Junior Byles

Born Kenneth Byles on July 17th,1948 in Kingston, Jamaica passed May 15th 2025.

In late 1967, Junior formed a vocal group named the Versatiles. They cut their first session for release on Joe Gibbs's Amalgamated label. Three superb titles "Just Can't Win," "The Time Has Come" and "Trust The Book" were recorded under the supervision of Lee Perry with musical backup from Lynn Taitt & the Jets.

Between 1968 and 1974, Perry and Junior collaborated in the production of a series of hits, including, "Curly Locks," "Rasta No Pickpocket," "Place Called Africa," "Beat Down Babylon," "King Of Babylon," "Cutting Razor" and "Long Way."

By the mid-seventies, Junior was a major star in Jamaica poised for international exposure. However, his health began to decline and he suffered from depression. By 1976, he was admitted to Bellevue Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in Kingston. Throughout the later part of the decade, Junior was in and out of the hospital and he managed to make many great records for a variety of producers.

These included "Chant Down Babylon" and "Pitchy Patchy" for Ja-Man Records, a remake of "King Of Babylon" for Niney The Observer and Lloyd F. Campbell, "False Leader" and the classic "Fade Away". Two albums were released, the first on Dynamic/Trojan and the second co-produced by Perry and Pete Weston for Micron Music Limited.