A User’s Guide to Laurel Aitken
By Chris Nickson, eMusic Contributor
Probably no one had a lengthier career in Jamaican music than Laurel Aitken. He started in his early 20s, back at the dawn of the 1950s, singing on early mento (akin to Jamaican calypso) recordings. He was there when Jamaican boogie was born, giving the fledgling Island records its first hit with the seminal "Boogie In My Bones" in 1959, and stayed involved in everything from ska all the way through to dancehall before his… more »