Winston Grennan (September 16, 1940 - October 27, 2000) was a Jamaican drummer, famous for session work from 1963 to 1973 in Jamaica as well as later in New York City through the 1970s and '80s.
Grennan's career spanned several of the richest and most diverse decades in popular music, and he worked with a large number of the most famous artists of his time, both in Jamaica and in the United States.
He is most famous for creating the "One Drop" be...
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Winston Grennan (September 16, 1940 - October 27, 2000) was a Jamaican drummer, famous for session work from 1963 to 1973 in Jamaica as well as later in New York City through the 1970s and '80s.
Grennan's career spanned several of the richest and most diverse decades in popular music, and he worked with a large number of the most famous artists of his time, both in Jamaica and in the United States.
He is most famous for creating the "One Drop" beat in the late 1960s; this beat places kick/snare emphasis on the three count within a highly-syncopated 4/4 bar. One Drop, an outgrowth of the ska and rocksteady, became the foundation for reggae music, combined with traditional Jamaican forms such as mento, burro and kumina. Grennan has also responsible for importing the "Flyers" beat to the United States - a beat which he had developed and recorded in the 60s in Jamaica. While living New York, Grennan performed at the uptown nightclub Mikell's, where local musicians scored and adapted the...
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