How “Reggay” became “Reggae” Excerpt from “Carlos Malcolm – a life in Jamaican Music”©2003 Reggae music represents a single phase in the hurried metamorphosis of Jamaican urban music, which dates back to 1958. Mento music, the folk music of Jamaica is peculiarly identified by a double impact (from the guitar and/or piano) on the second and the fourth beats of a four-beat measure. The Jamaican Mento guitar strum is the pillar from which all innovations in Jamaican urban music have evolved since the 1960s: Mento – Ska – Rock-Steady – Reggae – Dancehall. The word “Reh-geh” is the vocalization of the double impact made by the guitar/piano, identifying the music as “Reggae” music. Reggae music is the grandchild of Jamaican “Ska” music (a mixture of Jamaican Mento (folk) music with New Orleans Blues/shuffle music with a “back-beat”). The word “Ska” is the vocalization of a single impact of the guitar strum (combined with a sharp piano chord) on the second and fourth beats of the four-beat measure duplicating the style of the piano/guitar combination of New Orleans Blues/shuffle popularized by Louis Jordan and his Tympani Five. Reggae music was introduced as “Reggay” music by Federal Records, the only self-sufficient long-playing record-manufacturing facility in Kingston, Jamaica during the 1960’s. Casual public response to the new rhythm in Jamaica made Federal Records re-think its marketing. Ken Lazarus, Artist and Recording Manager for the company, had studied Latin grammar at college. He changed the spelling of “R-e-g-g-a-y” to “R-e-g-g-a-e”, reasoning that the latter spelling had a more exotic look. The international phenomenon of Reggae music was spawned by a combination of the marketing genius of Chris Blackwell and the unusual musical creativity and (dreadlocks) delivery of Bob Marley and his songs in large open air stage presentations in Europe during the late 1960s.