Working under many pseudonyms and roles, Lee Perry has been a guiding force in the development of reggae. In addition to his own music, Lee Perry has produced hits for the Wailers, Junior Byles, Max Romeo, the Heptones, Gregory Isaacs, Junior Murvin, and the Clash. Known for his eccentric behavior, Lee Perry often dons costumes and headdresses made of found objects such as feathers, toys, playing cards, and coins.
He began his career as a singer-songwriter for leading producer Duke Reid. When he made his recording debut with “The Chicken Scratch” on Dodd’s Studio One label in the early ’60s, he became known as Scratch Perry. For most of the ’60s, he worked at Studio One as A&R director; he was instrumental in breaking Ska and producing Jamaican hits for Justin Hines, Delroy Wilson.
In 1968, Perry founded Black Ark studios, the Upsetter label and a band of the same name. His first release, 1968's People Funny Boy (which used tape loop “samples” of The Pioneers' “Long Shot”), established Perry as a unique force in Jamaican music. When his song “Return of the Django” hit the British charts in '69, Perry and The Upsetters became the first reggae band to tour the UK, taking reggae out of Jamaica and into the world.
In 1969 Perry began working with the Wailers. During the next three years, he oversaw their transformation from a ska vocal trio into a full-fledged five-piece reggae band - with bassist Aston “Family Man” Barrett and his drummer brother Carlton from the Upsetters - that would become the most acclaimed Jamaican group in the world. “Duppy Conqueror,” “Small Axe,” “Kaya,” and “Sun Is Shining” were some of the Wailers’ songs Perry wrote. The Wailers began producing themselves for their own label in 1971 but were reunited with Perry for occasional sessions in the late ’70s.
Signed to Island in 1973, Perry and his Upsetters maintained a rocky relationship with the company on and off for several years. In 1974 he built his Black Ark Studio in the backyard of his Kingston home. Perry was one of the pioneers of dub. His use of technology such as drum machines and phase shifters gave his mixes a cutting-edge sound that had a profound influence on dub and, later, dancehall. His work in the ’70s with toasters like U-Roy, I-Roy, Big Youth, and Dennis Alcapone established him in the forefront of toasters’ dub; crucial tracks from this, his most fertile period were….. "War ina Babylon", with its classic rolling bass line, by Max Romeo, the falsetto poignancy of Junior Murvin’s "Police & Thieves," his biggest hit which struck a particular chord with listeners in Britain, due to the unfortunate reality of police oppression during a volatile 1976 Notting Hill carnival, the melodic "Party Time" by The Heptones and "Roast Fish & Cornbread," sung by Scratch himself.
Under increasing pressure, Perry reportedly burned down his studio in 1979, leading to claims that he'd lost his sanity. He lived in Amsterdam in the mid-’80s, and then in London. In 1990 Perry moved to Switzerland, only occasionally returning to Jamaica, where he eventually abandoned plans to rebuild his historic Black Ark Studio.
Bob Marley called Perry a genius, and the influence of his groundbreaking recordings continues to this day. Genius or madman, Perry and his densely layered sounds, eccentric and hilarious samples, and constant search for novelty created the sound that has influenced generations of reggae, dub and electronic artist
Favourite tracks as Artist & Producer:
- Police & Thieves - Junior Murvin
- Roast Fish & Corn Bread - Lee Perry
- Groovy Situation - Keith Rowe
- I am the Upsetter - Lee Perry
- Small Axe - Bob Marley
Recommended Albums:
The Upsetter Selection
Chicken Scratch
