Alton Ellis, the soulful singer whose songs defined the 1966-68 rocksteady era, has been named number one on the Observer Online’s 60 Greatest Rocksteady Personalities.

Ellis, who died in 2008, topped a Top 20 list selected by musicologist/broadcaster, Michael Barnett, and Jamaica Observer writers Howard Campbell and Claude Mills. Placing second is Ken Boothe, the West Kingston-born singer who also made his mark during that period.

At number three and four, respectively, are harmony groups The Paragons and The Heptones. They are followed by producer Duke Reid, whose Treasure Isle label churned out numerous hit songs.

At number six is Lynn Taitt, the Trinidad-born guitarist credited by some musicologists as the creator of rocksteady.

Coming in at number seven is producer Clement “Coxsone” Dodd, Reid’s arch-rival.

Rounding out the Top 10 are singer Delroy Wilson, bass guitarist Jackie Jackson and harmony group, The Techniques.

The Observer Top 20 is completed by Phyllis Dillon, The Melodians, The Wailers, Marcia Griffiths, Jackie Mittoo, Bob Andy, The Gaylads, Derrick Harriott, Hopeton Lewis and U Roy.

The Observer team used “length of service in their overall music careers, popularity of the exponent and their music during the rocksteady years, quality of music produced, and quantity” to select their Top 20.

20 – U-Roy
The first deejay to attract a mainstream following, and he did so in the early 1970s on rocksteady beats. The songs that did the trick were Wake The Town (And Tell The People) and Wear You To The Ball (done with John Holt). Both were produced by Duke Reid. That opened the door for recordings with other top producers like Bunny Lee and Lloyd “The Matador” Daley. U-Roy’s toast to hit songs like The Wailers’ Soul Rebel made him a star. He had another major hit in the early 1970s alongside Tom Drunk with Hopeton Lewis. U Roy died in February 2021 at age 79.

19 – Hopeton Lewis

This singer is believed to have recorded the first rocksteady song (Take it Easy) in 1966 at Federal Records. He was backed in that historic session by Lynn Taitt and The Jets. Lewis had a solid career, dotted by hits such as Sounds And Pressure and Cool Collie, one of the first weed anthems. He won the Festival Song Competition in 1970 with Boom Shacka Lacka. The following year, Lewis scored with Grooving Out on Life and Tom Drunk, a collaboration with U Roy. Lewis died in New York in 2014.

18 – Derrick Harriott
Known for songs such as Walk The Streets, Solomon and The Loser, Harriott started his career in the early 1960s as a member of The Jiving Juniors. In the rocksteady era, he also established himself as a producer and astute businessman with the Crystal label, which released hit songs by Keith and Tex (Stop That Train, Tonight), and The Kingstonians (Singer Man).

17- The Gaylads
This trio from East Kingston comprised B B Seaton, Delano Stewart and Maurice Roberts. Their impressive catalogue includes gems like Joy in The Morning, Hard to Confess, My Jamaican Girl, and Lady in The Red Dress, all written by Seaton. Seaton, who died in 2024 at age 79, also scored as a solo act with Accept My Apology. He wrote songs for other artistes as well, including Freedom Street for Ken Boothe and Swing And Dine by The Melodians.

16- Bob Andy
Songwriter extraordinaire Bob Andy went solo after a stint with The Paragons and was actually a marketing person at Studio One where he continued his career. He wrote and recorded songs that are among the finest in Jamaican music, including Too Experienced, Unchained and I’ve Got to Go Back Home. His Studio One work is compiled on Songbook, the 1970 album considered one of reggae’s great works. Bob Andy died in 2020 at age 75.

15- Jackie Mittoo
Reggae’s original beatmaster/musical director. A prodigy and founding member of The Skatalites band at age 16, Mittoo was a creative keyboardist and arranger who helped shape rocksteady. His unique playing and arrangements created some of Jamaican music’s most enduring jams. They include: Hot Milk, Ram Jam, Peenie Wallie, Drum Song, Darker Shade of Pale, and the wistful Autumn Sounds. Mittoo died in Toronto, Canada, in 1990 at age 42. His impact on contemporary reggae is immense, even though many current producers know little about his legacy.

14- Marcia Griffiths
Often lauded as the Queen of Reggae, Griffiths deserves that lofty title based on her many hit songs which started as a rocksteady act at Studio One with producer Clement Dodd. Her hits there include Melody Life, Feel Like Jumping, Mark my Word and Really Together (with Bob Andy). Griffiths’ career is among the most enduring in reggae. During the 1970s, she was a member of The I Three, Bob Marley’s harmony group, but still recorded solo songs such as Stepping outa Babylon and Dreamland. In the 1980s, Griffiths had her biggest hit with Electric Boogie, written by Bunny Wailer.

13- The Wailers
Legendary roots-reggae rude boys who had several ska hits like Simmer Down and Lonesome Feeling prior to the rocksteady phase. Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston also cut some memorable rocksteady sides such as Hypocrites, Thank You Lord and Mellow Mood. Those songs set the pace for The Wailers’ remarkable work with producer Lee “Scratch” Perry and Island Records which earned Marley, especially, superstardom.

12- The Melodians
The trio of Brent Dowe, Trevor McNaughton and Tony Brevett also recorded at Treasure Isle with producer Duke Reid. They had hit songs aplenty, with Little Nut Tree, You Have Caught Me, Expo 67 and Come on Little Girl among them. Moving to producer Leslie Kong’s Beverley’s Records, The Melodians had a massive hit with By The Rivers of Babylon, which is part of The Harder They Come soundtrack.

11- Phyllis Dillon
The rose from Linstead, St Catherine, Dillon made her name at Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle in a time when women were marginalised in Jamaican music. She scored with songs such as Perfidia, Don’t Stay Away, Don’t Touch Me and Remember That Sunday with Alton Ellis. Dillon migrated to the United States during the 1970s where she lived quietly until making a comeback in the 1990s when there was a rocksteady revival in Jamaica. She performed regularly on shows like Heineken Startime. Phyllis Dillon died in 2004 at age 59.

10- The Techniques
Formed in the ska era of the early 1960s, The Techniques became a top rocksteady act mid-decade at producer Arthur ‘Duke’ Reid‘s Treasure Isle studio which was flush with harmony groups. Their hit songs include Travelling Man, I Wish it Would Rain, It’s You I Love, Queen Majesty and I’m In The Mood For Love. Keith ‘Slim’ Smith, Franklyn White, Frederick Waite, Pat Kelly, Winston Riley and Johnny Johnson were among the group’s early members. Smith and Kelly are considered among the most influential vocalists in Jamaican music. The Techniques reformed during the 1990s rocksteady revival, and won new fans with the lineup of Kelly, Johnson and Lloyd Parks.

9- Jackie Jackson
The James Jamerson of reggae bass, Jackson’s credits are enormous. He was a member of The Supersonics, house band at Treasure Isle studio where he played on countless hits such as Alton Ellis Girl I’ve Got A Date, Ba Ba Boom by The Jamaicans, Little Nut Tree by The Melodians and Loving Pauper by Dobby Dobson. His patented feel can be heard on songs like The Harder They Come by Jimmy Cliff and Funky Kingston by Toots and The Maytals, which cemented Jackson’s reputation as Jamaican music’s premier bass guitarist.

8- Delroy Wilson
The acclaimed Saddlehead from Jones Town, Wilson is one of reggae’s most influential vocalists. A prodigy, he had ska hits such as I’m Not A King and Prince Pharaoh for producer Clement Dodd. He was one of the most successful rocksteady artistes, thanks to hits like Dancing Mood, Movie Star, Feel Good All Over, I’m Not a King, True Believer in Love, Rain From The Skies, Conquer Me and Riding For A Fall. Wilson had a solid run in the early 1970s when reggae took over. Working with producer Bunny Lee, he recorded Better Must Come and Cool Operator. His cover of The Spinners’ It’s A Shame was the first hit for the fledgling Channel One studio in 1973. Delroy Wilson died in 1995 at age 46.

7- Clement “Coxsone” Dodd
Duke Reid’s arch-rival and patriarch of Studio One. From his Brentford Road (now Studio One Boulevard) base, Dodd produced countless hit songs that have been covered and sampled by artistes and musicians for decades including Rock Steady, Dancing Mood, Moving Away, Stranger in Love, Fatty Fatty, Baby Why and Love Me Forever. Dodd’s camp was home to singers like Delroy Wilson, Ken Boothe, John Holt, harmony groups such The Heptones, The Cables and Carlton And The Shoes as well as genius keyboardist/arranger Jackie Mittoo. Dodd also helped nurture the careers of Burning Spear, Horace Andy, Dennis Brown, Barry Brown, Freddie McGregor, Willi Williams, and Sugar Minott, who flourished during the 1970s and 1980s. Clement Dodd died in 2004 at age 72.

6- Lynn Taitt
Arguably the most prolific musician in the rocksteady era, this Trinidadian guitarist played on Take it Easy by Hopeton Lewis, reputedly the genre’s first song, in 1966. Taitt’s distinctive sound can be heard on numerous hit singles including (007) Shantytown and Israelites by Desmond Dekker And The Aces; Stop That Train by Keith and Tex, Walk The Streets by Derrick Harriott; and You Have Caught Me by The Melodians. He was named number 204 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time in 2023.

5- Duke Reid
Reid started the Trojan sound system in the early 1950s, and the Treasure Isle label later that decade. He used the former to promote his songs which were not guaranteed airplay on mainstream radio. Treasure Isle released a number of classic ska songs including Eastern Standard Time by The Skatalites, Carry go Bring Come by Justin Hinds and The Dominoes, and Dance Crasher by Alton Ellis. The latter became one of his most successful artistes in the rock steady era, scoring with songs such as Girl I’ve Got A Date, but Treasure Isle was also home to harmony groups like The Techniques, The Paragons and The Melodians. Duke Reid died in 1975 at age 59. He was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government in 2007.

4- The Heptones
Leroy Sibbles, Barry Llewellyn and Earl Morgan are arguably the most influential of the many rocksteady groups. Recording mainly for Studio One, the Trench Town trio reeled off numerous hits such as Fatty Fatty, Why Did You Leave, Sea of Love, Pretty Looks Isn’t All and Sweet Talking. Their Heptones On Top album, recorded at Studio One, is considered a collector’s item. The Heptones’ crisp harmonies also enhanced songs of label mates like Bob Andy (I’m Going Home) and Ernest Wilson (Undying Love). Llewellyn died in 2004 at age 64. Sibbles and Gordon are still active musically.

3- Paragons
Another of the hit-laden harmony groups, they had a golden run at Treasure Isle with producer Duke Reid. Their classic lineup comprised Tyrone Evans, John Holt and Howard Barrett who reeled off hit songs such as Happy Go Lucky Girl, On The Beach, Only A Smike and Wear You to The Ball. Interestingly, one of their minor hits, The Tide is High, turned out to be The Paragons’ most commercially-successful song. Covered by rock band Blondie in 1980, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart that year.

2- Ken Boothe
The pride of Denham Town in West Kingston, Boothe was a teen sensation at Studio One where he recorded songs such as Puppet On A String, Moving Away and Just Another Girl. He fulfilled that early promise in the 1970s as a reggae artiste with smash hits like Silver Words and Everything I Own, the latter topping the British national chart in 1974.

1- Alton Ellis
The singer’s singer, Ellis is to rocksteady what Sam Cooke is to soul music. He ruled the genre with a flurry of songs that became standards, including Girl I’ve Got A Date, Sunday Coming, Lord Deliver Us, You Make me So Very Happy and Ain’t That Loving You. Ellis inspired a number of reggae singers who emerged in the 1970s such as Dennis Brown, Freddie McGregor, Sugar Minott and Beres Hammond. He died in 2008 at age 70.