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About Junior Byles

Born Kenneth Byles on July 17th,1948 in Kingston, Jamaica passed May 15th 2025.

In late 1967, Junior formed a vocal group named the Versatiles. They cut their first session for release on [[artist:26434]]'s [[label:Amalgamated]] label. Three superb titles "Just Can't Win," "The Time Has Come" and "Trust The Book" were recorded under the supervision of Lee Perry with musical backup from Lynn Taitt & the Jets.

Between 1968 and 1974, Perry and Junior collaborated in the production of a series of hits, including, "Curly Locks," "Rasta No Pickpocket," "Place Called Africa," "Beat Down Babylon," "King Of Babylon," "Cutting Razor" and "Long Way."

By the mid-seventies, Junior was a major star in Jamaica poised for international exposure. However, his health began to decline and he suffered from depression. By 1976, he was admitted to Bellevue Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in Kingston. Throughout the later part of the decade, Junior was in and out of the hospital and he managed to make many great records for a variety of producers.

These included "Chant Down Babylon" and "Pitchy Patchy" for Ja-Man Records, a remake of "King Of Babylon" for Niney The Observer and Lloyd F. Campbell, "False Leader" and the classic "Fade Away". Two albums were released, the first on Dynamic/Trojan and the second co-produced by Perry and Pete Weston for Micron Music Limited.

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