Junior Byles

Jamaican Reggae Singer

Born 1948 in Kingston, Jamaica. In late 1967, Junior formed a vocal group named The Versatiles. They cut their first session for release on Joe Gibbs's Amalgamated label. Three superb titles ("Just Can't Win," "The Time Has Come" and "Trust The Book" were recorded under the supervision of Lee Perry with musical backup from Lynn Taitt & The Jets. Between 1968 and 1974, Perry and Junior collaborated in the production of over forth titles, including all time classics like "Curly Locks," "Rasta No Pickpocket," "Place Called Africa," "Beat Down Babylon," "King Of Babylon," "Cutting Razor" and "Long Way." By the mid-seventies, Junior was a major star in Jamaica poised for international exposure. However he was also acquiring a reputation for madness. By 1976, Junior Byles was confined to the mental ward at Belview Hospital in Kingston. Throughout the later part of the decade, Junior was in and out of the hospital sanitarium and in this period he managed to make many great records for a variety of producers. There was "Chant Down Babylon" and "Pitchy Patchy" for the Ja-Man Records label, a remake of "King Of Babylon" for Niney The Observer and Lloyd F. Campbell, "False Leader" for Micron Music Limited, and the classic "Fade Away" for Channel One (5). Two albums were released, the first from Lee Perry material on Dynamic/Trojan and the second co-produced by Perry and Pete Weston and Micron Music Limited.