Rocksteady Music Guide: 5 Notable Rocksteady Artists

Rocksteady is a Jamaican music genre that dominated the country's dance scene between the summer of 1966 and the spring of 1968. It followed in the footsteps of ska music in that it was informed by jazz, Caribbean music, African music, and rhythm and blues. However, rocksteady was performed at slower tempos then ska with an emphasis on love songs and vocal harmonies. Rocksteady was led by powerhouse vocal harmony groups such as the Techniques and the Gaylads, as well as solo singers like Alton Ellis, Roy Shirley, Derrick Morgan, Ken Boothe, and Hopeton Lewis. Together, these inspired the next generation of musicians, who would develop the reggae genre.

Rocksteady music enjoyed a short but intense run at the top of the Jamaican music scene.

• Ska roots: The musicians who developed rocksteady came from the world of ska music. Leading rocksteady groups like the Gaylads, the Heptones, the Techniques, the Paragons, and the Clarendonians cut their teeth on ska, which was the prevailing Jamaican pop genre in the early 1960s.
• Slowing down the tempo: On the 1966 recording of "Take It Easy," the Jets accompanied singer Hopeton Lewis as his backing band. The group's music director, Lynn Taitt, instructed the band to significantly slow down their tempo while playing the same core ska rhythms. With this simple move, a new music genre was born.
• Influential producers: Arthur "Duke" Reid was a Jamaican DJ and record label owner who saw the potential in rocksteady music. Duke Reid promoted the careers of many rocksteady artists including Alton Ellis, Prince Buster, the Paragons, the Techniques, the Silvertones, and the Jamaicans. Other influential rocksteady producers included Sonia Pottinger, Joe Gibbs, and Derrick Morgan (also a singer with roots in ska).
• Two years of hits: For two years in the late 1960s, rocksteady music dominated Jamaican pop culture. Major hits of the era included "Get In The Groove" by the Heptones, "Queen Majesty" by the Techniques, "Tougher Than Tough" by Derrick Morgan, "Sharing You" by Prince Buster, and "Girl I've Got a Date" by Alton Ellis and the Flames.
• Giving way to reggae and dub: By the summer of 1968, a new genre called reggae had captured the Jamaican airwaves. The new music had more active guitars, sophisticated basslines, and, sometimes, a connection to the Rastafarian religion. Dub music also gained acclaim on the heels of reggae music. Some rocksteady musicians adapted to the new style. Some soldiered on with rocksteady music. Others, like keyboardist and musical arranger Jackie Mittoo, emigrated to the US and Canada, bringing Jamaican music to places like Toronto and New York City.

Rocksteady music is known for several core elements.

1. 1. Slowed down ska: Many of the first rocksteady musicians were ska artists who began slowing down existing ska standards. Before long, those slower tempos—typically between 80 and 100 beats per minute (BPM)—defined the rocksteady sound.
2. 2. Upbeat rhythm patterns: Like ska music, rocksteady guitar emphasizes the upbeats in a measure of 4/4. The rocksteady rhythm guitar pattern consists of silence on every downbeat and an upstroke on every upbeat.
3. 3. Vocal harmony: Rocksteady music is known for its vocal harmony groups like the Techniques, the Melodians, the Gaylads, the Silvertones, and the Heptones.

Jamaican rocksteady music and ska music are remarkably similar, but as a rule, rocksteady is played slower than ska. By many accounts, Lynn Tait, the guitarist and bandleader of the Jets, effectively invented rocksteady when he ordered the group to slow down their tempo on a backing track for singer Hopeton Lewis.

During its brief run of popularity, rocksteady produced several Jamaican stars.

1. 1. Alton Ellis (1938–2008): Ellis performed the song "Rock Steady," which gave the genre its name. He was known for his sweet voice, prolific songwriting (and, later, producing), as well as his later reggae career in Canada and the UK.
2. 2. Lynn Taitt (1934–2010): Guitarist and bandleader Lynn Taitt is credited as the man who slowed down ska to create rocksteady. He led the band on "Tougher Than Tough" by Derrick Morgan.
3. 3. Delroy Wilson (1948–1995): Delroy Wilson was a child star who would go on to record one of the first Jamaican rocksteady songs, "Dancing Mood." He also recorded with the Wailers, who would become international stars as Bob Marley’s backing band.
4. 4. Phyllis Dillon (1944–2004): Sometimes called "the queen of rocksteady," Dillon made her name with rocksteady interpretations of American folk-pop songs such as the Grass Roots' "Midnight Confessions" and Stephen Stills' "Love the One You're With." Her versions of “Perfidia” and “Picture on the Wall” have become long-time rocksteady anthems.
5. 5. The Techniques: Led by Winston Riley, the Techniques became a touchstone for vocal rocksteady, which blended the singing talents of Riley, Franklyn White, Frederick Waite, and Slim Smith. They were known for love songs like "Queen Majesty" and "It's You I Love."

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