Artists like The Melodians

Slim Smith was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer. In their book Reggae: The Rough Guide (1997), Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton described Smith as "the greatest vocalist to emerge in the rocksteady era".

Anthony Patrick Orlando Mossop, known professionally as Tony Tribe and Tony Kingston, was a Jamaican and British vocalist. After moving to Great Britain in 1956, he joined The Soul Seekers, a gospel outfit from Calvary Apostolic Church in Camberwell. He subsequently charted at No. 46 on the UK Singles Chart with a solo reggae version of Neil Diamond's "Red Red Wine", which became Trojan Records's first UK chart entry and inspired a UB40 cover version that charted at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100. He also performed at the 1969 Caribbean Reggae Festival. He then moved to Canada and released several singles there including "I Am the Preacher", which charted at No. 65 on the RPM charts, and then an album.

Don Drummond was a Jamaican ska trombonist and composer. He was one of the original members of The Skatalites, and composed many of their tunes. In 1966, Drummond was convicted of murdering his 23-year-old lover, Anita "Marguerita" Mahfood.

Desmond Dekker was a Jamaican singer/songwriter and musician considered a pioneer in the ska, rocksteady and reggae genres. Together with his backing group the Aces, he had one of the earliest international reggae hits with "Israelites" (1968). Other hits include "007 " (1967), "It Mek" (1969) and "You Can Get It If You Really Want" (1970).