Count Machuki

Jamaica, 1950–1995

Jamaican deejay, born Winston Cooper (c. 1929-1995), and the first of them. Asked by Coxsone Dodd to liven up the Downbeat sound system, he began talking over the records in the jive of American radio announcers, and invented the job every deejay, toaster and MC has held since.

MusicRoots documents 0 artists who influenced Count Machuki and 4 artists Count Machuki influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Which artists did Count Machuki influence?

• U-Roy — U-Roy learned the job by listening to Machuki from his own house in Jones Town — including the part nobody else noticed, when not to speak.
• King Stitt — Machuki saw Stitt dancing at Coxsone's Downbeat and handed him the microphone. He learned the job from the man who invented it.
• Sir Lord Comic — Comic was a dancer on Admiral Dean's sound until Machuki's example put him behind the microphone; seven years later he made what is counted the first deejay record.
• Dennis Alcapone — One of the three pioneers Alcapone started out imitating on his own El Paso sound system.