If it weren’t for Joe Higgs, Reggae music might have taken a very different path. He’s not always the first name people mention, but among musicians and historians, he is known as the Father of Reggae. That recognition comes, not just from his own seminal work, but also from the role he played in shaping the artistes who went on to define the genre.

​

In the 1960s, Higgs, a respected singer, songwriter and popular artist in Jamaica at the time, began holding informal music sessions at his mother’s home at 19 Third Street in Trench Town, freely sharing what he knew with any youth and young artiste willing to learn. Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer were among those he taught and all credited him with helping them develop their sound.

​

His influence runs deep through the roots and consciousness of Reggae music and the wider story of Jamaican culture.