Jamaican Ska Pioneer Prince Buster Dead at 78

Jamaican artist and producer Prince Buster has died, The Guardian reports. Buster, who was born Cecil Bustamente Campbell, was 78 years old. Buster was a pioneer of the Jamaican rocksteady genre, an evolution of ska that eventually led to reggae. He first began recording music in 1960, when he produced the Folkes Brothers’ “Oh Carolina.” The next year, he released the single “Little Honey” (as Buster’s Group). By 1963, Buster put out his first studio album, I Feel the Spirit. In 1967, his song “Al Capone” reached #18 on the UK Charts.

In the late ’70s, a then-little-known London band called Morris and the Minors were inspired to change their name to Madness, after Buster’s song of the same title. Madness then covered Buster’s “One Step Beyond” (the b-side to “Al Capone”), which charted in the UK top 10. In 2001, the Jamaican government awarded Buster an Order of Distinction for his contribution to music.

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