To say prince Buster influenced my love of rocksteady and ska growing up would be a gross understatement.
We lived in a little house on May avenue and our neighbor coincidentally sold used and repress Studio one, Coxone and various other labels.
So I would buy whatever I could from him and then do mail order to the UK for Trojan records.
I didn’t learn about Bluebeat until later but even back in the mid 80s those records we hard to find. Especially since there was no internet.
Every week or couple of weeks there were reggae dance parties hosted by the local traditional skinheads and mods in the area and I would go dance to all my favorite records in a tiny rented space above a store front near my high school.
During this time period growing up I had the great fortune of seeing many of my favorite artists, somehow they always seemed to pass though Santa Cruz while on tour. I got to see acts like the Heptones with Leroy Sibbles,Skatallites,Desmond Dekker, and Two Tone acts Bad Manners,The English Beat, The Selector, among many others multiple times.
In my young life I had many different types of troubles and for all of my life since then music has been my memory and savior guiding me through all of my days, the good and bad.
Prince Buster was and remains one of my top ten favorite artist of all time. His class, style, and pure soulful rhythm transcends time. I have enjoyed his music since the first time I heard it and will continue to do so until my last.
Rest in Peace Prince Buster, Thank you for your influence. Nothing oh nothing takes the place of you.
