Stories by Roy Black

One of the seminal figures in reggae music, Johnny Golding, founder and publisher of Swing Magazine, the 'bible' of the burgeoning reggae music industry in the late 1960s to 1980s, celebrated his 80th birthday on Sunday, February 26, in Bahir Dar,...

Suggestive lyrics, or what some Jamaicans call slackness, have permeated Jamaican popular music for years, dating as far back as the mento era. The phenomenon has again been brought to the fore during the current running of the annual Grounation...

The first annual Pre-Valentine's Day Red Rose for Gregory stage show takes place at the Constant Spring Golf Club on Sunday, February 12. It promises to be a never-to-be-forgotten experience that will feature some of the biggest stars currently in...

Alerth Rockford Bedasse was central to the mento era of Jamaican music. He was the lead vocalist and chief music arranger for perhaps the most popular mento aggregation: The Chins Calypso Quintet. Along with Count Lasher, Harold Richardson and The...

As we exit the month of December 2016 and move into January 2017, we again remember the enormous contributions that Lou Rawls and Sam Cooke made to popular music internationally and the strange coincidences that dominated their lives.Both months are...

Music has become a part of almost every event, activity or celebration on earth. It is almost impossible to make a success of any event without some kind of musical accompaniment.Christmas celebrations and praises for the birth of the newborn King,...

Jamaica gave to the world some six to seven different genres of music, more than any other country, with perhaps the United States being the only exception. It is nothing short of amazing when one considers Jamaica’s size compared to much...

When Alton Ellis recorded Girl I've Got a Date at The Treasure Isle Studios in the mid-1960s, it may very well have been the inspiration behind at least two other recordings that made musical history in popular music. The recording was also one of...

Overseas acts comprise close to a third of the on-stage performers at the upcoming One World Ska and Rocksteady Music Festival slated for the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre on Saturday, November 26. Of the 14 acts down to perform, two are from...

The success of the Jamaican barber Shawn Powis in the award-winning documentary, The Fade, rekindles memories of Pierino Roland Como, better known as Perry Como, one of the earliest and smoothest...

Some of the world's top performers in the ska and rocksteady music genres will be on stage at the first Annual One World Ska and Rocksteady Music Festival, scheduled to take place at the Hope Road-based Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre in...