“I would like people to know that I was the true inventor of ska and reggae”: Ernest Ranglin on working with Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, James Bond – and how he influenced “almost every aspect of Jamaican music”

Ska and reggae pioneer Ernest Ranglin plays his Gibson semi-hollow onstage in 2016.

Reggae and ska aren’t always associated with guitar heroics. And even when they are, most people’s mind’s eye wanders over to imagery of Bob Marley and his Les Paul Special or maybe one of Marley’s guitarists like Peter Tosh, Al Anderson or Junior Marvin. Such is life within an art form more focused on vibe than chops. But don’t tell that to Ernest Ranglin.

“People talk, but I was there,” Ranglin says. “I am a humble man, but I do know what happened back then.”