Reggae drum patterns.

1. 1960s

   1. 1964
      

      My Boy Lollipop

      Millie Small

      Ska's first worldwide hit; its skipping off-beat shuffle introduced the Jamaican rhythm to international pop charts
   2. 1965
      

      Landmark

      Guns of Navarone

      The Skatalites

      Skatalites ska with Lloyd Knibb on drums: the fast shuffle and off-beat accents that every later Jamaican groove slowed down
   3. 1967
      

      Landmark

      Rock Steady

      Alton Ellis

      The song that named rocksteady: ska cut to a slower, heavier pulse that gives the bass and the off-beat room to breathe
   4. 1968
      

      Israelites

      Desmond Dekker & The Aces

      First reggae UK No. 1; the brisk early-reggae shuffle with a choppy off-beat skank reached a global audience
   5. 1969
      

      Pressure Drop

      Toots & The Maytals

      Early reggae at full tilt: busy shuffle drums and gospel call-and-response, later spread worldwide by The Harder They Come
   6. 1969
      

      Return of Django

      The Upsetters

      Lee Perry's sax-led instrumental; a clean example of the bouncy late-60s early-reggae beat before roots slowed it down

2. 1970s

   1. 1973
      

      Landmark

      Stir It Up

      Bob Marley & The Wailers

      Catch a Fire re-recording; Carlton Barrett's laid-back one-drop feel took the Wailers' groove to an international audience
   2. 1975
      

      Marcus Garvey

      Burning Spear

      Roots-era landmark: slow, hypnotic drums and bass carrying Winston Rodney's Garveyite chant
   3. 1976
      

      Landmark

      King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown

      Augustus Pablo & King Tubby

      Dub touchstone: King Tubby strips Carlton Barrett's drums and the bass to the bone, using echo and drop-outs as rhythm
   4. 1976
      

      Police and Thieves

      Junior Murvin

      Lee Perry's Black Ark sound: hazy, phased percussion over a loping roots groove; covered by The Clash a year later
   5. 1977
      

      Two Sevens Clash

      Culture

      Joe Gibbs-produced roots anthem whose urgent, driving rhythm caught the 1977 doomsday buzz in Kingston
   6. 1978
      

      Ku Klux Klan

      Steel Pulse

      Birmingham roots from Handsworth Revolution; proof that UK bands could play heavyweight militant reggae
   7. 1979
      

      Silly Games

      Janet Kay

      Dennis Bovell-produced lovers rock: a gentle, sweet reggae groove under a soul vocal that reached UK No. 2

3. 1980s

   1. 1981
      

      Landmark

      Sponji Reggae

      Black Uhuru

      Sly & Robbie's Taxi sound: Sly Dunbar's crisp, militant rockers drumming pushed roots toward the tighter 80s style
   2. 1982
      

      Night Nurse

      Gregory Isaacs

      Unhurried, spacious early-80s groove under Isaacs' cool vocal; the slow-burn style that bridged roots and dancehall

4. 1990s

   1. 1995
      

      Untold Stories

      Buju Banton

      From 'Til Shiloh, Buju's turn from dancehall to Rasta roots; a stripped, acoustic-led one drop

5. 2000s

   1. 2005
      

      Road to Zion

      Damian Marley & Nas

      Welcome to Jamrock cut where a slow reggae pulse carries a hip hop verse; roots and rap sharing one groove

6. 2010s

   1. 2013
      

      Here Comes Trouble

      Chronixx

      Reggae Revival single that put live-band one drop back at the centre of Jamaican music
   2. 2018
      

      Toast

      Koffee

      Bright, bouncy modern reggae from the Revival generation; its EP Rapture won the Grammy for Best Reggae Album

Press play to loop each record's busiest two bars. Patterns are machine-detected from the recordings, not verified transcriptions.