Lee "Scratch" Perry & The Upsetters

Play Radio
Listen to Lee "Scratch" Perry & The Upsetters Radio, featuring artists like Lee "Scratch" Perry, The Upsetters, Junior Byles, King Tubby and more…

828,352 plays (100,087 listeners)

Send Ringtones to Cell
Buy
Add to my Library
Lee “Scratch” Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry, on March 20, 1936, in Kendal, Jamaica) is a reggae and dub artist, who has been highly influential in the development and acceptance of reggae and dub music in Jamaica and overseas. He is sometimes known as “Pipecock Jackson” or “The Upsetter.”

Career
Perry’s musical career began in the late 1950s as a record seller for Clement Coxsone Dodd’s ska oriented sound system. As his sometimes turbulent relationship with Dodd developed, he found himself performing a variety of important tasks at Dodd’s Studio One hit factory, going on to record nearly 30 songs for the label. Disagreements between the pair due to personality and financial conflicts, a recurring theme throughout Perry’s career, led him to leave the studio and seek new musical outlets. He soon found a new home at Joe Gibbs’s Wirl records.
Enlarge
Working with Joe Gibbs, Perry continued his recording career, but once again, financial problems caused conflict. Perry broke ranks with Gibbs and formed his own label, Upsetter, in 1968. His first single “People Funny Boy”, which was an insult directed at Gibbs, sold very well. It is notable for its innovative use of a sample (a crying baby) as well as a fast, chugging beat that would soon become identifiable as “reggae” (the new sound did not really have a name at this time). From 1968 until 1972 he worked with his studio band The Upsetters. During the 1970s, Perry released numerous recordings on a variety of record labels that he controlled, and many of his songs were popular in both Jamaica and the UK. He soon became known for his innovative production techniques as well as his eccentric character.
Read more… Edit bio

Popular tags: , , , ,  See more

Share this artist:

Top Albums

See more

Top Tracks

1
167
2
91
3
78
4
64
5
60
6
44
7
42
7
42
7
42
10
40
11
39
12
38
13  
36
13
36
15  
35
Buy all tracks at Amazon MP3
See more

Shoutbox

Leave a comment. Log in to Last.fm or sign up (it’s free).

  • boehj

    this was a match made in blitzed heaven. sooo much quality on offer.

    January 2012

  • thybbuk

    "musical bones": an amazing album that easily falls into the category of "criminally underrated"

    December 2011

  • Degarmo

    @Uluen because they released collections together under this moniker, whilst also recognizing the autonomy of the artists in the similar artists section.

    June 2011

  • LanFill

    amazing tunes

    November 2010

  • gorikomi

    i feel like being under the sun.chill yeah.

    July 2010

  • Triptune

    lee scratch perry with natives adventures - at the black ark - rockstone (2007) CHECK THAT OUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    June 2010

  • johntaylor611

    sick-great shit.

    March 2010

  • Johro66

    The 'Curly Dub' track is NOT the original track on the album. Totally different tune. If ya want to check out the real one go to 7digital.com and have a listen to it. It's worth it. 'Come along Jah Jah children, come along now...'

    July 2009
See all 28 shouts

Videos

See more

Listening Now

Top Listeners

See more

More Information

Links
Labels
Other spellings