Cecil Bustamante Campbell was born in Kingston on 28th May 1938. The son of a rail worker he grew up in one of the city's toughest neighborhoods. At a young age, he developed a taste for music and boxing. The boxing he 
eventually gave up as he yearned to be a singer. This boxing talent however would still prove to be useful.
He started singing at Kingston nightclubs in 1956, and. he formed a succession of bands his with friends, but none of these really proved to be a success. His music really began to take off though as Jamaican music promoters drove vans filled with stereo equipment to stage mobile parties as the ‘sound system’ was born.
Through this Campbell met Clement Dodd, the musically-inclined businessman who operated one of Kingston's most popular sound systems. It was here that Campbell’s boxing came back to the fore, he had been quite skilful at amateur boxing during his teenage years, and he was hired not as a musician, but as security; as the rivalry between fans devoted to a particular sound system at these parties could become quite rough. It was due to this line of work that he also earned the nickname "The Prince", which along with his boyhood moniker "Buster" (from his middle name Bustamente), formed the name under which he would become famous.
In 1960, Buster produced a record for the Folkes Brothers for the Wild Bells label, "Oh Carolina," under his new moniker. This record was Jamaica's first to involve an element of African music - the drumming in the record was provided by Count Ossie, the lead nyabinghi drummer from the rastafarian Camp David in the hills above Kingston. It was a big hit in Jamaica and helped propel him onto the musical stage.
From 1963 to the end of the decade, Buster wrote and produced hundreds of songs for Blue Beat. This success soon brought international attention, and He toured throughout Britain during this period, playing to sellout crowds, and even got to appear on Ready, Steady, Go! It was indeed while touring Britain he met Muhammad Ali, and joined the Nation of Islam in 1964. He toured many other European countries during 60s, but for some unknown reason never appeared in the Netherlands. Although none of his singles charted highly in the United States, he went on a successful American tour in 1967 to support the LP release of "The Ten Commandments (From Man to Woman)". This LP is a bit of a rarity. It was also in this year that Al Capone reached #18 in the UK charts.
Buster was not content with just being a musician however, and like Clement Dodd he had a keen eye for business. He opened a record store on Orange Street in Kingston in the early 1960s, which is still owned and operated by his family today. He also founded a jukebox company and started the Prince Buster Record label, at first as an attempt to keep the Melodisc label viable, but it is now used to reissue his music.
The ska sound had run its course by the late 1960s, but its influence was clearly felt in its descendants: rocksteady, with its slower beat and gospel, soul influence and then of course reggae. Bob Marley, Toots Hibbert, and other reggae stars have acknowledged their debt to Buster for his early use of Afrocentric lyrics and his Marcus Garvey-inspired worldview, which had been present in some of his songs. However, reggae's Rastafarian orientation led the Muslim Prince to keep an arms distance away from the new music, and he turned toward more traditional tourist-based business ventures instead and gracefully exited the Jamaican music scene.
By the late 1970s, Buster had fallen in to serious financial trouble. His business ventures were all
either failing or bringing in low profits. Fortunately for him though, in late 1979 ska started experiencing something of a revival in the UK; with the advent of 2 Tone. Madness released their first record on 2 Tone "The Prince", a tribute to Buster which urged ska fans to remember "the man who set the beat", stating "So I'll leave it up to you out there / to get him back on his feet," and finishing with the line "bring back the Prince". With this renewed interest in Buster the money started to roll back in through royalties with his songs being covered by bands like The Specials, The Beat, and Madness, and also his old records were reissued and sold well. This double bonus meant The Prince was indeed able to "get back on his feet."
Prince Buster now lives in Miami, Florida. He no longer records or produces, but has performed a few shows over the past few years including the 2006 & 2007 Boss Sounds Reggae Festival in Newcastle upon Tyne. Prince Buster also performed at Ska Splash 2008 in Skegness. At this show it was announced that Buster was at last back in the recording studio with a new band. So now perhaps now finally we have "brought" back the Prince.
eventually gave up as he yearned to be a singer. This boxing talent however would still prove to be useful.He started singing at Kingston nightclubs in 1956, and. he formed a succession of bands his with friends, but none of these really proved to be a success. His music really began to take off though as Jamaican music promoters drove vans filled with stereo equipment to stage mobile parties as the ‘sound system’ was born.
Through this Campbell met Clement Dodd, the musically-inclined businessman who operated one of Kingston's most popular sound systems. It was here that Campbell’s boxing came back to the fore, he had been quite skilful at amateur boxing during his teenage years, and he was hired not as a musician, but as security; as the rivalry between fans devoted to a particular sound system at these parties could become quite rough. It was due to this line of work that he also earned the nickname "The Prince", which along with his boyhood moniker "Buster" (from his middle name Bustamente), formed the name under which he would become famous.
In 1960, Buster produced a record for the Folkes Brothers for the Wild Bells label, "Oh Carolina," under his new moniker. This record was Jamaica's first to involve an element of African music - the drumming in the record was provided by Count Ossie, the lead nyabinghi drummer from the rastafarian Camp David in the hills above Kingston. It was a big hit in Jamaica and helped propel him onto the musical stage.
From 1963 to the end of the decade, Buster wrote and produced hundreds of songs for Blue Beat. This success soon brought international attention, and He toured throughout Britain during this period, playing to sellout crowds, and even got to appear on Ready, Steady, Go! It was indeed while touring Britain he met Muhammad Ali, and joined the Nation of Islam in 1964. He toured many other European countries during 60s, but for some unknown reason never appeared in the Netherlands. Although none of his singles charted highly in the United States, he went on a successful American tour in 1967 to support the LP release of "The Ten Commandments (From Man to Woman)". This LP is a bit of a rarity. It was also in this year that Al Capone reached #18 in the UK charts.
Buster was not content with just being a musician however, and like Clement Dodd he had a keen eye for business. He opened a record store on Orange Street in Kingston in the early 1960s, which is still owned and operated by his family today. He also founded a jukebox company and started the Prince Buster Record label, at first as an attempt to keep the Melodisc label viable, but it is now used to reissue his music.The ska sound had run its course by the late 1960s, but its influence was clearly felt in its descendants: rocksteady, with its slower beat and gospel, soul influence and then of course reggae. Bob Marley, Toots Hibbert, and other reggae stars have acknowledged their debt to Buster for his early use of Afrocentric lyrics and his Marcus Garvey-inspired worldview, which had been present in some of his songs. However, reggae's Rastafarian orientation led the Muslim Prince to keep an arms distance away from the new music, and he turned toward more traditional tourist-based business ventures instead and gracefully exited the Jamaican music scene.
By the late 1970s, Buster had fallen in to serious financial trouble. His business ventures were all
either failing or bringing in low profits. Fortunately for him though, in late 1979 ska started experiencing something of a revival in the UK; with the advent of 2 Tone. Madness released their first record on 2 Tone "The Prince", a tribute to Buster which urged ska fans to remember "the man who set the beat", stating "So I'll leave it up to you out there / to get him back on his feet," and finishing with the line "bring back the Prince". With this renewed interest in Buster the money started to roll back in through royalties with his songs being covered by bands like The Specials, The Beat, and Madness, and also his old records were reissued and sold well. This double bonus meant The Prince was indeed able to "get back on his feet."Prince Buster now lives in Miami, Florida. He no longer records or produces, but has performed a few shows over the past few years including the 2006 & 2007 Boss Sounds Reggae Festival in Newcastle upon Tyne. Prince Buster also performed at Ska Splash 2008 in Skegness. At this show it was announced that Buster was at last back in the recording studio with a new band. So now perhaps now finally we have "brought" back the Prince.
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"An Earthquake Is Erupting"
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