Lee "Scratch" Perry

Bio

Lee "Scratch" Perry (20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, singer and songwriter who became one of the most influential figures in reggae and dub music. Born in rural Jamaica, he moved to Kingston in the late 1950s and worked with Clement "Coxsone" Dodd’s Studio One before establishing his own Upsetter label in 1968, where he produced early hits for Bob Marley & The Wailers and pioneered the stripped-down, effects-heavy sound that became known as dub. Throughout the 1970s Perry built and recorded at his Black Ark studio, creating landmark albums such as "Super Ape" and "Roast Fish Collie Weed & Corn Bread" that shaped the evolution of reggae, dub and later electronic music. His innovative use of echo, reverb and found sounds influenced generations of producers worldwide. After the studio’s destruction in the early 1980s, Perry continued to record and perform internationally, releasing dozens of albums and collaborating with artists across genres until his death in 2021.