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View Full Version : Lee "Scratch" Perry Is 70!!

Lubichev
03-20-2006, 09:26 AM
Legendary producer Lee "Scratch" Perry was born this day back in 1936. Really, the only thing I know about the man is that he is an absolute legend in the Reggae world. Mr. Crocker (aka the walking music wikipedia) can you enlighten us on what makes Mr. Perry so important? Do we call him the father of Raggae music. Maybe the god-father of dub? What do you (or anyone else for that matter) think?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEE! I'm rolling up one for you right now.
OhMyGato
03-20-2006, 01:09 PM
did u hear he once went on stage naked?
Adam Crocker
03-21-2006, 02:02 PM
Guh, missed this one...

I know that Perry worked on early reggae records as Ska was making the transition to rocksteady, but I'm not sure if he can lay claim to the title "Father of Reggae" since other producers and artists were hammering out the same ideas around that time. Some of have identified Clement Coxsone Dodd as being the producer that contributed the most to reggae's development, I don't know many details on that. (He was the most important Ska producer though.) What I do know is that rocksteady came out of Rude Boys dancing to Ska records at half-speed because it look less energy to stay on the dance floor. No one really knows what the first reggae record is, since it seemed to evolve organically.

However, Perry definitely deserves the title as Godfather of Dub, with King Tubby as its Father, though their experiments tended to vary according to setting. Perry worked in the studio while Tubby started his experiments DJing at parties using the equipment on his sound-system. Either way their advances would be absorbed not only by reggae, but British post-punk and hip-hop when DJ Kool Herc brought the techniques of dub to New York in the 1970s.

So happy belated seventieth Mr. Perry. Music is much, much, MUCH richer for your work.
OhMyGato
03-22-2006, 02:54 PM
So happy belated seventieth Mr. Perry. Music is much, much, MUCH richer for your work.

couldn't have said it better myself Mr. Crocker. I own prolly 20 Perry and Tubby records combined and whenever either's name is brought up, i get very protective. The historical and musical influence of these two is significant and too often goes overlooked by mainstream media....