Leslie Kong

One of reggae's earliest and most successful producers, Leslie Kong was instrumental in bringing the music to an international audience. Born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1933, he later joined with his three brothers to own and operate Beverley's, a combination ice cream parlor and record store in the city's Orange Street district. In 1961, a customer by the name of Jimmy Cliff captured Kong's attention by singing the song "Dearest Beverley" outside of the shop; Kong agreed to record Cliff's performance and release the track as a single on the Beverley label, and a production caree...