Today information is abundant about Reggae in the history books and on the internet. While there are some accurate portrayals of the genre and its early history, not all of the information is correct or complete. Many do not know, much less understand, the true history of Reggae music. While Reggae is internationally loved by millions of fans today, only a few originators understand the true beginnings and development of the genre and how it came to influence the world.
The legacy of Reggae was cemented in history in 2018 when the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or "UNESCO" inscripted Reggae as a protected cultural asset which Jamaica has uniquely exported to the world [1]. In media coverage of the event by outlets from CNN to NPR to the BBC and the Smithsonian, two groups were consistently referenced as defining artists of Reggae music: Bob Marley and The Wailers and Toots and The Maytals [2][3][4][5].
The reason the largest media institutions in the world freely cite these two groups as a point of reference for the genre is that Bob Marley and The Wailers and Toots and The Maytals are at the soul of Reggae music. These artists not only popularized the genre, but they gave it the strength it has today.
Bob Marley and The Wailers and Toots and The Maytals are two of the best-known Reggae groups in history because they are the Yin and Yang at the genre's origin. While Bob Marley was the first artist to popularize Reggae music on the international stage, Toots and The Maytals are credited as the "authors" of the genre [6]. Together, they helped the genre achieve international acclaim. As a result, their music has been celebrated around the world for decades and paved the way for generations of major artists worldwide to follow.
The drum is considered the heartbeat of Reggae music. Paul Douglas has provided that heartbeat since 1965.
He played and recorded regularly with Bob Marley in the early days. In 1967 Douglas began playing with Toots Hibbert. He then joined Toots and The Maytals - the group credited with coining the term "Reggae" [7] - when it formed in 1974. In 1975 Douglas went on the road with Toots and The Maytals, touring alongside The Eagles, Jackson Browne, and Linda Ronstadt. In 1978 Douglas became the band leader of Toots and The Maytals, a position he holds to this day. Douglas is the only artist to have been closely affiliated with both of Reggae's two seminal bands.
While best known for his contributions to Reggae music, Douglas' work spans genres from Reggae to Pop to Jazz with countless live performances and studio performances on over 250 notable albums. He has written, recorded and performed with artists including Linda Ronstadt, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, No Doubt, and many more. Douglas has received a Grammy award (and been nominated on six other occasions). He continues to perform and record today, both domestically and internationally, sustaining a musical career that has spanned more than 5 decades.
