HOPETON Lewis is believed to have recorded the first rocksteady song (Take it Easy), won the Festival Song Competition in 1970 with Boom Shacka Lacka, and made his name as a gospel act late in his ...

JAMAICAN singer Hopeton Lewis, reputed to have recorded the first rocksteady song, died at his home in Brooklyn, New York, on Thursday evening. He was 66 years old. Lewis is best known for the ...

Singer Hopeton Lewis was 19 years old when he recorded “Take it Easy,” said to be the first song to incorporate a rocksteady beat — that is, the relaxed, stripped-down rhythm that followed ...