Reggae singer Junior Byles, identified for highly effective roots anthems like “Curly Locks,” “Fade Away,” and “Beat Down Babylon,” died on Thursday at Kingston Public Hospital. He was 76.
His sister, Janet Byles, confirmed his passing.
Born Kenneth Byles Jr., the singer emerged throughout the roots-reggae revolution of the early Nineteen Seventies, fusing Rastafarian spirituality with politically aware lyrics. His most memorable work was produced in collaboration with legendary producer Lee “Scratch” Perry, yielding timeless tracks resembling “A Place Referred to as Africa” and “King of Babylon.”
Byles started his music profession within the late Nineteen Sixties as a firefighter moonlighting as a vocalist with the concord group The Versatiles, which he co-founded. The trio initially recorded for Joe Gibbs earlier than shifting to Perry and Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle label. The group disbanded in 1970, paving the best way for Byles’ solo rise.
With Perry, Byles had a minor hit with “What’s The World Coming To”, launched underneath the title King Chubby, and over the following 5 years, the partnership would lead to a few of Perry’s most extremely regarded work, with Byles’ Rastafarian beliefs clearly evident.
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“Rub Up Competition” was Byles’ entry for the Competition Track Contest in 1971, however the tune’s suggestive lyrics led to it being disqualified after reaching the ultimate eight. The next yr’s “Competition Da Da” fared higher, ending as second runner-up. Additionally in 1972, Byles started self-producing and arrange his Love Energy label, releasing singles resembling “Black Disaster” and “Our Errors.”
His debut album, Beat Down Babylon (1972), cemented his popularity as considered one of Jamaica’s most unique voices. He would go on to launch politically charged songs like “Joshua Need” and “Pharaoh Hiding” in assist of former Prime Minister Michael Manley’s 1972 marketing campaign, and later criticized the shortage of progress for the poor with the stark “When Will Higher Come?”
Regardless of his inventive success, Byles struggled with psychological sickness for a lot of his life, together with a breakdown following the 1975 dying of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie. Recognized with despair and later prostate most cancers, he spent years out and in of psychiatric care.
Nonetheless, his music endured. In 2023, guitarist Earl “Chinna” Smith and the Binghistra Motion launched “Nonetheless Beating Down Babylon,” a tribute album that includes acoustic renditions of Byles’ classics. In early 2019, a benefit and celebratory concert passed off, adopted by a big money donation to Byles from the charity basis of dancehall artist Bounty Killer the next yr.
Junior Byles’ work stays a cornerstone of roots reggae—uncooked, non secular, and politically fearless.
