Ken Boothe

A huge influence on Jamaican music, Ken Boothe's work predates reggae, reaching back to the formative days of ska, when he had a successful early-1960s duo with Stranger Cole. Like most other Jamaican singers of his era, Boothe moved through the brief rocksteady period and finally into reggae. Heavily influenced by American R&B (and often called "the Wilson Pickett of Jamaica"), Boothe developed an organic, soulful style that became an important influence on "lovers' rockers" like Dennis Brown and Gregory Isaacs. Like John Holt, Boothe had as much success with reggae versions of US pop tunes as with straight reggae material, providing a model for UK pop-reggae crossovers such as UB40 and Culture Club.