He stole the heat with the rocksteady beat

Earlier this evening, I was sitting outside, smoking and drinking beer while I read the new issue of Mojo. I was flipping through the concert reviews at the back, and completely forgot about the mosquitos eating my feet alive when I read the following fact:

Prince Buster, ska innovator, is only 65!!!.

Fucking 65… man… most of the original Skatalites are dead. I figured the man had to be nearing his 80s by now. Nope. Prince Buster is still going strong, and in the photo that came with the article, he looked like he was in great shape.

It’s really surprising, as I had figured that if the guy’d been sampled by the Specials (his song “Al Capone” in “Gangsters”) in 1979, he had to be old. Hell, the Prince was one of the headliners for the Legends of Ska show in Vancouver several years back. Color me newly informed.

Whatever the man’s age, he’s contributed greatly to the world of ska music. “Madness” was covered by nearly artist of the 2-Tone movement, Madness paid tribute to him with their song “the Prince” and recorded a cover of “One Step Beyond”, and he’s recorded such genre touchstones as “Ten Commandments”, “Rough Rider”, and the aforementioned “One Step Beyond.” Truly a legend of ska.

Prince Buster – “One Step Beyond