Scratch

Born on Mar 20, 1936 in St. Mary's, Jamaica.

First called "Little" Perry, in reference to his height of 4'11" (1.5m), he was a major founder of Reggae and Dub. First working with ska, he cut his first record in 1959. From then, he worked with a variety of musicians and producers, not always on the best of terms. His first record on his own Upsetter label was entitled "People Funny Boy," and was a direct attack on Joe Gibbs of Wirl Records. This record is also credited as the first recording of the reggae "riddim" a drastic shift from the upbeat ska rhythms.

Profile gleaned from allmusic.com and BBC.co.uk music profiles