Byron Lee & The Dragonaires

• Genre: Ska
• Hometown: Kingston

About

Byron Lee & the Dragonaires have been Jamaica's musical ambassadors since the band formed in the 1950s. Bolstered by the success of Harry Belafonte's "Day-O," Byron Lee traveled internationally performing classic Calypso material. As the bass player, he anchored a well disciplined band that usually featured several singers (male and female) and a tight horn section. With the birth of Ska in the early '60s they found themselves at the forefront of a contagious new style, landing squarely on the world stage when they appeared in the James Bond film Dr. No. Lee always demanded discipline and a clean-cut appearance from his musicians, and although they became a bit passe in the '70s and '80s, Lee re-emerged in 1990 as the founder of the Jamaican carnival with the Dragonaires leading the way. Recently he's been jamming for Jesus with an unusual Soca/Gospel fusion.

- Robert Leaver