Jamaican music pioneer and the guiding hand for a huge number of Jamaica's most well-known musicians.

For a man who helped define the island's sound, Clement had a surprisingly non-musical childhood. Neither of his parents were musicians, and he was mainly interested in improving his cricket game while attending All Saints school in Kingston. In fact, his cricket game earned him the nick name "Coxsone" after the Yorkshire batsman. He would occasionally play some bebop records for the customers in his parents' liquor store, but this all changed when he moved to Florida to work as a sugar cane cutter.

While in Florida, Clement was exposed to R&B and when he returned to Jamaica he brought along his own proffesional sound system and a box full of records. His first soundsystem started in 1954 as "Sir Coxsone the Downbeat", primarily playing hits out of New Orleans and Miami. As the soundsystem craze in Jamaica began to flourish, Clement had to hunt harder and harder for unknown US songs just to keep his crowds satisfied. Of course, this also meant scratching off record labels and renaming songs to keep rival DJs from stealing his hits.

By this time, he was operating five different soundsystems under the same name and had a stable of incredibly talented DJs: Lee Scratch Perry, Prince Buster, U-Roy, and King Stit. However, it wasn't before long that the flow of records from the States was drying up and soon Clement began recording local artists to satisfy the crowds. Originally named World Disc, Clement's production company turned into Coxsone's Muzik City in 1959 and then became Jamaican Recording and Publishing Studio (Jamaica's first black-owned studio).

Originally, their recordings were made solely for use in their soundsystems, but it soon became obvious that demand for the discs was rising. Working closely with places like Studio One (what was Jamaica's premier studio for ska and early rocksteady), Dodd began a strange system of sales and distribution. First, an acetate was cut for the main soundsystem then a few dub plates would be made for satellite soundsystems. If, and only if, there was a good response to these early pressings then a limited edition blank label would be made. Then, if that sold well, the album was considered for general release. While this helped create a fan base for their albums and good profits for the studio, it makes an original C.S. Dodd production near-impossible to find these days. Many fear that a good amount of one-presses and rare tracks have simply been lost.

With ska's shuffle giving way to rocksteady, Clement's productions began to lose momentum. Seeing the change towards reggae, Clement left his studio to move his production efforts to Brooklyn (Coxsone's Music City). Throughout the 60's, 70's, and 80's almost every major track to come out of Jamaica went through Sir Coxsone first.

This short list of bands he's worked with is a veritable "who's who" of early Jamaican recording: Burning Spear, The Maytals, The Skatalites, The Paragons, Delroy Wilson, Bob Marley & The Wailers, and The Wailing Souls. I can't imagine the amazing music the world would have missed out on if it wasn't for this man. (Quick example: After Junior Braithwaite left The Wailers, it was Dodd who insisted Bob Marley emerge as the new lead singer.)

Clement Dodd passed away on May 4, 2004 of an apparent heart attack. The godfather of Jamaican popular music will be missed. Rest in peace.