Prince Buster

Cecil Bustamente Campbell (24 May 1938 – 8 September 2016),

Early life Cecil Bustamente Campbell was born in Orange Street in Kingston, Jamaica, on 24 May 1938. His middle name was given to him by his family in honour of the Labour activist and first post-Independence Prime Minister William Alexander Clarke Bustamante. Upon leaving school he found himself drawn to the ranks of followers of sound system Tom the Great Sebastian. Jamaican sound systems at that time were playing American rhythm 'n' blues and Campbell credits Tom the Great Sebastian with his first introduction to the songs and artists that would later influence his own music: The Clovers' "Middle of the Night", Fats Domino's "Mardi Gras in New Orleans", the Griffin Brothers featuring Margie Day, and Shirley & Lee. Campbell found himself fulfilling a variety of roles for Coxsone: providing security,

1960s In 1961, Campbell released his first single "Little Honey" / "Luke Lane Shuffle" featuring Jah Jerry, Drumbago and Rico Rodriquez recording under the name of Buster's Group. In that same year, he produced "Oh Carolina" by the Folkes Brothers, The drumming on the record was provided by members of the Count Ossie Group, That year Campbell joined the Nation of Islam and also started to release material, including a version of Louis X's "White Man's Heaven is a Black Man's Hell," on his own imprint label called "Islam". In 1965, he appeared in Millie in Jamaica (a film short about Millie Small's return to Jamaica after the world-wide success of "My Boy Lollipop") which was broadcast on Rediffusion's Friday evening pop show Ready, Steady, Go! He toured the UK in spring 1967 appearing at the Marquee Club in May and later toured America to promote the RCA Victor LP release The Ten Commandments (From Man To Woman). "Ten Commandments" reached no. 81 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his only hit single in the United States. By the late 1960s Campbell was once again at the forefront of a musical change in Jamaica; the new music would be called rocksteady. Campbell tracks like "Shaking Up Orange Street" (1967) were arranged with the slower, more soulful rocksteady template as used by Alton Ellis ("Rock Steady") and many others. The album Judge Dread Rock Steady was released in 1967, and the title track "Judge Dread" with its satirical theme and vocal style proved to be popular to the point of parody. In 1968, the compilation album FABulous was released, opening with the track "Earthquake" (which revisited the theme of Orange Street) and including earlier hits. The album has regularly been reissued in the UK.

1970s and beyond His career slowed up in the 1970s as the predominant style moved away from ska and rocksteady towards roots reggae,

He subsequently moved to Miami to pursue business interests including running a jukebox company. he resumed performing with the Skatalites as his backing band towards the end of the 1980s, and resumed recording in 1992. Campbell had a top 30 hit in the UK with the track "Whine and Grine" (no. 21, April 1998) after the song had been used in an advert for Levi's.

In 2001, Campbell was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican Government for his contribution to music. He performed at the 2002 Legends Of Ska festival in Toronto. Other appearances include: Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in 2003; the 2006 Boss Sounds Reggae Festival in Newcastle upon Tyne, the 40th Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland with the Delroy Williams Junction Band, and the 2007 UK Rhythm Festival. Campbell resided in Miami, Florida.

The Buster, "Girl Why Don't You", was covered by ska band Madness for their 2005 album, The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1. It was the third cover of a Prince Buster song to be released by the group, following "Madness" and "One Step Beyond". The single failed to attract much air play from radio stations and made little impression on the UK Singles Chart.

Legacy The UK ska revival at the end of the 1970s that started with the 2-Tone label from Coventry introduced Campbell's music to a new generation of listeners. In 1979 the band Madness released their first single on 2-Tone, a tribute to Campbell called "The Prince".

On their self-titled debut album, the Specials covered "Too Hot" and borrowed elements from Campbell's "Judge Dread" (in the song "Stupid Marriage") and "Al Capone" (in the song "Gangsters"). The Specials also included a cover of "Enjoy Yourself" on their second album More Specials.

The Beat covered "Rough Rider" and "Whine & Grine" on their album I Just Can't Stop It.

In 2002, electronic duo Mint Royale sampled Prince Buster for their single "Sexiest Man in Jamaica" on their album Dancehall Places. In September 2002 the tune was released on David Wood and Neil Claxton's Faith & Hope Records label and debuted at no. 20 on the UK singles chart.

Filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn used Campbell's "Ten Commandments Of Man" on the soundtrack of his 2019 television series "Too Old to Die Young".

The Specials, with activist and vocalist Saffiyah Khan, recorded a rebuttal to "Ten Commandments Of Man", also called "10 Commandments", on their 2019 album Encore, criticising the original's outdated representation of women.

Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones cited Prince Buster as an inspiration in his autobiography Lonely Boy.

Death Campbell died on the morning of 8 September 2016, in a hospital in Miami, Florida, after suffering heart problems, according to his wife. He had reportedly been in poor health for some time after a series of strokes, including one in 2009 that left him unable to walk.

Selected album discography I Feel the Spirit (1963), Blue Beat Fly Flying Ska (1964), Blue Beat She Was A Rough Rider (1968), Blue Beat The Prophet (1994), Lagoon King of Ska (2000), Prince Buster/Jet Star Rock A Shacka Vol. 5 – Dance Cleopatra (2003), Universal

Live Prince Buster on Tour (1967), Blue Beat King of Blue Beat (2001) (reissue of "Prince Buster Live On Tour"), Wah Wah Prince of Peace (2003), Island – Prince Buster with Determinations

UK hit singles Date Song title UK Singles Chart peak Weeks on chart 23 February 1967 "Al Capone"1813 4 April 1998 "Whine and Grine"213