Bucknor, who migrated to the UK in 1970, was one of the early innovators responsible for the evolution of Jamaican music from ska to reggae. The artistes on whose music the producer/songwriter has left his indelible mark include Bob Marley and the Wailers, Toots and the Maytals, Alton Ellis, John Holt, Ken Boothe and Bob Andy to mention a few.

Some of his finest recording projects were done at such studios as Studio One, Channel One, Dynamics, Federal, Treasure Isle, Harry J, Randy’s King Tubbys, Joe Gibbs among otherrs.

A short tribute by close friend, guitarist Cecil Smith stated that Sid Bucknor was a musical giant whose contribution to Jamaican music cannot be overlooked.

“Sid (Bucknor) was a giant in the music business. He was instrumental in the development of the Jamaican music sound, ska, rock steady and reggae. He was a great studio engineer, producer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of the music alongside the musicians of the time and pioneered new ways and techniques of capturing the feel and spirit of the music. His contributions to Jamaican music cannot be overlooked,” Smith noted.

According to Smith, much the industry success can be directly attributed to Bucknor’s creative genius and pioneering style. Sid Bucknor was described as “a very patient teacher who was always happy to pass on his knowledge and skills to anyone wishing to learn”.

Sid reportedly worked with all of the greats in the Jamaican music industry.

“He recorded and mixed Catch a Fire, Burning and Natty Dread for Bob Marley and the Wailers. He also recorded, mixed and produced songs with Toots and the Maytals, Desmond Dekker, Alton Ellis, BB seaton, Ken Boothe, John Holt, Bob Andy. Before migrating to England in 1970, where he contined to spread the sound of reggae, he worked at Dynamics, Federal, Studio One, Channel One, Treasure Isle, Harry J, Randy’s King Tubbys and Joe Gibbs’ studios,” the release concluded.

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Although he is the son of music royalty, Ky-Mani Marley says life has not always been a bed of roses. The 33-year-old singer/actor tells his story in Dear Dad, his autobiography to be released February 6.

Marley is best known for minor hit songs like Dear Dad and Warriors and roles in movies such asOne Love, as well as starring in a hit reality show on Black Entertainment Television (BET). But he says his childhood was difficult, even though his father was reggae superstar Bob Marley.

“I’ve lived a life many cannot imagine. Many people don’t even know half the things I’ve been through,” Marley told The Sunday Gleaner from his south Florida base.

In Dear Dad, he revisits those years of strife. He said he lived with his mother Anita Belnavis in a two-bedroom board house in her hometown of Falmouth, Trelawny, where he was born.

Belnavis was a leading table tennis player in the Caribbean in the 1970s, and one of several women with whom Bob Marley had children outside of marriage.

Marley said things did not improve after he and his mother moved to Miami, Florida, when he was nine years old. They lived in the tough, crime-prone community of Liberty City, scene of many riots during the 1980s.

“That was another two-bedroom house worse than where we were living in Jamaica,” he said.

Life changed for the better in 1994, 13 years after his father’s death from cancer at age 36. He gained a considerable financial settlement from the Marley estate which, among other things, provided for Bob’s ‘outside’ children.

“I can tell you that that was a big relief for me, my mother, my auntie. We were living on nothing, really,” Marley recalled.

He also comments on his relationship with his father’s wife, Rita, and her children for Marley but stays clear of sensationalism.

“I tell the truth; I’m not stepping on toes to create conflict. But I tell no lies,” he said.

Dear Dad, which will be distributed in five languages, was done with the assistance of a professional writer. It will be released in association with Dr Farrah Gray, the influential African-American empowerment guru who lives in Las Vegas, on what would have been Bob Marley’s 65th birthday.

Several Marley biographies have been written since the singer’s death.

Some have raised eyebrows, the most notorious being 1995′s Marley and Me, written by his former manager Don Taylor.

Rita Marley’s No Woman No Cry: My Life With Bob Marley, was released in May 2004.

Like his brothers Ziggy, Stephen, Damian and Julian, Ky-Mani Marley has focused on a musiccareer and has done fairly well. He has recorded four albums, the first being Like Father, Like Son, which was released in 1996.

His last studio effort was Radio, which was released in 2007.

He also starred in the low-budget action films, Shottas and One Love. His Living The Life of Marley reality show first aired on BET in 2007.