THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

734-Prince Buster-Al Capone.

1964-It didn’t chart in the UK until 1967, when reaching Number 18.

Best Bit-At 0.13.’Buster, he sold the heat, with a Rock-Steady beat.’

Prince Buster was born Cecil Bustamente Campbell, in Orange Street, Kingston, Jamaica on May 24th, 1938, he died after suffering heart problems on September 8th, 2016 in Miami, Florida, United States,he had been in poor health for quite some time after a series of strokes.Prince Buster was named after Jamaica’s first post-independence Prime Minister, William Alexander Clarke Bustamente.Prince Buster is best remembered as being the main figure in the development of the musical genre ‘Ska,’ which would later develop into ‘Rocksteady,’ and ‘Reggae.’Ska music combines elements of Caribbean Folk music, Calypso, American Jazz, and R&B, with Prince Buster utilising all these genres in to his music.

Prince Buster (see also best songs 139) was a massive influence on the UK Ska revival of the late 1970’s, with bands such as the Specials, and Madness, incorporating Prince Buster’s music into there own.The Specials (see also best songs 924 and 372) borrowed heavily from this song to create their first hit ‘Gangsters,’ which reached Number 6 in the UK in 1979. The band Madness (see also best songs 69 and 801,) who were also heavily influenced, took their name from a Prince Buster song with that title, and their first hit was a song called ‘The Prince,’ which was a tribute to Prince Buster.

‘Al Capone’ was written by Prince Buster,and features some of the best known Jamaican musicians of the day, including Gladstone Anderson (1934-2015) on piano, Jerome ‘Jah Jerry’ Haynes (1921-2007) on guitar, and Baba Brooks on trumpets.

At the time ‘Al Capone’ was written, gangster, and Western films from Hollywood were very popular in Jamaica, which probably explains the songs subject.

‘Al Capone guns, don’t argue.’