The passing of Byron Lee was hard felt by all Caribbean music lovers and all who appreciate music in general all over the world. I say this because Byron Lee was a pioneer in music who created the fusion of Ska, Rock Steady, Reggae Soca and Mentos, to ragga, Dancehall Soca. Lee's Dynamic studio/records releases are treasured in the homes by folks all across the caribbean region including Latin and South America. His much anticipated yearly releases contained covers of Trinidad's Carnival tunes and his Soft Lee arrangement of classic covers of ballads from all genres. Byron Lee is also noted for his collaborations with calypso and reggae artists like the Mighty Sparrow, and many others throughout the history of Caribbean music. During his five decades in business he and the band has played a vital role in evolution of reggae and soca music. His most recent release Soca Royal features his Dance Hall Soca trademark cover of Tarus Riley's reggae hit "She's Royal". Byron Lee created Dancehall Soca which is what I call the "Socatization of Reggae or other genres". Byron Lee is gone but his legacy will live on through his music and the band The Dragonaires. Byron Lee has been a part of all Caribbean Peoples lives for over 50 years and he will remain in our hearts forever.
