Synonymous with roots reggae act the Congos -- and central to the creation of their 1977 cornerstone of the genre Heart of the Congos -- not only was Cedric Myton present at the mid-'60s birth of rocksteady, but he also continued to record and perform into the 2020s.

The oldest of eight siblings, Myton was born and raised in the Old Harbour area of St. Catherine, Jamaica, and his parents provided for their family by keeping bees and selling honey. Along with the music introduced to him in church, he also grew fond of merengue and other Latin genres. In 1966, Myton formed the BellStars with Devon Russell, a short-lived act that released one ska single, "Over and Over," funded by his cousin. By 1967, he was lead singer of the Tartans, a Kingston-based rocksteady act who also featured Russell, as well as Lincoln Thompson and Lindberg Lewis. His piercing falsetto could be heard across numerous 45s released that year, including "Dance All Night" -- one of many sides cut at Ken Khouri's pioneering Federal Records -- and "Far Beyond the Sunset," a track recorded for Duke Reid's Treasure Isle. Further Tartans material appeared on Ken Lack's Caltone label but, by the end of the decade, the band split.

Between 1972 and 1974, Myton worked closely with Thompson on shaping material that eventually became the Royal Rasses' first LP, Humanity. Recorded in 1974 and featuring Myton on every track, the album eventually saw a wide international release in March 1979 after being picked up by United Artists. Shortly after those sessions, it became clear that the Royal Rasses was to be Thompson's vehicle, so Myton looked to create a project of his own. After meeting the tenor vocalist Ashanti Roy Johnson while attending the Nyabinghi Church in 1975, the pair formed what eventually became the Congos. The baritone-voiced Watty Burnett was on board by the time they began sessions for Heart of the Congos at Lee Scratch Perry's Black Ark Studios. It was an inventive, spiritual record which -- given its limited release on Black Ark in 1977 -- didn’t initially find its full audience. This was ultimately rectified in 1996 when, following audio restoration at Abbey Road Studios, the album enjoyed a high-quality reissue on Blood Fire. Disappointed with the low level of promotion offered to their debut by Black Ark, the band self-produced their next two records at Harry J's and Aquarius, issuing them in 1979. However, neither Congo Ashanti nor Image of Africa -- both billed under Cedric Myton the Congos -- could recapture the magic of Heart of the Congos. In 1980, Myton settled in London with his wife Yvonne, and was soon on tour with the charting 2-Tone act the Beat. He was featured on their 1981 U.K. Top 40 hit "Doors of Your Heart," and assistance from the Beat's management company led to Arista issuing the next Cedric Myton the Congos record that year, the pop-oriented Face the Music.

In the mid-'80s, Myton moved to the U.S. Around this time, he traveled back to Jamaica to work with Chris Stanley at his Music Mountain studio, but these recordings didn't see the light of day. However, when the Congos re-formed in 1997, they returned to Jamaica to record part of their comeback album, Natty Dread Rise Again. Following a successful U.S. tour and 1998's Revival, the Congos were once again put on hold. In 2002, Myton recorded with Coxsone Dodd at Studio One, but a planned album release was canceled following Dodd's death in 2004. 2005 brought an acoustic solo album under the wing of Earl Chinna Smith, as part of the Inna De Yard series. Myton was the driving force behind further Congos albums in 2006 -- Cock Mouth Kill Cock and Swinging Bridge -- while in 2009 they reconvened with Perry for Back in the Black Ark. 2013 saw the release of Cedric Congo Meets Mad Professor: Ariwa Dub Showcase, an impressive, south London-recorded set. Later that decade, 2017's 40th anniversary reissue of Heart of the Congos unearthed its original mix, as well as the previously unheard, "Don't Blame It on I." In 2019, Myton toured the world in support of Peter Webber's documentary film Inna De Yard: The Soul of Jamaica.

In the 2020s, Myton -- by this point well into his seventies -- seemingly found another creative gear. Multiple one-off singles were issued in collaboration with artists such as Rzee Jackson, Cultural Warriors, and Luiz de Assis in the first two years of the decade. In 2021, Myton recorded Reggae on Top with Alphanso Henclewood at Small World in Kingston. The following year brought Rat Trap, mixed by the Scientist and released on Official Staff. In January 2023, he issued the Freedom Fighters EP in collaboration with Freedom Sounds and PEPEU_JC. ~ James Wilkinson, Rovi