Bio: While Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and others were fighting their way to the top through a ganja haze, the best known Jamaican band leader - the man they all aspired to emulate was Byron Lee. He played a crucial pioneering role in bringing Jamaican music to the world. Formed in 1956 and playing a big band-ska sound their big break came in the first James Bond film Dr. No, where they appeared as the band in the scene at Pussfeller's club and played a number of tunes on the soundtrack. They also caused a stir at the New York World's Fair in 1964. As successful as the band was, Byron was also having success as a promoter, label owner, and studio owner and was one of the biggest reasons for the explosion in popularity of Jamaican music in the late 60's and early 70's.
His studio remains one of the most popular in all the Caribbean. He continues to record and tour with the his band, and they have become well known for including covers of popular tunes of top Caribbean performers.
Afiwi.com's complete profile on Byron Lee
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