1970s

The Heptones’ big hit "Book of Rules" was based on an American poem called "A Bag of Tools" by R.L.Sharpe in 1973

In 1974, Tinga Stewart won the Jamaica Festival Song Competition by singing "Play de Music," written by Ernie Smith. Roman Stewart, his brother won the contest the following year with a song Stewart and Willie Lindo wrote, entitled "Hooray Festival.

Island Records issued Third World’s debut single, "Railroad Track," in 1974 and sent them out on a European tour as the opening act for Bob Marley & the Wailers.

Cocoa Tea made his first recordings for producer Willie Francis in 1974 at the mere age of 14; one single, "Searching in the Hills," was released under his given name Calvin Scott however it was not successful.

The Channel One Studios at 29 Maxfield Avenue in Kingston 13. Between 1974 and 1984 it was one of the most important studios in the history of reggae. They scored a big success in 1976 with the MIGHTY DIAMONDS' "Right Time". Important for this success was without any doubt the militant 'ROCKERS' rhythm style of Sly & Robbie, drum and bass players with the Revolutionaries, the Channel One in- house band. The studio is also said to have pioneered the use of 12" singles in Jamaica when they started to issue the discomix 12" in the mid 70's. "Truly" by the Jays (1976) is often referred to as the specific first 12" discomix release.

Lee Scratch Perry released an album in1975 called "Kung Fu Meets The Dragon" it is largely made up of instrumental versions of some of Perry's productions (Roy Shirley's "Hold Them", Linval Thompson's "Kung Fu") and other musical pieces.

“Reggae is hard-time music designed to transcend pain, and in the hands of a master like Marley it works like magic, even on record.” -- by Michael Goodwin, Rolling Stone Magazine, Sept. 11, 1975 http://www.jamaicansmusic.com/artists/profile/Bob_Marley

Yabby You used Lee Perry's Black Ark studio to produce Wayne Wade's Black Is Our Colour, one of the most outstanding releases of 1975.

Burning Spear was originally the name of the trio comprising of Winston Rodney (lead vocalist), Rupert Willington(bass singer) and Delroy Hinds (tenor). The group's third album 'Marcus Garvey' (1975) was immediately successful and led to a deal with Island Records to give the album a wider release.

Bob Marley performed at the National Heroes Park on December 5th, 1976 for the Smile Jamaica Concert, two days after a shooting incident at his home in which he and others were injured.

Bob Marley and The Wailers at Avro's studio Holland 1976

In 1976, Delroy Wilsom recorded a superb cover of The Wailers' "I'm Still Waiting" for Lloyd Charmers, which was hugely popular, and enjoyed some cross-over success, and was followed by the album Sarge, which is considered one of his strongest.

Lee Scratch Perry and The Upsetter's dub album was released in Jamaica under the name 'Scratch the Super Ape' in July 1976 on Perry's own Upsetter label. The Jamaican version had a different track order than the international version that was released in August the same year on Island Records. The album was listed in the 1999 book The Rough Guide: Reggae: 100 Essential CDs.

Hortense Ellis' biggest success came in 1976 with a song recorded for Gussie Clarke. "Unexpected Places" was a big hit in Jamaica and also in Britain where it appeared on the Hawkeye label.

Pluto Shervington's 'Dat' was released in London on the newly formed Opal label, resulting in the singer hitting the number six slot on the UK Pop chart in February 1976. In the UK the song was regarded as a novelty hit, although it was in fact a parody of the financial Catch 22 situation faced by ghetto people living in the Jamaican capital.

Today, 3 December in 1976, two days before "Smile Jamaica", a free concert organised by the Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley in an attempt to ease tension between two warring political groups, Bob Marley, his wife, and manager Don Taylor were wounded in an assault by unknown gunmen inside Marley's home.

In 1976, Aswad became the first British reggae band to sign with a major label when they landed a deal with Island Records. Their debut single, the classic "Back to Africa," was released that year and hit number one on the U.K. reggae singles chart.

Trenchtown Mix Up was The Gladiators' debut LP, recorded at Joe Gibbs' studio and released in 1976 on TR International/Virgin Records'. It included re-recordings of two songs originally recorded at Studio One ("Mix Up", originally titled "Bongo Red", and "Hello Carol"), and also included cover versions of Bob Marley's "Soul Rebel" and "Rude Boy Ska".

The Mighty Diamond’s debut album, Right Time, was released in 1976. It included most of their early hits such as "Right Time” “I Need A Roof” and “Shame and Pride” .The album was an international success.

Satta Massagana is a roots reggae album released by The Abyssinians officially in 1976. It is widely considered The Abyssinians crowning achievement and a classic roots reggae album