I-Roy

Roy Samuel Reid (28 June 1944 – 27 November 1999), better known as I-Roy, was a Jamaican deejay who had a very prolific career during the 1970s.

Biography

Born in 1944 in Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, Reid graduated from Dinthill Technical College before starting his musical career via his Soul Bunny sound system in 1968, running it on Victoria Pier on Wednesday afternoons, while working during the day as a government accountant. He went on to work on the Spanish Town-based Son's Junior sound system, where he was spotted by producer Harry Mudie, who renamed him 'I-Roy'.

Deriving his name, and to some extent, his style from U-Roy, Reid was also heavily influenced in his early career by Dennis Alcapone. In 1971 he recorded four tracks for Mudie, all releases as singles, "The Drifter" and "Heart Don't Leap" (both in combination with Dennis Walks), "Let Me Tell You Boy" (over the Ebony Sisters' recording), and "Musical Pleasure". Reid and Mudie fell out over the details of a proposed European tour, and he went on to work on sound systems such as King Tubby's Home Town Hi-Fi, and recorded more material with many of the Island's top producers including Lloyd Campbell, Bunny Lee, Derrick...

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