Legend has it,during the exceptionally hot summer of 1966,patrons of Jamaican dancehalls had a hard time keeping up with the hectic pace of ska,so producers began slowing down the tempo to produce rocksteady

Bobby Aitken is often credited as recording the first rocksteady disc,which was also notable in it's use of electric bass as opposed to the stand up acoustic bass predominate in ska.More on that later.Let's get to the music! Producer Duke Reid,owner of Treasure Isle Studios,was undisputed champion of the rocksteady era.Groups like the Melodians,The Techniques,The Silvertones and Paragons recorded there:

Paragons
"Tide Is High"

Many songs of the rocksteady era became huge hits for other artists not only in reggae/dancehall but also in rock,as this girl did:

Debbie Harry Lip Syncing to Paragons:

It was one of these remakes,by Freddie McGregor,that made me aware of this excellent song,cut at Studio One:

"Joy In The Morning"

The innocently named The Gaylads,featured Delano Stewart and BB Seaton,who at the time served as talent director for StudioOne,owned by Duke Reid's main soundsystem rival Coxsone Dodd.Beside Dodd and Reid,there were a number of other producers during the rocksteady era,notably Sonia Potinger,who ran the GayFeet imprint.Incidentally,due to the name,both group and label were recently banned at a Massachusetts record store.Odd in light of the fact that ,due to the limited quantities which were released,most GayFeet 7inch records fetch up to $75 each.

Here is the Gaylads on the Gayfeet label:

"ABC Rocksteady"

The Heptones,featuring BB Seaton's soon to be replacement as Studio One's talent director and bass player,Leroy Sibbles,cut a ton of rocksteady scorchers which the group would often rework through the years,adapting them to the dominant music styles at the time (like rockers,steppers,digikal,etc)

Heptones
"Why Did You Leave"
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"Pretty Looks"

One of the era's greatest singers was Ken Boothe,who cut some deeply soulful tunes for Dodd:

Ken Boothe
"Moving Away"

including one of my personal all time favs(please note i did not upload any of these videos,I just searched and found them on Youtube-)

"When I fall in love"

A strong rival of both Coxsone and Duke Reid was
the Mighty Prince Buster.Best known for his ska platters,he also cut some sublime rocksteady discs.Here he pays tribute to friends who passed too young,such as the infamous Busby,who was the subject of many rude boy anthems.

Ghost Dance

on "Shaking Up Orange Street",like on many tunes of the era,he challenges his competitors:

"Shaking Up Orange Street"

Did that riddim sound familiar? His rival at Studio One obviously liked it,and recut it with Alton Ellis,who,aside from penning some exceptional originals alongside his partner in the Flames Mr. Winston Jarrett,was quite adept at adopting American r&B tunes to the rocksteady beat:

Alton Ellis
"Ain't That Loving You"

Speaking of the Godfather of Rocksteady,as mentioned earlier,many a rocksteady classic has been re-worked and become instant hits,as this one did recently for Sean Paul and Sasha:

"I'm Still In Love"

I'll leave this installment with another of my personal all time favs:

"Remember That Sunday" (w.Phylis Dillon)

David Pablo is an independent  Reggae Artist and producer that we know from versionist.com. He can be reached at his profile on that site. This article was republished with his permission.