Caribbean Loses Alton Ellis and Byron Lee

During the last few weeks, Jamaica, the Caribbean and the world have lost two giants in music.
Alton Ellis, the "Godfather of Rocksteady", defined an era, when little was known about Jamaican music outside the ghettos of Trench Town. Ellis released over 35 albums and bridged the transition from Ska to Rocksteady to Reggae (Raygay); in a career that spanned 50+ years. He scored major hits with such memorable tracks as "Girl I've Got a Date", "Cry Tough" and "Get Ready - Rock Steady", which was the first song to refer to the name of the newer genre. His music has been reworked by King Yellowman, Biggie, Tupac, KRS1 and most recently Sean Paul who scored a major hit with the rework of Ellis' "I'm Still In Love With You" from his multi-platinum album "Dutty Rock". A true pioneer, Ellis toured regularly until his death in London in October 2008.Byron Lee will probably be remembered best, as the leader of the Dragonaires and their Calypso hits of the last 30 years, but he is also an important part of the machinery that shaped and developed Jamaican music to what it is today. Byron Lee started out playing Ska in the late 1950's and was credited with creating the 1st touring showcase of Jamaican talent, that took little known acts throughout North America and the Caribbean. He has been credited with bringing the music of "downtown" into the homes of "uptown" Jamaica. Lee eventually bought WIRL records from early music pioneer Edward Seaga, and formed Dynamic Sounds which, at the time, became the most well equipped recording studio in the Caribbean, recording such legends at The Rolling Stones and Paul Simon.After playing at Carnival regularly during the 1970sand 1980s, Byron Lee brought Trinidad carnival to Jamaica in 1990. With the support of Carnival artists Jamaica Carnival was a huge success bringing together "uptown" and "downtown" culture in one massive street party of 500,000 people. With Jamaica Carnival, Byron Lee effectively did for the Eastern Caribbean what he had done for Jamaica some years before - packaging and showcasing their culture on a large scale.