Gladstone Anderson

Who they were

Biography Gladstone Anderson was born in 1934 in Jones Town, and was taught piano at home by his uncle, the keyboardist and bandleader Aubrey Adams . [ 1 ] [ 2 ] He became a prominent studio pianist in the late 1950s, when he began working for Duke Reid . [ 3 ] He worked at Reid's Treasure Isle studio, generally replacing Jackie Mittoo when The Skatalites recorded there, [ 4 ] also working for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd and Leslie Kong , [ 1 ]

Gladstone Anderson, also known by his nickname "Gladdy", was a Jamaican pianist, keyboard player, and singer, who played a major part in the island's musical history, playing a key role in defining the ska sound and the rocksteady beat, and playing on hundreds of recordings as a session musician, a solo artist, and as leader of Gladdy's All Stars, featuring bassist Jackie Jackson, drummer Winston Grennan, guitarist Hux Brown, and keyboardist Winston Wright.

Why this date

Gladstone Anderson appears on our December 3 calendar for 2015 as a death entry.