As iconic as Motown was to soul, or Blue Note for jazz, the legendary Jamaican reggae label Studio One was the creation of one of music's greatest impresarios, Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd. Throughout the 1950s, Dodd's Downbeat Soundsystem was the most important sound system in downtown Kingston's burgeoning dancehall scene, fighting off the competition of Duke Reid, Tom the Great Sebastian and others. Dodd began producing his own records in the late 1950s and in 1963, the year after Jamaican Independence, he launched Studio One. Once described by Chris Blackwell as the "University of Reggae," Studio One is by far the most important record label in the history of reggae music, its artists comprising an A-Z of Jamaican music: it was there that Bob Marley and the Wailers, Horace Andy, Alton Ellis, Freddie McGregor, The Skatalites, Marcia Griffiths, Burning Spear, The Heptones, Toots and the Maytals and many more artists became stars. This deluxe hardback volume is the first ever to tell the story of Studio One and the many artists whose careers it launched. It features hundreds of stunning full-size Studio One record cover designs and original artwork, as well as rare and exclusive photographs, original flyers and artist interviews. As Jamaica approaches its fiftieth anniversary of independence, Studio One Records offers a timely look at reggae music's most legendary record label and the artists and musicians that it made famous.
