5 Great Jamaican Reggae Singers You Should Know

It is very difficult to compare Jamaican reggae singers across different time periods. The music industry has changed so much in terms of technology and opportunity. Moderate success in the 60s could be seen as an extraordinary achievement compared to success in the 2010s. Every reggae genre could have its own top top singers. Here are my 5 great Jamaican reggae singers you should know

1. Bob Marley

When it comes to Reggae, the first name to come to mind is definitely Bob Marley.
Robert Nesta Marley AKA Bob Marley was born February 6, 1945, in rural St. Ann’s Parish, Jamaica; the son of a middle-aged white father and teenaged Black mother, he left home at 14 to pursue a music career in Kingston, becoming a pupil of local singer and devout Rastafarian Joe Higgs. He cut his first single, “Judge Not,” in 1962 for Leslie Kong, severing ties with the famed producer soon after over a monetary dispute.

Here are some of his top songs

Turn Your Lights Down Low
Stir It Up
Get Up Stand Up
Sun is Shining
I Shot the Sheriff
Satisfy My Soul
Waiting in Vain
One Love/People Get Ready
Redemption Song
Buffalo Soldier
Jamming
Could You Be Loved
Is This Love?
No Woman, No Cry
Three Little Birds

2. Burning Spear

One of the most brilliant and respected roots artists in Jamaica’s history, Burning Spear (aka Winston Rodney) has unleashed a host of classic dread records over the years.
Winston Rodney OD, better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian and one of the most influential and long-standing roots artists to emerge from the 1970s.

Here are some of his top songs
Christopher Columbus
Cry Blood Africa
African Teacher
Mek We Dweet
Hail H.I.M
Slavery Days
Jah Kingdom
Marcus Garvey
Identity
Follow Marcus Garvey

3. jimmy cliff

James Chambers OM, known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor.

James Chambers, better known by his stage name Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican reggae and ska musician, actor, and multi-instrumentalist singer. Cliff has produced a number of hit songs for his audiences that include “Wonderful World, Beautiful People”, “Many Rivers to Cross”, “You Can Get It If You Really Want”, and a number of others that are provided later in this post.

Here are some of his top songs

Peace:
I Can See Clearly Now:
Now and Forever:
Rebel In Me:
Many Rivers To Cross:
Journey:
The Harder They Come:
You Can Get It If You Really Want:
Shelter of Your Love:
Sitting In Limbo:

4. Dennis Brown

Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lovers rock, a subgenre of reggae
Here are some of his top songs

Revolution
Cheater
Too Much Information
Money in My Pocket
Here I Come:
Your Love Got a Hold On:
How Could I Leave:
Oh Girl:
Wolves in Leopards:
No More Will I Roam:

5. Desmond Dekker

Desmond Dekker was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group The Aces, he had one of the earliest international reggae hits with “Israelites”. Other hits include “007”, “It Mek” and “You Can Get It If You Really Want”

007 (Shanty Town)
Israelites
Ah It Mek
Fu Manchu
You Can Get It If You Really Want
Rude Boy Train
Baby Come Back
Sabotage
Pickney Gal
King of Ska