1967-1969Jamaica

Reggae

Also known as roots reggae

A Jamaican genre that emerged in the late 1960s, reggae slows the pulse without losing momentum, turning the groove into something spacious, patient, and socially charged. Its early history is tied to the shift from ska and rocksteady, with 'Do the Reggay' and Bob Marley & The Wailers standing as two of the clearest reference points.

Origins and context

Documented histories place reggae’s emergence in Jamaica in the late 1960s, following ska and rocksteady; Toots & The Maytals’ 1968 recording 'Do the Reggay' is widely cited in the genre’s naming history.

Jamaica

The sound

Characteristics

Off-beat guitar or piano chops
Prominent bassline
Syncopated drum patterns

History

Reggae grew out of Jamaica’s ska and rocksteady eras, slowing the tempo and reshaping the rhythm into something heavier and more spacious. Contemporary genre histories also note deeper roots in Jamaican listening culture and imported rhythm-and-blues, but the style itself took recognizable form in the late 1960s and quickly became one of the island’s signature musical exports. One often-cited landmark is Toots & The Maytals’ “Do the Reggay,” a 1968 recording widely credited with naming the genre. Bob Marley & The Wailers then helped carry reggae far beyond Jamaica, and artist pages from Spotify and Apple Music describe Marley as the figure who introduced the sound to a global audience and defined its spiritual and political reach.