Results: Lee "Scratch" Perry: Reggae Innovator, Most Peculiar Fellow

Before starting this survey, were you familiar with reggae music performer/producer Lee "Scratch" Perry (the song accompanying this question is his early '60's ska tune that lent his nickname) ?

One of Perry's early successes offers an indication of his eccentricity. His 1968 Jamaican hit, "People Funny Boy," features the voice of a baby, likely an element of the record's swipe against fellow producer Joe Gibbs. Sampling is commonly used in popular music nowadays, but had you any idea it existed so long ago?

Another of Perry's innovations has, like sampling, has reverberated throughout many musical genres. Dub is the technique of manipulating a recording by adding echno, dropping instruments out of the mix, even adding sounds alien to the original music. My thought is Perry's concocting of dub may not have occurred without his altered perception by copious consumption of cannabis and rum in his studio (which he eventually torched, convinced it was haunted by evil spirits). Do you knowingly enjoy music influenced by musicians' use of intoxicants/hallucinogens?

Perry's most famous musical student/production client within reggae (he worked with many artists outside it) is Bob Marley. Many of the songs Lee and Marley made which have been interpreted by some as socio-political protests, such as "Small Axe," have their origins in local Jamaican lore with no intention to make grander statements. Have you ever recontextualized a song while listening to it to make it about what you want it to mean?

Some years before his August 2021 death at 85, Perry's third (?) wife helped him kick mind-altering substances and keep a vegan diet. But before that, after an uptick in his public profile via (at least in part) being name-checked in a Beastie Boys tune, he filmed a series of crazed commercials for Guinness beer. Here's guessing they weren't tightly scripted?! Anyway, have you ever discovered a favorite artistic figure by his/her appearance in advertising?