I'm starting my tribute to Dj's with this man, "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, a pioneer in what has become a modern staple, the DJ/Producer.
Dodd began running sound systems in 1954 after a short stint living in the U.S. exposed him to R&B music. He went back to Jamaica with a few records and started the Downbeat Sound System. Dodd would import new records from Miami and New Orleans to play for eager Jamaican audiences. Dodd eventually set up five different sound systems, each playing nightly. He would hire other DJ's to run the parties including a young Lee "Scratch" Perry.
Eventually the R&B trend died out and Jamaicans began to record their own music in search of a new sound. It was around this time that Dodd met Roland Alfonso and Don Drummond, founding members of the Skatalites and began the legendary Studio One.
It would be at Studio One where a young Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer would get their start recording classic Ska and rock steady tunes like "Simmer Down".
"Sir Coxsone" went on to record a hefty amount of classic reggae, ska and rocksteady through out the 60's and 70's and started the careers of many of the genre's heavy weight artists. Unfortunately, like many famous record producers he was also a shister and would often under pay musicians. By any account the man is a legend, and would no doubt influence the evolution of Hip Hop via a young Jamaican transplant named Kool Herc. RESPECT!
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