Clement "Coxsone" Dodd played a pivotal role in shaping Jamaican music from his early days as a sound system operator to becoming a leading record producer. As the founder of Studio One, he nurtured legendary artists like The Wailers, John Holt, Delroy Wilson, and Lee Perry, helping to lay the foundation for ska, rocksteady, and reggae. His keen ear for talent and passion for music made him a driving force behind Jamaica’s musical evolution, earning him the title of one of the most influential figures in the industry.

Published Friday, February 26, 1971 

Clement “Coxsone” Dodd: Crown Prince Of The Recording Business

REPEATEDLY, I HAVE BEEN ASKED by record enthusiasts why nothing has appeared in these columns about Clement Dodd. I had no valid excuse and could only dismiss their confrontations with a smile and a word: patience. I have always been one of the silent majority who appreciated the music put out by C. “Coxsone” Dodd. I recall the days of Foresters Hall, in the late ’50s and ’60s, and the battle of the bass, when a beer bottle would be placed on a ledge or on the speaker boxes, and whichever sound system —  Coxsone or Duke Reid — could make the bottle fall off would be declared the winner. I was always in the camp of Coxsone.

Clement Dodd was recently described by one of the young producers in the business as a patriarch. A more fitting description could not have been given. He was born in the city and grew up there, working as a mechanic for five years with Industrial Garage and also as a cabinetmaker. His school life was like that of any city youth in those days, attending Central Branch, St. Anthony, West India College, and Kingston Technical High School. Dodd was fanatical about two things: music and sports. It was from his cricketing days as a youth that he got the nickname Coxsone, after the Yorkshire county all-rounder Coxon, and it was in music that this sobriquet came to full maturity and prominence.

INSPIRED
He left Jamaica for the United States of America at the age of nineteen and returned home after eighteen months. As a teenager, Coxsone followed the sounds of Nick, Roy White, Duke Reid, and Tom the Great Sebastian. He was inspired by singers like Louis Jordan, Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan, and Billy Eckstine, as well as musicians like Lionel Hampton. His favourite record shop in those days was Depass on King Street. When he had the time, he would tune in to Randy's of New Orleans and other foreign stations to hear the latest songs on the American scene.

It was no surprise that when he returned home from America, he brought along an amplifier, built himself some speaker boxes, and went into the sound system business. He soon discovered, however, that his amplifier could not cope with the deep, earthy sound demanded by local swingers.

Coxsone found himself working as an A&R man for the senior Duke Reid of "Treasure Isle." It was Coxsone who had chosen “My Mother’s Eyes” as the theme song for Duke, and because of his knowledge of the American sound, he assisted the Duke in getting ahead of the others in the business.

The superiority of a sound system in those days was determined largely by the selections they had. Fans would call out song names and sum up which sound system had more exclusives. Coxsone also went into the retailing of foreign records on a small scale.

LIQUOR-SELLING
After six months with the Duke, Dodd built himself an amplifier and challenged the Duke. The stage was set for Batchame Lawn on Dumfries Street. The Duke played first, and Coxsone’s Downbeat followed. Dodd experienced, for the first time, a hero’s welcome  —he was lifted off the ground by the crowd, which packed the lawn and the streets. The Downbeat sound had arrived.

In one year, he expanded from one set to five, playing as many as eight engagements in a weekend. It was then that he decided to go into the liquor-selling business, which he worked at for three years, but many of his customers left for England with unpaid balances. His headquarters were at the corner of Love Lane and Beeston Street before he later moved on to music. He had gone from Love Lane — almost opposite the Ward Theatre — where he opened a rehearsal space ahead of the Jamaican Choice Room, with just one piano.

At that time, America was shifting from Rock and Roll to Rhythm and Blues. Dodd found it increasingly difficult to get the music his fans desired. He got together Roland Alphonso and a group playing on the North Coast and went into Federal Studio to do a recording. It cost $720, and he sent off the tape to America to be mastered, waiting months only to find out that the tape never reached its destination. However, he had the demonstration disc, and this proved very popular with dance fans.

BIRTH
By this time, Duke Reid had done a recording session with the Jiving Juniors, and in the language of today, "was tearing up the nation." Coxsone did his second session, and out of this came hits such as “Cane Juice,” “Easy Snapping,” and “Shuffling Jug.” Jamaican music was born.
Dodd saw that this could be a very profitable business. At that time, the cost of making a record was forty cents while the retail price was sixty-five cents. Coxsone created the pre-release to make a wider margin of profit. Today, he feels that it is unnecessary, as the cost of production has dropped to eighteen cents while the retail price has risen to seventy-five cents.

BIG IN THE BUSINESS
Dodd became the crown prince of local recording, nurturing every big name in local music, including The Satellites, Tony Gregory, The Blues Busters, The Wailers, John Holt, Delroy Wilson, Derrick Harriott, Clancy Eccles, Lee Perry, Prince Buster, and many more — all of whom came from the Downbeat stable.

However, Coxsone is upset today at the remarks and treatment given to him by many of these artists, who have since entered the record-producing business. Some argue that if Dodd had treated them better, he could have been one of the richest men in the country today.

THE RADIO AND RECORDING INDUSTRY
Dodd accuses certain radio stations of favouring some producers over others. "The radio is doing more harm to the business than good," he says. In the early days, when Duke Reid put out a sound, I did everything to better it. Today, anything goes. There is no creative development. The buying public has been sold nonsense, and they lap it up. If producers want to stay alive, they have to stoop to that level of producing trash. I blame this on the radio."

Dodd also feels that too many charlatans are in the business. "Unless something is done to limit record producing to record producers only — people who live by it and have been working at it for some time — local recording will continue to decline."

He further accuses radio disc jockeys of advising artists to record for certain producers in exchange for airplay. As a result, some of his contracted artists have broken their contracts to record for other producers. He says he will be taking the matter to court.

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