the local demand for new music with imports from the States, Dodd decided to start his own record label and shortly thereafter, open his Studio One recording studio. Over the next two decades, Dodd would produce and release some of reggae’s greatest songs and albums from such artists as Bob Marley, Burning Spear, Sugar Minott, Ras Michael and Horace Andy. To many, he was to reggae what Berry Gordy was to R&B, and his “studio one sound” would become the blueprint for ska and rocksteady. Dodd died of a heart attack at the age of 74.
Lyn Taitt was a reggae guitarist best known for his work on rocksteady recordings. As a child, Taitt first learned to play the steel drum, but by his mid teens he switched over to guitar. His style was percussive and inventive, making him one of the first stand-outs of ska and rocksteady. Over the course of his career, he played on hundreds of records, and worked with producers like the great Joe Gibbs and Coxsone Dodd. His guitar work has graced records by the likes of Lee Scratch Perry, Bob Marley, Desmond Dekker and Ken Boothe. In 1968, he moved to Canada where he stayed an active part of the Montreal reggae scene well into the 21st century. Lyn Tait died of cancer on January 10, 2010. He was 75.
Known as the “Dark Prince of Reggae,” Keith Hudson was a reggae musician, singer, songwriter and producer who helped usher in the practice of “dub.” As a child growing up in Kingston, Hudson was a schoolmate of such future legends as Bob Marley, Ken Boothe and Delroy Wilson. Even at an early age, he gravitated toward the riddems that would eventually be called ska and reggae. He soon became a disciple of Coxsone Dodd, the legendary Jamaican producer. In 1960, Hudson produced his first record by a group of musicians who would soon become members of the Skatalites. His first hit as a producer came in the late ’60s thanks to “Old Fashioned Way,” a record he made with Boothe. He went on to work with Wilson, Alton Ellis and U-Roy. He began making his own records during the ’70s and began experimenting with dub. His albums at the time were critical hits in Jamaica. His 1975 Pick A Dub is considered a masterpiece and is widely regarded as the very first deliberately thematic dub album. Hudson moved to New York City not long after the release of Pick A Dub and eventually started his own label. He was diagnosed with lung cancer during the summer of 1984, and was 38 when he died of it four months later.
Lloyd Knibb is best remembered as the longtime drummer for influential Jamaican ska band, the Skatalites. Helping to form the group in 1964, Knibb was their for the early development of ska, a form of Caribbean music that included elements of calypso, mento, American jazz, and R&B that was the foundation of reggae. The Skatalites’ biggest hit was “Guns Of Navarone.” Knibb began his career during the 1940s when he played in various Jamaican jazz bands. That lead to session work for legendary producer Coxsone Dodd and recordings for the likes of reggae pioneers, Duke Reid and Prince Buster. He provided the backbeat for the Skatalites from their inception in 1964 until their break up just a year later, and then from their much heralded 1983 reunion at Reggae Sunsplash until the time of his death. He performed his last show with the band in April of 2011. On May 12, 2011, Lloyd Knibb died of liver cancer. He was 80.
Sugar Minott was a reggae pioneer who began his career during the late ’60s as a member of the African Brothers. Their early recordings are noted to have shown the Rastafaris’ influence on the development of reggae music. Minott soon went to work at 
Bob Marley was a Jamaican musician and singer-songwriter who is widely recognized for bringing reggae music to the rest of the world. He is arguable the most beloved performer of reggae. His greatest hits album, Legend, is the biggest selling reggae album of all times, selling a staggering 20 million copies. in 1963, producer 
Lyn Taitt was a reggae guitarist best known for his work on rocksteady recordings. As a child, Taitt first learned to play the steel drum, but by his mid teens he switched over to guitar. His style was percussive and inventive, making him one of the first stand-outs of ska and rocksteady. Over the course of his career, he played on hundreds of records, and worked with producers like the great 
Known as the “Dark Prince of Reggae,” Keith Hudson was a reggae musician, singer, songwriter and producer who helped usher in the practice of “dub.” As a child growing up in Kingston, Hudson was a schoolmate of such future legends as 
The Music's Over 