Loading details…
Artist
Junior Byles
12+ albums
reggaeroots reggaedubrootsjamaica
about
Junior Byles (born Kenneth Byles Jr. in a poor part of Kingston on 2 February 1948; died 15 May 2025) was a Jamaican reggae artist remembered for his song 'Fade Away', with its strong spiritual warnings about materialism and egoism. Recorded in 1975 for producer Joseph Hoo Kim, it was a massive hit in Jamaica and was also a big success in the UK, and was covered five years later by among others Adrian Sherwood's New Age Steppers group and by Salmonella Dub NZ, made a special version of it. By 1975, Byles' health had begun to decline. Suffering from depression, he was deeply affected by the death of Haile Selassie, unable to reconcile this with his belief in Selassie's divinity, and attempted suicide, but survived. He then had a very though life and was living on the street in USA, scavenging for food in dumpsters, and begging from passers-by. Byles occasionally resurfaced, recording albums 1989, and 1992. He returned to live performance in 2004 in Jamaica, receiving positive reviews. His legacy of recordings from the 1970s, however, maintain his status as one of roots reggae's leading talents. - - - - - Junior Byles aka King Chubby) first formed The Versatiles with friends Ben Davis and Dudley Earl, and they were soon recording. Their first songs were cut for Joe Gibbs, with Lynn Tait's Band under Lee Perry's direction. From these sessions came "The Time Has Come", which was entered for the 1967 festival. Another festival entry was 1971's "Rub Up" in 1971, but Byl
