Lee "Scratch" Perry

Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry March 20, 1936) is one of the most influential people in the development of reggae and dub music in Jamaica.

Perry began his career in the late 1950s working

Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry March 20, 1936) is one of the most influential people in the development of reggae and dub music in Jamaica.

Perry began his career in the late 1950s working with Prince Buster and Clement Coxsone Dodd's sound system. He was soon producing records with Dodd and recording at Studio One, but the pair eventually stopped working together due to personality and financial conflicts. Working with Joe Gibbs at Wirl Records, Perry tried to begin his recording career, but again, personality and financial problems caused conflict, and Perry left to form his own label, Upsetter, in 1968 (see 1968 in music). His first single "People Funny Boy", which was an insult directed at Gibbs, sold very well. It is notable for its innovative use of a slow, sluggish, bass-driven beat that would soon become identifiable as a distinctively "reggae" (or, more accurately, roots reggae) sound. During the 1970s, Perry released numerous recordings and acquired a variety of nicknames including Scratch, The Upsetter, and Super Ape. The nickname Scratch has been attributed to Perry's 1965 song "Chicken Scratch". Most of his hits were big in both Jamaica and the UK, and he soon became known as much for his eccentric character and outlandish style in his appearance as for his music.