Biography

Inductee: Chris Blackwell (born June 22, 1937) Chris Blackwell is the founder of Island Records and the single person most responsible for turning the world on to reggae music. He was born in London but largely grew up in Jamaica, where his mother had ancestral roots. With an initial investment of $1,000, he formed a record label in 1959, calling it Island (after the novel Island in the Sun). Island debuted with a jazz album by Bermudan pianist Lance Haywood. In 1960, Blackwell began recording Jamaican popular music and scored a #1 hit on the island with Laurel Aitken’s “Little ...