Prince Buster

Jamaica, 1961–2016

Jamaican singer, songwriter and producer (1938-2016) and an originator of ska. By shifting the emphasis of the American rhythm and blues shuffle onto the offbeat, his 1960s records ('Al Capone', 'One Step Beyond', 'Madness') set a pattern for Jamaican music and later for British 2 Tone.

MusicRoots documents 2 artists who influenced Prince Buster and 2 artists Prince Buster influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Prince Buster?

• Louis Jordan — Prince Buster built ska by flipping American R&B and jump blues — the jive of Louis Jordan is part of that source.
• Fats Domino — Prince Buster credited his early musical grounding to American R&B heard on the sound systems, citing records like Fats Domino's 'Mardi Gras in New Orleans'.

Which artists did Prince Buster influence?

• The Specials — Prince Buster is the foundation of The Specials: their debut single 'Gangsters' was built on his instrumental 'Al Capone', and they named their idea of 2 Tone after his ska sound.
• Lee "Scratch" Perry — One of the recording houses Perry worked his way up through, from janitor to producer.