Stephen "Cat" Coore of Third World performing at the September 2 Westchester Reggae Festival in New York.
by Howard Campbell
SOUTH FLORIDA – Three Jamaicans and a Trinidadian have made Rolling Stone Magazine’s 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time which was released last week. The Jamaicans are Stephen “Cat” Coore (number 91), Ernie Ranglin (number 179), and Earl “Chinna” Smith (number 181).
Trinidadian Lynn Taitt comes in at number 204 on the list which is topped by the legendary Jimi Hendrix.
Stephen “Cat” Coore
Stephen “Cat” Coore of Third World performing at the September 2 Westchester Reggae Festival in New York.
Rolling Stone lauded Coore’s work with Third World, saying, “He practically redefined the heights that reggae guitar could soar to, with searing solos that can stand alongside those of the most acclaimed rock guitar gods.”
It cited his solo on Try Jah Love (a song co-written by Stevie Wonder) as on par with Carlos Santana, one of Coore’s biggest influences, who made the chart at number 11.
“It’s a simple equation: No Ernest Ranglin, no reggae. Ranglin was a chief architect of Jamaican ska in the early 1960s, inventing the rhythm-guitar pattern of playing on the upbeat, paving the way for rocksteady and then reggae. He played on the first international ska hit, Millie Small’s 1964 smash “My Boy Lollipop”, and came up with the classic riff on Toots and the Maytals’ seminal “54-46 Was My Number”.
Earl “Chinna” Smith
Smith, arguably reggae’s most prolific session musician, has played with Bob Marley, Burning Spear, Jimmy Cliff, Dennis Brown and Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers.
According to Rolling Stone, “As a member of (producer) Bunny Lee’s Aggrovators, and later the Soul Syndicate (band), Smith influenced a generation of Jamaican players. Aside from his tight rhythm and riff playing, he was also known for coming up with guitar intros for songs such as Marley’s Rat Race and Dennis Brown’s Cassandra.”
Lynn Taitt
Taitt, who died in 2010, is usually considered the creator of rock steady, which came after ska. From the San Fernando region of Trinidad, he went to Jamaica in the early 1960s. Lynn played on songs that became seminal. They include Take it Easy by Hopeton Lewis and (007) Shantytown by Desmond Dekker. In addition, The Aces and Girl I’ve Got a Date by Alton Ellis.
