15 Facts About Leroy Sibbles

Leroy Sibbles was born on Leroy Sibblies, 29 January 1949 and is a Jamaican reggae musician and producer.

Leroy Sibbles was the lead singer for The Heptones in the 1960s and 1970s.

Leroy Sibbles was described as "the greatest all-round talent in reggae history" by Kevin O'Brien Chang and Wayne Chen in their 1998 book Reggae Routes.

The son of a grocer, Leroy Sibbles began singing in the 1950s and played guitar, having been taught by Trench Town Rastas Brother Huntley and "Carrot".

Barry Llewellyn and Earl Morgan had formed The Heptones in 1958, and Leroy Sibbles was in a rival group along with two friends.

Leroy Sibbles joined The Heptones in 1965 after the two groups competed in a street-corner contest.

Beyond his work as a singer-songwriter, Leroy Sibbles contributed to the collective output of Studio One as a bass player during the late 1960s.

When Mittoo left full-time duties at Studio One, Leroy Sibbles auditioned singers, arranged sessions, sang harmony, and played bass as a part of the studio group variously known as the Sound Dimension and Soul Vendors.

Leroy Sibbles has explained that his style was to lag the downbeat slightly.

Leroy Sibbles moved to Canada in 1973, where he married and remained for twenty years, and won a U-Know Award for best male vocalist in 1983, and a Juno Award for best reggae album in 1987.

Leroy Sibbles left the Heptones in 1976, midway through a US tour.

Leroy Sibbles continued to visit Jamaica, and performed at Reggae Sunsplash in 1980,1981,1983,1986, and 1990.

Leroy Sibbles is featured in the 2009 documentary Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae.

Leroy Sibbles moved into production in 2009, and set up the Bright Beam record label.

Leroy Sibbles has produced records by singer Sagitar and deejay Chapter, as well as his own recordings, including a successful cover version of "Harry Hippy".