Downbeat Sound - New York 1983
download mp3
Coxsone Dodd used to play records to the customers in his parents' shop. During a spell in the South of the United States he became familiar with the rhythm and blues music so popular there at the time. In 1954, back in Jamaica, he set up the Downbeat Sound System, being the owner of a amplifier, a turntable, and some U.S. records, which he would import from New Orleans and Miami. With the great success of his sound system, and in a highly competitive environment, Dodd would make trips through the States looking for new tunes to attract the Jamaican public. Dodd opened five different sound systems, each playing every night. To run his sound systems, Dodd appointed people like Lee "Scratch" Perry, who was Dodd's right hand man during his early career, U-Roy and Prince Buster. Downbeat is an integral part of the history and evolution of Ska and Reggae music in Jamaica and beyond.
