Leroy Sibbles: Celebrating the King of The Reggae Bassline

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Like the guitar in rock music, the bass is critical to a great reggae song. Many of the great bass lines in Jamaican music have been played by Leroy Sibbles.

On August 31, the former lead singer of The Heptones takes the spotlight on Leroy Sibbles: The Crowning…Celebrating King of The Reggae Bassline. The show takes place at Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre in Kingston.

Marcia Griffiths, Etana, Singing Melody and Duane Stephenson are supporting acts on an event that recognizes Sibbles’ prowess as a bassist.

In addition to being lead singer and chief songwriter for The Heptones, Sibbles played bass on a number of hit songs including the seminal Satta Massagana by The Abyssinians, Queen of The Minstrel by Cornel Campbell and Full Up, the instrumental that has driven countless hit songs including Pass The Dutchie by Musical Youth.

Leroy Sibbles Timeless Basslines

Sibbles played those timeless lines while at Studio One in the late 1960s and early 1970s before leaving Jamaica for Canada where he became a major force in that country’s reggae scene.

Of all the bass lines he played, Sibbles rates ‘Satta’, Full Up, Queen of The Minstrel and What Kind of World by The Cables as his most impressive.

“Because those are some of the most popular bass lines in the history of reggae music. Almost every deejay and singer are on those rhythms,” he noted.

Satta Massagana, recorded in 1969 and released two years later, is regarded as reggae’s unofficial anthem. Capleton’s Raggy Road and One Away by Sizzla, are some of the hit songs on that rhythm.

The Full Up, recorded in 1968, is another of the genre’s formidable beats. In 1982, it famously carried Pass The Dutchie to number one on the British national chart. Plus, number 10 in the United States.

At next month’s show, the 75 year-old Sibbles plans to give a comprehensive history of his 60-year career.