The Electric Guitar’s Unique Role in the Evolution of Reggae
The electric guitar has long been associated with rock and roll, blues, country, and more recently pop music. The instrument arguably reached its zenith during the classic rock era of the 1960s through 1980s in the hands of virtuosos such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Eddie Van Halen, as well as blues greats B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan. However, amid all the hype surrounding the greatest rock and blues guitarists, many people overlook the role that the electric guitar plays in a completely different genre of music—reggae.
A genre born in Jamaica
Reggae was born on the streets of Kingston, Jamaica, but the genre didn’t develop overnight. Instead, it was the product of diverse artists with unique takes on jazz and island rhythms. Most people agree that ska and jazz guitarist Ernest Ranglin developed the distinctive skank rhythm which accentuates the second and fourth beats in a bar. This rhythm laid the foundation for ska, which blended jazz, R&B, calypso, and Jamaican mento music.
Ska quickly led to the development of rocksteady in the late 1960s. The dominant genre in Jamaica between 1966 and 1968, rocksteady was slower than ska and used a prominent bass line that was often doubled by the lead guitar, with Lynn Taitt’s distinctive picking style exemplifying the approach. Rocksteady then quickly gave way to reggae, which combined the skank guitar rhythm and conscious lyrics of rocksteady with a “one drop” drum and staccato bassline, the Jamaican political movement of the early 1970s, and the spirituality of Rastafari.
Pioneers of the genre
The reggae genre and movement received its official name with the release of “Do the Reggay” by Toots and the Maytals in 1968 and quickly developed with the output of early artists like Lee “Scratch” Perry, Desmond Dekker, and Larry Marshall. It had already begun to filter outside of Jamaica and the Caribbean by the early 1970s, but it was Bob Marley and the Wailers’ record deal with Island Records that truly ushered in the global embrace of reggae.
Marley has sold more than 75 million records, making him one of the top-selling artists of all time. His untimely death at the age of 36 in 1981 was mourned by fans all over the world, but his legacy endures over 40 years later. Marley was the first international musical superstar from the developing world and served as a global ambassador of reggae, Jamaican culture, and social change.
The reggae beat
The predominant guitar line in reggae is relatively simple, perpetuating the rhythm favored by Ranglin and other early ska artists. Over the years, it has been complemented by other popular effects, such as delay, reverb, and wah. The bassline is equally important (if not more so) in reggae, laying down the rhythm with meandering riffs built around the one drop while the electric guitar fills in the gaps with the muted skank rhythm.
As with most genres driven by the electric guitar, reggae features guitar solos, although they tend to be markedly slower and less ornamental than the frenetic solos in rock. In keeping with the more mellow, positive vibe of the genre, reggae solos tend to flow and complement rather than seeking to stand out. The solo on Marley’s “Waiting in Vain” exemplifies the approach, although the songs of Peter Tosh and Jimmy Cliff may be better known for their more advanced solos.
Global influence
Over the past 50 years, reggae has become an internationally recognized and beloved musical style, dominating radio waves in island and beach communities as well as college music scenes around the world. Reggae has also influenced the rhythm and sound of mainstream rock, as seen in a number of noteworthy covers.
Eric Clapton’s cover of Marley’s “I Shot the Sherriff” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974, while Blondie’s cover of John Holt’s “The Tide Is High” reached the top spot on the US and UK charts six years later. Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer also collaborated on a unique and popular cover of Marley’s “Redemption Song” in the early 2000s.
Reggae artists have also covered songs from other genres and driven them to new levels of popularity over the years. The UK’s UB40 is renowned for its reggae-style covers, with its version of Neil Diamond’s “Red Red Wine” arguably outshining the original and becoming one of the most recognized reggae songs among pop music fans. Meanwhile, Jimmy Cliff’s “Many Rivers to Cross” (featured in the film The Harder They Come) became an international sensation and has been covered by several other reggae artists, including Desmond Dekker and UB40.
Perhaps the most striking thing about the electric guitar’s contribution to reggae is the fact that, unlike in many other genres that utilize the instrument, it doesn’t dominate the musical landscape. Instead, it is simply one part of a rich, holistic melody, contributing to a sound that has withstood the test of time due to its irresistible appeal.