By Mandingo, Afrikan Music Historian/UK—
LEROY “HEPTONES” SIBBLES THE LIVING LEGEND OF ROCK STEADY AND REGGAE MUSIC began his career as the leader of the Heptones in the Ska era in the 1960s. In 1966 in the Rock Steady era ‘Fattie Fattie’ for Studio One featuring Jackie Mittoo the organ genius was their first hit.
Leroy means “The King” and he is the King of the Reggae basslines because no one else has had their basslines copied and sung over in Jamaican music like Leroy Sibbles, and no other group have had their musical riddims copied and done over like The Heptones, the trio of Leroy Sibbles, Barry Llewellyn and Earl Morgan. Sibbles was The Heptones’ lead singer par excellence, songwriter and arranger genius.
Leroy Sibbles played the immortal basslines like ‘Freedom Blues’ featuring Lester Sterling the Skatalites alto saxophonist done over by The Revolutionaries for Channel One studio as ‘MPLA’, ‘What Kind Of World’ by The Cables (Sibbles was the one who took The Cables to Studio One which resulted in their first song ‘Baby Why’ in March 1968, (with Jackie Mittoo on the organ shuffle, which helped to define Reggae and who was the music director at Studio One then) and was done over by Morgan Heritage as ‘Down By The River’, Freddie McGregor’s love song on the same riddim,’21 Girls Salute’ by Barrington Levy and many others who have copied and used the immortal riddim. Both Cables songs ‘Baby Why’ and ‘What Kind Of World’ were done in the same session and had the late legendary Sylvan Morris, as the engineer.
Classic Reggae anthems ‘Satta Massa Gana’ 1969 and ‘Declaration of Rights’ by the Abyssinians, basslines were created and played by Leroy Sibbles. Sibbles was the SECRET WEAPON that producer Sir Clement Seymour Dodd of Studio One, the greatest Jamaican producer and executive producer.
LONG LIVE THE KING LEROY SIBBLES, WHO FOR MANY YEARS HAS HAD HIS OWN RECORD LABEL, BRIGHT BEAM MUSIC, AND HE CONTINUES TO PRODUCE AND RELEASE GREAT QUALITY NEW REGGAE SONGS BY HIMSELF AND OTHER ARTISTS LIKE YOUNG GARVEY,CHRIS McDONALD, CHAPTER, AND TRINA JONES, AMONG OTHERS, THUS HELPING TO ENSURE THAT REGGAE MUSIC LIVES ON ETERNALLY. UP AND ACTIVE ALWAYS AND FOREVER MY BREDRIN IDRIN LEROY SIBBLES.
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