Reggae music was founded in the 1960s, developing from ‘rocksteady’ styles and the already popular mento, ska, and R&B genres of the time. The 1968 track, Long Shot (Bus’ Me Bet), by The Pioneers is credited as the first recording of a reggae track. The sound proved so popular that it was influencing the biggest genres and groups of the time, The Beatles’ Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da is one such example.
All of the early reggae pioneers were from Jamaica. Bob Marley and the Wailers are probably recognized as the most influential reggae band, and already enjoyed widespread popularity as they’d been successful through the other movements and styles that were moving through the country at the time.
Chris Blackwell, a Briton, founded Island Records in 1959 while in Jamaica, which would become the label for all of the emerging stars at the time, and remains a stronghold of reggae and R&B musicians to this day.
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