Prince Buster

Cecil Bustamente Campbell was born in Orange Street in Kingston, Jamaica, on 24 May 1938.{{Cite web|url=https://www.snwmf.com/zerothree/bios/princebuster2.html|title=Prince Buster Bio by Steve Barrow|website=Snwmf.com|access-date=5 October 2021}} His middle name was given to him by his family in honour of the Labour activist and first post-Independence Prime Minister William Alexander Clarke Bustamante. In the early 1940s, Campbell was sent to live with his grandmother in rural Jamaica where his family's commitment to the Christian faith, gave him his earliest musical experiences in the form of church singing as well as private family prayer and hymn meetings. Returning to live at Orange Street while still a young boy, Campbell attended the Central Branch School and St. Anne's School.

While at school, Campbell performed three or four times a week at the Glass Bucket Club, as part of Frankie Lymon's Sing and Dance Troupe; rock 'n' roll-themed shows were popular during the 1950s, with the Glass Bucket Club establishing a reputation as the premier music venue and social club for Jamaican teenagers at that time.{{cite book|author=Lou Gooden|title=Reggae Heritage: Jamaica's Music History, Culture & Politic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GSbzpWSGkGUC&pg=PA53|access-date=8 February 2013|date=1 October 2003|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=978-1-4107-8062-1|pages=53–}} Upon leaving school he found himself drawn to the ranks of followers of sound system Tom the Great Sebastian. Jamaican sound systems at that time were playing American rhythm 'n' blues and Campbell credits Tom the Great Sebastian with his first introduction to the songs and artists that would later influence his own music: The Clovers' "Middle of the Night", Fats Domino's "Mardi Gras in New Orleans", the Griffin Brothers featuring Margie Day, and Shirley & Lee.

Campbell became more actively involved in the operational side of running a sound system after he was introduced to Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd, a musically inclined businessman who operated one of Kingston's most popular sound systems.{{cite book|title=The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music|editor=Colin Larkin|publisher=Guinness Publishing|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|pages=2002/3}} Campbell found himself fulfilling a variety of roles for Coxsone: providing security, handling ticket receipts, identifying and sourcing music as well as working in the essential role of selector. The knowledge he gained about the financial and logistical aspects of staging a sound system dance was put to good use when Campbell made the decision to start his own sound system called 'Voice of the People'. Campbell approached his family and a radio shop owner called Mr Wong for financial backing; both parties agreed. Campbell's 'Voice of the People' sound system was soon operational and within a short time had established itself as a rival to the sound systems of Coxsone and Duke Reid. Campbell applied to the Farm Work Program (guest worker scheme for the US agricultural sector) with the intention of buying music for his sound system but, on the day of departure, was refused entry into the scheme. Knowing that he would not be able to personally source records from the US, Campbell decided to record his own music. He approached Arkland "Drumbago" Parks, a professional drummer at the Baby Grand Club who had arranged and recorded a special (exclusive recording) for the Count Boysie sound system. Drumbago agreed to help and Campbell immediately began rehearsing with the musicians at the Baby Grand Club, including the guitarist Jah Jerry, who played on Campbell's first recording session.David Katz, "[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/aug/22/guardianobituaries.obituaries" "Jerome 'Jah Jerry' Haynes"], The Guardian, 22 August 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2013.

In 1961, Campbell released his first single "Little Honey" / "Luke Lane Shuffle" featuring Jah Jerry, Drumbago and Rico Rodriquez recording under the name of Buster's Group.{{cite book|author=David Katz|title=People Funny Boy – The Genius of Lee 'Scratch' Perry|date=17 November 2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=liOx8tyfJwAC&pg=PA31|access-date=13 February 2013|publisher=Music Sales Group|isbn=978-0-85712-034-2|pages=31–}} In that same year, he produced "Oh Carolina" by the Folkes Brothers, which was released on his Wild Bells label.{{cite book

| first= Paul

| last= Du Noyer

| year= 2003

| title= The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music

| edition= 1st

| publisher= Flame Tree Publishing

| location= Fulham, London

| isbn= 1-904041-96-5

| page= 351}} The drumming on the record was provided by members of the Count Ossie Group, nyabinghi drummers from the Rastafarian community, Camp David, situated on the Wareika Hill above Kingston. After becoming a hit in Jamaica, "Oh Carolina" was licensed to Melodisc, a UK label owned by Emil Shalet. Melodisc released the track on their subsidiary label Blue Beat; the label would go on to become synonymous with 1960s ska releases for the UK market.

Campbell recorded prolifically throughout the 1960s; notable early ska releases include: "Madness" (1963), "Wash Wash" (1963, with Ernest Ranglin on bass), "One Step Beyond" (1964) and "Al Capone" (1964). The documentary This is Ska (1964), hosted by Tony Verity and filmed at the Sombrero Club, includes Campbell performing his Jamaican hit "Wash Wash". In 1964, Campbell met World Heavyweight Champion boxer Muhammad Ali, who invited him to attend a Nation of Islam talk at Mosque 29 in Miami.{{cite news|url=http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2007-07-19/news/grady-and-the-champ/4/|newspaper=Miami New Times|title=Grady and the Champ |author=Isaiah Thompson|date=19 July 2007|access-date=16 February 2013}} That year Campbell joined the Nation of Islam and also started to release material, including a version of Louis X's "White Man's Heaven is a Black Man's Hell," on his own imprint label called "Islam". In 1965, he appeared in Millie in Jamaica{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1005819/fullcredits|title=Millie in Jamaica|date=8 January 1965|website=IMDb.com}} (a film short about Millie Small's return to Jamaica after the world-wide success of "My Boy Lollipop") which was broadcast on Rediffusion's Friday evening pop show Ready, Steady, Go! Campbell had a top twenty hit in the UK with the single "Al Capone" (no. 18, February 1967).{{cite book

| first= David

| last= Roberts

| year= 2006

| title= British Hit Singles & Albums

| edition= 19th

| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited

| location= London

| isbn= 1-904994-10-5

| page= 439}}

He toured the UK in spring 1967 appearing at the Marquee Club in May and later toured America to promote the RCA Victor LP release The Ten Commandments (From Man To Woman).

"Ten Commandments" reached no. 81 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his only hit single in the United States."[http://www.themarqueeclub.net/1967 Marquee Official Site] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205194649/http://www.themarqueeclub.net/1967 |date=5 February 2012 }}" Marquee Club – Prince Buster 9 May 1967. Retrieved 15 February 2013. By the late 1960s Campbell was once again at the forefront of a musical change in Jamaica; the new music would be called rocksteady. Campbell tracks like "Shaking Up Orange Street" (1967) were arranged with the slower, more soulful rocksteady template as used by Alton Ellis ("Rock Steady") and many others. The album Judge Dread Rock Steady was released in 1967, and the title track "Judge Dread" with its satirical theme and vocal style proved to be popular to the point of parody. In 1968, the compilation album FABulous was released, opening with the track "Earthquake" (which revisited the theme of Orange Street) and including earlier hits. The album has regularly been reissued in the UK.{{Cite web|url=https://api.discogs.com/artists/38770|title=Prince Buster|website=Discogs.com|access-date=5 October 2021}}

His career slowed up in the 1970s as the predominant style moved away from ska and rocksteady towards roots reggae, in part because as a Muslim he found it difficult to tailor his style towards a Rastafari audience. However he did make an appearance in the 1972 movie The Harder They Come, which featured Campbell in a cameo role as a DJ.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070155/fullcredits|title=The Harder They Come|date=5 August 1977|website=IMDb.com}}

He subsequently moved to Miami to pursue business interests including running a jukebox company. From 1973 Campbell effectively retired from the music business, with only a handful of compilation albums issued. Even with the new interest in his music following the 2-Tone-led ska revival in the UK in 1979, he remained out of the limelight. Following an acclaimed appearance at the first Reggae Sunsplash event in July 1984 in London,{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV_PzPQ4vzw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/RV_PzPQ4vzw| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Prince Buster feat Skatalites Al Capone|access-date=5 October 2021|publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} he resumed performing with the Skatalites as his backing band towards the end of the 1980s, and resumed recording in 1992.

In 1994, a UK court ruled in favour of John Folkes and Greensleeves Records after they brought a lawsuit against Campbell and Melodisc (CampbelI by this time had acquired Melodisc) concerning authorship of "Oh Carolina".{{cite book|author1=Kevin O'Brien Chang|author2=Wayne Chen, PH.|title=Reggae Routes|url=https://archive.org/details/reggaeroutesstor00chan|url-access=registration|access-date=18 February 2013|year=1998|publisher=Temple University Press|isbn=978-1-56639-629-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/reggaeroutesstor00chan/page/87 87]–}}{{cite book|title=Billboard|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_ZggEAAAAMBAJ|access-date=18 February 2013|date=19 November 1994|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_ZggEAAAAMBAJ/page/n40 41]–|issn=0006-2510}} Campbell had a top 30 hit in the UK with the track "Whine and Grine" (no. 21, April 1998) after the song had been used in an advert for Levi's.[http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/prince%20buster "UK Official Chart Hits for Prince Buster"]. Retrieved 17 February 2013.

In 2001, Campbell was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican Government for his contribution to music.[http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20010807/lead/lead3.html "Prince Buster presented with Order of Distinction"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513174049/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20010807/lead/lead3.html |date=13 May 2014 }}, Jamaica Gleaner, Tuesday, 7 August 2001. Retrieved 15 February 2013. He performed at the 2002 Legends Of Ska festival in Toronto.[http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=132781 Now Toronto], Vol. 21 No 45: 11–18 July 2002. Retrieved 15 February 2013. Other appearances include: Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in 2003;[http://www.snwmf.com/zerothree/lineup03.html "Sierra Nevada World Music Festival 2003 Performers"] Official SNWMF site. Retrieved 18 February 2013. the 2006 Boss Sounds Reggae Festival in Newcastle upon Tyne,[http://www.bbc.co.uk/tyne/content/articles/2006/10/25/boss_feature.shtml "BBC – Tyne – Roots – Boss Sounds Reggae Festival 2006"]. BBC, Retrieved 18 February 2013. the 40th Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland with the Delroy Williams Junction Band,[http://www.montreuxjazzlive.com/reggae-night-images "Montreux Jazz Live"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128121539/http://www.montreuxjazzlive.com/reggae-night-images |date=28 January 2013 }} Official site. Retrieved 18 February 2013. and the 2007 UK Rhythm Festival.[http://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/content/articles/2007/07/18/rhythm_festival_2007_feature.shtml "BBC – Three Counties – Music Feature – Rhythm Festival 2007"]. BBC, Retrieved 18 February 2013. Campbell resided in Miami, Florida.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/sep/08/prince-buster-obituary-ska-musica-jamiaca|title=Prince Buster obituary|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=8 September 2016}}

The UK ska revival at the end of the 1970s that started with the 2-Tone label from Coventry introduced Campbell's music to a new generation of listeners. In 1979 the band Madness released their first single on 2-Tone, a tribute to Campbell called "The Prince". The B-side was a cover of the Campbell song "Madness" from which they took their name. Their second single, released on the Stiff label ("The Prince" would be the only single released by Madness on the 2-Tone label), was a cover of Campbell's "One Step Beyond", which reached the UK Top 10.[http://www.officialcharts.com/search-results-album/_/Madness "UK Official Chart Hits for Madness"]. Officialcharts.com, Retrieved 19 February 2013.

On their self-titled debut album, the Specials covered "Too Hot" and borrowed elements from Campbell's "Judge Dread" (in the song "Stupid Marriage") and "Al Capone" (in the song "Gangsters").{{cite book|title=When Music Migrates: Crossing British and European Racial Faultlines, 1945–2010|author=Jon Stratton|date=28 September 2014|isbn=978-1134762958|publisher=Routledge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NLSlBAAAQBAJ|access-date=9 September 2016}} The Specials also included a cover of "Enjoy Yourself" on their second album More Specials.

The Beat covered "Rough Rider" and "Whine & Grine" on their album I Just Can't Stop It. Campbell's song "Hard Man Fe Dead" was covered by the U.S. ska band the Toasters on their 1996 album Hard Band For Dead.{{cite web|url=https://www.coversproject.com/artist/prince%20buster|title=Prince Buster Cover Songs|website=Coversproject.com|access-date=9 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917183515/https://www.coversproject.com/artist/prince%20buster|archive-date=17 September 2016|url-status=dead}}

In 2002, electronic duo Mint Royale sampled Prince Buster for their single "Sexiest Man in Jamaica" on their album Dancehall Places.{{cite web|title=Sexiest Man in Jamaica by Mint Royale feat. Prince Buster|url=http://www.whosampled.com/Mint-Royale/Sexiest-Man-in-Jamaica/|website=Whosampled.com|access-date=29 June 2017}} In September 2002 the tune was released on David Wood and Neil Claxton's Faith & Hope Records label and debuted at #20 on the UK singles chart.{{cite web|title=Mint Royale carry on up the charts|url=http://www.thevisitor.co.uk/lifestyle/mint-royale-carry-on-up-the-charts-1-1205106|website=Thevisitor.co.uk|access-date=29 June 2017}}

Filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn used Campbell's "Ten Commandments Of Man" on the soundtrack of his 2019 television series "Too Old to Die Young".{{Citation |title=Too Old to Die Young : Surreal Dance Murder Scene |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mzHPPpmr18 |language=en |access-date=2022-07-04}}

The Specials, with activist and vocalist Saffiyah Khan, recorded a rebuttal to "Ten Commandments Of Man", also called "10 Commandments", on their 2019 album Encore, criticising the original's outdated representation of women.{{cite magazine |title=Song You Need to Know: The Specials, Featuring Saffiyah Khan, "10 Commandments" |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/song-you-need-to-know-specials-saffiyah-khan-10-commandments-786465/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=3 March 2023 |date=31 January 2019}}

Sex Pistols Steve Jones cited Prince Buster as an inspiration in his autobiography Lonely Boy.

Campbell died on the morning of 8 September 2016,{{cite news |title=Prince Buster obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/sep/08/prince-buster-obituary-ska-musica-jamiaca |access-date=8 September 2016 |newspaper=The Guardian |first=Peter |last=Mason |date=8 September 2016}} in a hospital in Miami, Florida, after suffering heart problems, according to his wife.{{cite news|url=http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20160908/legendary-ska-singer-prince-buster-dead|title=Legendary Ska Singer Prince Buster Is Dead|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=September 8, 2016|access-date=September 8, 2016}} He had reportedly been in poor health for some time after a series of strokes, including one in 2009 that left him unable to walk.{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-prince-buster-20160909-snap-story.html|title= Prince Buster, Jamaican music legend who pioneered ska music, dies at 78|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=2016-09-09|access-date=2016-09-09}}{{cite news|url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Ska-legend-Prince-Buster-has-died|title=Ska legend Prince Buster has died|newspaper=Jamaica Observer|access-date=8 September 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909091818/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Ska-legend-Prince-Buster-has-died|archive-date=9 September 2016|df=dmy-all}}

• I Feel the Spirit (1963), Blue Beat{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/prince-buster-mn0000359494/discography|title=Prince Buster|website=AllMusic|access-date=8 September 2016}}
• Fly Flying Ska (1964), Blue Beat
• National Ska – Pain in My Belly (1964), Blue Beat
• It's Burke's Law (1965), Blue Beat
• Ska-Lip-Soul(1965),
• What A Hard Man Fe Dead (1967), Blue Beat
• Judge Dread Rock Steady (1967), Blue Beat/Prince Buster
• Ten Commandments (1967), RCA Victor
• Wreck A Pum Pum (1968), Jet Star{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/prince-buster-mn0000359494/biography|title=Prince Buster|website=AllMusic|access-date=9 September 2016}}
• She Was A Rough Rider (1968), Blue Beat
• The Outlaw (1969), Bluebeat
• Big Five (1971), Melodisc
• Dance Cleopatra Dance (1972), Blue Elephant
• The Message Dub Wise (1972), Melodisc/Fab
• Sister Big Stuff (1976), Melodisc

;Compilations:

• The Original Golden Oldies Vol. 1 (1967), Prince Buster
• Original Golden Oldies Vol. 2 (1967), Shack Recordings
• FABulous Greatest Hits (1968), Fab
• Tutti Frutti (1968), Fab{{cite web|url=http://www.subcultz.com/2015/07/prince-buster-discography-skarocksteady-singer/|title=PRINCE BUSTER – DISCOGRAPHY: (Ska/Rocksteady Singer)|website=Subcultz.com|access-date=9 September 2016}}
• The Prophet (1994), Lagoon
• King of Ska (2000), Prince Buster/Jet Star
• Rock A Shacka Vol. 5 – Dance Cleopatra (2003), Universal

;Live:

• Prince Buster on Tour (1967), Blue Beat
• King of Blue Beat (2001) (reissue of "Prince Buster Live On Tour"), Wah Wah
• Prince of Peace (2003), Island – Prince Buster with Determinations

{{Reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince Buster}}

Category:1938 births

Category:2016 deaths

Category:Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica

Category:Converts to Islam

Category:Jamaican reggae musicians

Category:Jamaican record producers

Category:Jamaican ska musicians

Category:Jamaican Muslims

Category:Officers of the Order of Distinction

Category:Blue Beat Records artists