Nerlynn Taitt (22 June 1934 – 20 January 2010) was a

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

ist born in San Fernando,

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

, who later moved to Jamaica and became a pioneer of rocksteady music.

Biography

Born Nerlynn Taitt, in San Fernando, Trinidad, he got his start as a musician playing in local steelpan bands, before taking up the guitar aged 14.Larkin, p.288Moskowitz, p.284-5 He formed his own band, which was booked by Byron Lee to perform at the 1962 independence celebrations in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

.Dacks Taitt decided to stay in Jamaica, living in Kingston, and played in a number of bands including The Sheiks, The Cavaliers, and The Comets, and worked with Baba Brooks, The Skatalites and Tommy McCook and the Supersonics. The most successful of his groups was The Jets, formed in 1966 and which included Hux Brown, Headley Bennett, Hopeton Lewis, Gladstone Anderson, and Winston Wright. Taitt's guitar style was inventive and unconventional, with a sharp percussive sound that accented the rocksteady beat. Lynn Taitt and the Jets played on hundreds of recording sessions for Jamaican producers such as Bunny Lee, Duke Reid, Joe Gibbs, Coxsone Dodd, and Sonia Pottinger, often performing up to five sessions a day. Their recording of "Take It Easy" was one of the first rocksteady singles and it reached number one in the Jamaican singles chart. Taitt's contribution to Jamaican popular music includes his role as arranger and session leader for many of the recordings that he appeared on. He has been credited as having created the first rocksteady bassline, on the song "Take It Easy" by Hopeton Lewis. Various other Jamaican recordings have been cited as the "first" rocksteady release such as Alton Ellis & the Flames' "Girl I've Got a Date", and the Derrick Morgan rude boy anthem "Tougher Than Tough" with Lynn Taitt playing guitar on all three. Taitt emigrated to

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada in August 1968, to take up the position of arranger for the house band at the West Indian Federated Club.Katz, p.46 Although he left Jamaica just before the rise of reggae, his playing was a strong influence on musicians such as Hux Brown who adapted Taitt's approach to the newer reggae style. Taitt's work can be heard on various 60s recordings by Derrick Morgan, Desmond Dekker, Lee Perry, Ken Boothe,

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

and Joe Higgs, among others. He recorded with Johnny Nash on some of the latter's international hits, including " Cupid" and " Hold Me Tight". Taitt remained active as a musician in Montreal, having recorded with such acts as The Kingpins ("Let's Go To Work" CD 1999) as well as performing live with the Montreal Ska All Stars and at the Montreal International Jazz Festival with The Jets (2002) and the Fabulous LoLo sings Rocksteady (2006). He was the subject of the 2006 documentary ''Lynn Taitt: Rocksteady'', directed by Generoso Fierro,Dreilinger and another titled ''Ruff 'n' Tuff''. Taitt died on 20 January 2010 after a long battle with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

.Walters His death was recorded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, at the age of 75.

Discography

*''Glad Sounds'' (1968), Bigshot ( Gladdy with Lynn Taitt & the Jets) *''Rock Steady: Greatest Hits'' (1968), Merritone (Lynn Taitt & the Jets) *''Hold Me Tight: Anthology 65-73'' (2005), Trojan

Notes

References

*Dacks, David (2010)
Rocksteady Pioneer Lynn Taitt Dies in Montreal
,

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

, 22 January 2010, retrieved 2010-07-18 *Dreilinger, Danielle (2008)
He's putting reggae's roots on film
, '' Boston Globe'', 24 August 2008 *Katz, David (2000) ''People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry'', Payback Press, *Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, *Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taitt, Lynn 1934 births 2010 deaths Jamaican guitarists Jamaican male guitarists Jamaican reggae musicians Trinidad and Tobago reggae musicians Trinidad and Tobago ska musicians Deaths from cancer in Quebec Trojan Records artists Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to Canada Rocksteady musicians