Biography of Prince Buster

Cecil Bustamanate Campbell (aka Prince Buster) was among Jamaica's first international stars. His singles were outrageous, sexist, hilarious, widely influential, and inspirational. A onetime boxer, Prince Buster began working as a combination sound engineer and bouncer for Coxsone Dodd. He claims to be ska's inventor, which may exaggerate his importance, but Buster certainly helped popularize it. After parting company with Dodd, Buster established his own sound system, label, and record store. His first recording session yielded the anthemic original "Oh Carolina" by the Folks Brothers. Buster soon had multiple labels, operating Wild Bells, Voice of the People, and Buster's Record Shack. His singles were distributed on the Blue Beat label in England, and Buster's fame rose while such hits as "Al Capone" and "Madness" exploded. His talking/toasting records, filled with lewd imagery and vivid language, proved enormously popular. Buster doubled as a prolific performer and busy recording executive in the '70s, cutting sessions with Dennis Brown, Big Youth, John Holt, and Alton Ellis, among others. He reissued his old records, churned out compilations, bought record stores, and built a huge empire. Buster stopped performing in the late '70s, then returned to the stage in the late '80s. ~ Ron Wynn