A friend of my mine recently turned me on to Johnny Nash. Johnny sang pop standards in the 50s and 60s. In 1965, he cofounded JAD records. Check out his cover of Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye, which is a good example of his cool and confident style.
In 1968 (before anyone else in the US was hip to Jamaican music), Johnny Nash and his girlfriend took a trip to the island. He met The Wailers and managed to sign them to JAD. When he returned to the States he released a nice run of singles showing off his newfound rocksteady sound. The Wailers followed and eventual broke into the US market, but by then they had joined a new label, Island.
Cupid |