Biography
Duke Reid ranked among the Jamaican music industry's originators, ranking perhaps just behind his primary competitor, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, in stature as both producer and businessman. Like Dodd, Reid began in music by spinning records, moved on to operating a sound system, took charge of labels (most prominently Trojan and Treasure Isle), and finally emerged as a skilled studio architect who shaped some of the island's strongest output during the 1960s. His timeline ran from ska's first recordings through rocksteady and into the opening years of the 1970s, when he helped establish the platform for the emerging DJ and toaster scene. At his height Reid projected a colorful, imposing presence rooted in his earlier work as a policeman; he routinely displayed a loaded revolver and ammunition belt, occasionally adding a hand grenade or machete. Although his commercial methods could prove aggressive, Reid's reputation rests on genuine production talent, especially the sides he cut at rocksteady's peak.
Arthur S. "Duke" Reid entered the world in Portland, Jamaica, most likely during 1915. In his late teens he relocated to Kingston and spent a decade serving as a police officer before resigning to assist his wife with her thriving grocery business. An avid music enthusiast, Reid drew additional customers by broadcasting discs outside the premises, favoring American R&B, jump blues, and occasional calypso selections. Rising sales soon prompted the couple to transfer operations to a larger Bond Street address, which they named the Treasure Isle Liquor Store. Reid launched his own radio program, Treasure Isle Time, while simultaneously developing a traveling sound system that carried records and playback gear between dancehalls aboard a Trojan flatbed truck, earning him the additional moniker "the Trojan." It was on these dancehall stages that Reid first cultivated his signature style, openly displaying firearms, frequently donning a cape, and at times arriving carried in by his entourage.
As competition with Coxsone Dodd grew sharper, Reid traveled repeatedly to the United States in search of rare R&B discs and shuffling sax instrumentals. Exclusive pressings proved decisive for sound-system dominance, leading both men to obscure titles and labels on their copies and assign new names to safeguard their holdings. One well-known episode recounts Reid locating a copy of one of Dodd's signature tracks and unveiling it during a sound-system clash, leaving Dodd visibly stunned. Reid was frequently accused of employing rougher methods as well; groups of enforcers known as "dancehall crashers" would sometimes provoke disturbances at rival events, aiming to force police intervention and occasionally damage equipment. Nevertheless, Reid consistently supplied the sounds audiences sought, securing Jamaica's premier sound-system title three consecutive years from 1956 to 1958.
Once American R&B shifted toward rock and soul, locating suitable imported discs grew harder. Sound-system proprietors therefore began recording local performers who could supply the preferred material. Reid constructed a studio directly above the Treasure Isle Liquor Store and issued original singles beginning in 1959. He assembled a house band and released early tracks by Derrick Morgan and the Jiving Juniors over the following three years, a period when late-1950s R&B shuffle rhythms gave way to the offbeat emphasis of ska. During the same span, recordings evolved from private sound-system assets into commercially viable products sold to the public. Reid, who had once treated record production as a sideline, elevated it to his central concern starting in 1962.
Between 1962 and 1965, Reid's imprints, Treasure Isle foremost among them, delivered numerous ska successes featuring the Skatalites, Stranger Cole, the Techniques, Justin Hinds & the Dominoes, and additional acts. Treasure Isle did not surpass Dodd's Studio One as Jamaica's leading label, however, until Alton Ellis arrived and the slower rocksteady rhythm emerged in 1966. The style's strongest period, spanning 1966 to 1968, produced many of Reid's most celebrated recordings, created for a roster that included Ellis, Phyllis Dillon, the Melodians, the Paragons, the Ethiopians, and the Jamaicans. Tommy McCook & the Supersonics, the new house band fronted by the former Skatalites saxophonist, supplied the backing for most of these sessions.
When rocksteady waned and Rastafarian roots reggae gained ground, Reid encountered a creative dilemma: the newer sound, especially its socially conscious lyrics, did not suit his preferences, and his reluctance positioned him increasingly as an outdated figure. At the same time, a fresh dancehall practice was developing in which DJs overlaid their own rhyming patter, known as "chatting" or "toasting," onto existing records. Paragons lead singer John Holt introduced the pioneer of this approach, U-Roy, to Reid's studio in 1970. Reid quickly agreed to record U-Roy and decided to have the DJ voice new performances over classic Treasure Isle rhythm tracks. The resulting singles proved enormously popular; at one stage four of U-Roy's early releases simultaneously occupied the Jamaican Top Five. Reid continued working with U-Roy through the early 1970s, drawing repeatedly from his catalog, and also issued material by other early DJs, notably Dennis Alcapone. Serious illness struck Reid in 1974; after roughly a year of declining health he died in 1975. Numerous compilations of his productions have appeared on CD since that time.
Arthur S. "Duke" Reid entered the world in Portland, Jamaica, most likely during 1915. In his late teens he relocated to Kingston and spent a decade serving as a police officer before resigning to assist his wife with her thriving grocery business. An avid music enthusiast, Reid drew additional customers by broadcasting discs outside the premises, favoring American R&B, jump blues, and occasional calypso selections. Rising sales soon prompted the couple to transfer operations to a larger Bond Street address, which they named the Treasure Isle Liquor Store. Reid launched his own radio program, Treasure Isle Time, while simultaneously developing a traveling sound system that carried records and playback gear between dancehalls aboard a Trojan flatbed truck, earning him the additional moniker "the Trojan." It was on these dancehall stages that Reid first cultivated his signature style, openly displaying firearms, frequently donning a cape, and at times arriving carried in by his entourage.
As competition with Coxsone Dodd grew sharper, Reid traveled repeatedly to the United States in search of rare R&B discs and shuffling sax instrumentals. Exclusive pressings proved decisive for sound-system dominance, leading both men to obscure titles and labels on their copies and assign new names to safeguard their holdings. One well-known episode recounts Reid locating a copy of one of Dodd's signature tracks and unveiling it during a sound-system clash, leaving Dodd visibly stunned. Reid was frequently accused of employing rougher methods as well; groups of enforcers known as "dancehall crashers" would sometimes provoke disturbances at rival events, aiming to force police intervention and occasionally damage equipment. Nevertheless, Reid consistently supplied the sounds audiences sought, securing Jamaica's premier sound-system title three consecutive years from 1956 to 1958.
Once American R&B shifted toward rock and soul, locating suitable imported discs grew harder. Sound-system proprietors therefore began recording local performers who could supply the preferred material. Reid constructed a studio directly above the Treasure Isle Liquor Store and issued original singles beginning in 1959. He assembled a house band and released early tracks by Derrick Morgan and the Jiving Juniors over the following three years, a period when late-1950s R&B shuffle rhythms gave way to the offbeat emphasis of ska. During the same span, recordings evolved from private sound-system assets into commercially viable products sold to the public. Reid, who had once treated record production as a sideline, elevated it to his central concern starting in 1962.
Between 1962 and 1965, Reid's imprints, Treasure Isle foremost among them, delivered numerous ska successes featuring the Skatalites, Stranger Cole, the Techniques, Justin Hinds & the Dominoes, and additional acts. Treasure Isle did not surpass Dodd's Studio One as Jamaica's leading label, however, until Alton Ellis arrived and the slower rocksteady rhythm emerged in 1966. The style's strongest period, spanning 1966 to 1968, produced many of Reid's most celebrated recordings, created for a roster that included Ellis, Phyllis Dillon, the Melodians, the Paragons, the Ethiopians, and the Jamaicans. Tommy McCook & the Supersonics, the new house band fronted by the former Skatalites saxophonist, supplied the backing for most of these sessions.
When rocksteady waned and Rastafarian roots reggae gained ground, Reid encountered a creative dilemma: the newer sound, especially its socially conscious lyrics, did not suit his preferences, and his reluctance positioned him increasingly as an outdated figure. At the same time, a fresh dancehall practice was developing in which DJs overlaid their own rhyming patter, known as "chatting" or "toasting," onto existing records. Paragons lead singer John Holt introduced the pioneer of this approach, U-Roy, to Reid's studio in 1970. Reid quickly agreed to record U-Roy and decided to have the DJ voice new performances over classic Treasure Isle rhythm tracks. The resulting singles proved enormously popular; at one stage four of U-Roy's early releases simultaneously occupied the Jamaican Top Five. Reid continued working with U-Roy through the early 1970s, drawing repeatedly from his catalog, and also issued material by other early DJs, notably Dennis Alcapone. Serious illness struck Reid in 1974; after roughly a year of declining health he died in 1975. Numerous compilations of his productions have appeared on CD since that time.
Albums
