Island Records

The Heptones

2 Releases

45 Tracks

Jamaican reggae group. Formed in Kingston in the early 1960's as "The Hep Ones" by [a=Leroy Sibbles], [a=Earl Morgan], and [a=Barry Llewelyn], the Heptones played a key role in the transition between ska and rocksteady. Signed by [a=Clement "Coxsone" Dodd] shortly after their debut, they stayed with [l=Studio One] until 1971. Unhappy with Dodd's control they left Studio One to work with [a=Joe Gibbs], and then in 1973 teamed up with [a=Lee "Scratch" Perry] to update their sound. Their first album with Perry, "Party Time", which contained new versions of many of their Studio One tracks, gained them international popularity. Sibbles left the group in 1977 to launch a solo career. His place was filled by [a=Dolphin Morris] starting with the [a=Winston 'Niney' Holness] produced albums "Better Days" and "King Of My Town".