they would have you believe that, and they would be in a sense correct. the skatalites were the main studio band, playing r+b and ska since 55 or 56, helped develop the sound for years before they even though of calling themselves the skatalites and recording instrumental albums.

except the people calling themselves the skatalites nowadays are not the actual skatalites ('cept one of them) who were recording those albums back then.

the most important one, trombonist don drummond, went crazy, stabbed his girlfriend to death, and then killed himself in the looney bin 40 years ago.

you imply that you're citing 'the skatalites' as an authority. you have a link to an interview or something where they talk about their role? history's imperfect, but what I've been saying comes from books written by people (ranging from tightass academics to jamaican businessmen to british sound system dj's) who spent years traipsing around jamaica interviewing the folks who were actually there when this stuff was happening.

lots of jamaicans would have you believe lots of things. nobody actually invented ska, nobody actually invented reggae. dozens claim to have done both. and they're not exactly lying.

nobody invented toasting, but king machuki was almost certainly the first to begin to realize its potential... in the early 60's, 20 years before anybody in the west paid attention to it. i haven't heard any of the 60's records w/ toasting on them (there aren't many), but you can hear it in the intros to some prince buster songs.

but king tubby did actually invent dub. and the equipment used to make it.




lee 'scratch' perry was nothing more than a phenomenal ska/rocksteady/reggae producer until he met tubby and had him build the beginnings of the black ark.