Ska > Rocksteady > Reggae > Reggae Pop

A starter song in 1974 : Jamaica Jerk-Off.
One year before : Eric Clapton’s 1973 cover of I Shot The Sheriff.
Many artists produced reggae-pop hits in 1978 and 1979.

The Backbeat

In 1981, The Police was recording at Montserrat, Catalunya. Stewart explains that rock ‘n roll stuff is performed with the 2 & 4 backbeat. Jamaïcan musicians invented something different, they use the base drum at a different place : base drum and snare drum both land at the same place : three.