Max Romeo performing on the main stage at Sunsplash, August 16, 2010. Photo by Luca Paolassini_Rototom Sunsplash ©2010 via Flickr, used under a (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license).

Roots reggae artist Max Romeo, known for his uncompromising lyrics, died on the evening of April 11 at a private hospital in St. Andrew, Jamaica, due to complications from heart disease. He was 80 years old.

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Born Maxwell Livingston Smith (also known as “Maxie Smith”) on November 22, 1944, in Saint D’Acre, a small country town near Alexandria in the hills of St. Ann, Jamaica, Romeo left home at the age of 14. He had a very difficult childhood, working on a sugar plantation in Clarendon, where he won a singing contest at age 18. Like other aspiring reggae artists from rural areas, he thereupon left for the big city — Kingston, the home of reggae, where he had family — to seek his fortune.

There, Romeo teamed up with two musicians, Kenneth Knight and Lloyd Shakespeare (brother of legendary bassist Robbie), to form The Emotions in 1965. Their first hit record, “(Buy You) A Rainbow” (1966), was produced by Ken Lack. Romeo had been working as a promoter for Lack's record label, and the producer reportedly overheard Romeo singing to himself one day and suggested he record it. It was an immediate hit, and several hit records followed for The Emotions.

By 1968, Romeo felt ready to launch a solo career; not meeting with much success, he returned to The Emotions. He later joined a band called The Hippy Boys, formed by producer Lloyd Charmers; the band's members included two brothers, Aston Barrett (bass) and Carlton Barrett (drums), who later became members of Bob Marley’s Wailers.

Romeo was a musical collaborator. He continued working as a resident vocalist and songwriter with the influential producer Bunny Lee, contributing to the early careers of singers Derrick Morgan and Slim Smith, who sang a mixture of ska and rocksteady, forerunners to reggae.

Then Romeo wrote the song “Wet Dream,” which made the public sit up and take notice of him as a solo artist. Morgan and Smith rejected the song because of its risqué lyrics. When Lee suggested that Romeo record the song himself, he did so rather reluctantly; it then became a great hit in several countries.

After only two plays, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) banned the song from its airwaves for its explicit lyrics. Nevertheless (and unsurprisingly perhaps), it subsequently became a huge hit in the UK, and, according to Romeo, something of a cult hit with the “skinheads,” a white working class youth subculture of the 1960s, which curiously embraced ska and reggae and promoted the music's popularity in the UK. Romeo afterwards claimed, unconvincingly, that the song was only about a leaky roof. Romeo's equally raunchy first album, “A Dream,” followed.

After all that naughtiness, the famous producer Niney the Observer (Winston Holness) took Romeo under his wing, steering him towards more “conscious,” Rastafari-influenced music. In 1971, Romeo's second album, “Let the Power Fall (on I),” surprised fans; however, by this time, there was a different, highly politicised atmosphere ahead of the 1972 elections in Jamaica. His third album, “Revelation Time” (1975), included the formidable Barrett brothers of Wailers fame, with whom he had collaborated earlier in his career, and explored religious and socially conscious themes.

Romeo's subsequent, iconic album, “War Ina Babylon” (1976), reflected the tense political times of 1970s Jamaica. It was produced by his good friend, the legendary Lee “Scratch” Perry, and recorded on Jamaican music entrepreneur Chris Blackwell’s influential Island Records label. In 2022, Romeo filed suit for royalties totalling USD 15 million (over JAD 2.27 billion) for allegedly unpaid royalties for “War Ina Babylon” and a subsequent album, “Reconstruction” (1977), from Universal Music Group and Polygram (which took over Island Records). The companies sought to dismiss the case in 2023; there are no updates available.

The militant song, “Chase the Devil,” from the 1976 album, was Romeo's most popular, overtly political track and has been widely sampled by artists such as US rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West, among others. However, the eccentric “Scratch” was not an easy person to get on with; after the album’s release and great success, he and Romeo fell out; there were no more collaborations between them, although they later reconciled.

The role of Romeo’s music in 1970s Jamaican politics will never be forgotten. His song “Let the Power Fall on I” became the “anthem” for Michael Manley’s People’s National Party (PNP) in the 1972 elections, which the party went on to win. Having openly declared his support for Manley, Romeo recorded several songs in support of the campaign, including “Michael Row the Boat Ashore” and “Press Along Joshua,” the latter of which was Manley’s nickname. During his most fiery speeches, Manley would often brandish a Rastafari staff, dubbed the “Rod of Correction.” Later, Romeo became disenchanted with Manley’s policies and recorded a song, “No Joshua No,” expressing his disappointment.

In 1978, Romeo went to New York, where he composed and performed a musical, “Reggae,” starring Philip Michael Thomas and Sheryl Lee Ralph. He also collaborated with the UK rock band The Rolling Stones; their guitarist Keith Richards co-produced and played on Romeo’s 1981 album “Holding Out My Love to You.”

Although his later music did not include any major hits, Romeo continued to tour extensively overseas and was a hugely popular performer. He built a recording studio at his home in rural St. Catherine, where his children, Azana (his manager) and Azizi, began their own musical careers. In 2014, he released the album Father and Sons, a collaboration with his sons Ronaldo and Romario (better known as the duo Rominal). Azana, Azizi and Romeo then made a “family album” together, recorded at their home studio, proof that although he was no longer producing smash hits, Romeo's influence and presence on the musical scene continued.

Since news broke of his passing, numerous tributes have been pouring in, from musicians and politicians alike.

The spokesperson on culture for the opposition People's National Party called Romeo's death “truly the end of an era,” while Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding said on Instagram that he was “deeply saddened” by his passing:

Max was a powerful voice in Jamaican music — an influential artiste whose lyrics spoke truth to power and gave voice to the struggles and aspirations of our people. […] Jamaica has lost a cultural giant, but Max Romeo’s legacy will live on through his timeless music and the impact he made on our national consciousness.

Romeo completed his last “Ultimate Tour” overseas at the age of 78, travelling to 56 cities and towns in the UK and Europe, where he was warmly received. After the tour, he happily retired to his farm in St. Catherine to spend his remaining time with his wife, Charm, and their family.

From “slack” lyrics to a militant style embracing social issues, Max Romeo remained an enormously influential singer and songwriter for over 50 years. His two most famous songs exemplify the shift from his lighter material as a young man to serious concerns for his island Jamaica during turbulent times. He will always be remembered as a genuine artist who expressed the suffering and aspirations of the people.