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“…the greatest man that came to Jamaica and changed the whole beat from ska to rock steady was Lyn Taitt. He was from Trinidad but Byron Lee did bring him come to Jamaica as an organist but he started playing guitar and the rest is history! We should call him rock steady… it’s Lyn Taitt as he was the man! He played lead guitar and ska at the same time…” Bunny Lee

As the frantic, frenetic pace of ska finally let up in 1966 the cool, cool sound of rock steady came to the fore. This languid, soulful music was the complete musical antithesis of its more famous antecedent and the gentle guitar of Lyn Taitt would forever define the sound of rock steady.

Trinidadian Nerlyn ‘Lyn’ Taitt had been given a contract by Byron Lee to travel to Jamaica to play at the Independence celebrations in 1962 but fell in love with Jamaica and decided to stay joining The Sheiks and then The Cavaliers before forming Lyn Taitt & The Comets. Lyn also recorded as a guest guitarist with The Skatalites before Lyn Taitt & The Jets came together in 1966.

The rock steady beat was slower, more measured and the emphasis was placed on the bass. It no longer gave equal emphasis to every beat but, instead, played a repeated pattern that syncopated the rhythm. The
rhythmic focus shifted to the core of the music to the bass and the drums where it has remained ever since.

“For that tempo the tempo is very slow with the bass and guitar line playing the same thing. You used to use two guitars. Hux Brown and myself or another guitarist and myself. And it was very slow but with a definite bass line going straight through the song…” Lyn Taitt

Lyn Taitt & The Jets were soon in such great demand that they would often play up to five sessions a day for as many different producers but they were not the only rock steady band. When the Skatalites had broken up in 1965 Jackie Mittoo formed Studio One’s house band The Soul Brothers (who soon became The Soul Vendors) and Tommy McCook decided to work with Duke Reid at Treasure Isle studio with The Supersonics. Bobby Aitken’s Carib Beats eschewed subtlety for drive but together these musicians were responsible for establishing the rules of rock steady music.

Their gentle approach allowed vocalists such as Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe and Desmond Dekker and harmony groups including The Techniques, The Melodians, The Uniques and The Paragons and many, many more to demonstrate their prowess.

Rock steady only lasted for a brief period, from 1966 to 1968, but its significance to the subsequent development of Jamaican music is incalculable and it would go on to shape each successive musical movement over the next four decades. Deejays, dub, digital and dance hall all stepped to the tune and pace of rhythms whose
origins were grounded in the rock steady beat and it is impossible to ever overstate its importance… or its beauty.

Tracklisting:
a1/1 PEOPLE ROCK STEADY – The Uniques
a2/2 MUSICAL TRAIN – Roy Shirley & Glen Adams
a3/3 HOLD DOWN MISS WINEY – Glen Adams
a4/4 FOREVER – Cynthia Richards
a5/5 RIGHT ON TIME – The Sensations
a6/6 TILL I DIE – Delroy Wilson
a7/7 THE BEATITUDE – The Uniques
b1/8 DON’T BELIEVE HIM – Winston Samuels
b2/9 TOUCH THEM (Never Let Them Go) – Roy Shirley
b3/10 REVELATION – Alva ‘Reggie’ Lewis
b4/11 LOVE & DEVOTION – Slim Smith
b5/12 THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING – Val Bennett
b6/13 RUN COME DANCE – Glen Adams
b7/ 14 LONG TIME ME NO SEE YOU GIRL – The Sensations