Beverley's
The label that launched reggae legends.
Beverley's was a Jamaican record label active between 1961 and 1971, owned by the record producer Leslie Kong. Beverley's was essential to the development of ska and rocksteady into reggae. The label launched the careers of Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley, having released Cliff's first recording "Dearest Beverley" in 1961 and Marley's early singles "Judge Not" and "One Cup of Coffee" in 1962.
- Active
- 1961–1971
Lore & Background
The Beverley's ice-cream parlour/record shop at 135 Orange Street in Kingston, Jamaica, was run by the Chinese Jamaican Kong family, one of whom, Leslie Kong, started the Beverley's record label. Kong launched the label in 1961 after Jimmy Cliff auditioned the song "Dearest Beverley" at the shop. Prior to this, Beverley's was a restaurant and records shop owned by Leslie Kong and his brothers, Fats and Cecil, and never had produced records. Kong had no experience of record production but had the finances to employ the cream of Jamaica's musical talent. Throughout the 1960s, Beverley's recorded many Jamaican artists including Desmond Dekker, the Maytals, Derrick Morgan, and the Pioneers, and launched the career of Bob Marley with his first two singles. Marley returned to Beverley's with the Wailers for several more singles including "Soul Shakedown Party". Fellow Wailer Peter Tosh also recorded solo material for the label. In 1963, Kong began licensing recordings to Black Swan, a subdivision of friend Chris Blackwell's Island Records. Later he licensed recordings to Graeme Goodall's Pyramid and to Trojan Records by the end of the 60s. The Beverley's label folded with the death of Leslie Kong in 1971.
Reader's Guide
The first release on the label was Jimmy Cliff's "Hurricane Hattie", with "Dearest Beverley" on the b-side.
From Ice-Cream Parlour to Record Label
Beverley's began not as a recording studio but as an ice-cream parlour and record shop on Orange Street in Kingston, Jamaica. The venue was operated by the Kong family, a Chinese Jamaican household, with Leslie Kong alongside his brothers Fats and Cecil. For years the business functioned purely as a restaurant and retail outlet for vinyl — no records were ever produced under its name. That changed in 1961 when a young Jimmy Cliff walked in and auditioned a song called "Dearest Beverley" at the counter. The performance convinced Kong to press a record, and "Hurricane Hattie" (with "Dearest Beverley" on the flip) became the label's very first release. What made this possible was not technical expertise; Kong had zero background in record production. His advantage was purely financial — enough capital to hire the finest musicians Jamaica had to offer and put them in front of a microphone. That combination of money, ambition, and a storefront on a busy Kingston street gave Beverley's its distinctive, grassroots character.
Putting Cliff and Marley on the Map
Few record labels can claim to have put both Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley on the map, yet Beverley's did exactly that within a single year. Cliff's 1961 audition at the Orange Street shop led directly to his first single and, soon after, his debut self-titled album and the "Miss Jamaica" release. The following year, a teenage Marley recorded two early singles, "Judge Not" and "One Cup of Coffee," both issued on the Beverley's imprint. Marley would return later with the Wailers for additional singles, including "Soul Shakedown Party," while fellow Wailer Peter Tosh also cut solo material for the label. The breadth of talent Kong attracted meant that Beverley's became a proving ground for artists who would go on to define Jamaican music globally. The label's willingness to give first-time performers a platform — without demanding industry pedigree or prior credits — created a pipeline of raw, unfiltered talent that shaped the sound of an entire era.
The All-Stars and the Ska-to-Reggae Bridge
Beverley's played a pivotal role in the sonic transition from ska and rocksteady into reggae, a shift driven in large part by the in-house group known as the Beverley's All-Stars. This consistent nucleus of musicians — Jackie Jackson, Winston Wright, Gladstone Anderson, Hux Brown, Rad Bryan, Paul Douglas, and Winston Grennan — provided a stable rhythmic and harmonic foundation over which a rotating cast of vocalists could layer their ideas. The Maytals, particularly Toots Hibbert, thrived under this arrangement; as Matthew Sherman observed, from 1969 to 1971 Toots could do no wrong recording for Kong, writing and singing about virtually every subject imaginable with the group's brilliant harmonies behind him. Other artists who benefited from the All-Stars' backing included Desmond Dekker (whose biggest hits like "Israelites" and "007" came through Beverley's), Derrick Morgan with "Forward March," and the Pioneers with "Long Shot Kick De Bucket." The label thus functioned as both a creative incubator and a stylistic bridge between Jamaica's evolving dancehall genres.
Licensing, Reach, and an Abrupt Ending
Although Beverley's operated out of a modest Kingston storefront, its recordings reached far beyond Jamaica's shores through a series of licensing agreements. In 1963, Kong began supplying recordings to Black Swan, a subsidiary of his friend Chris Blackwell's Island Records. As the decade progressed, he extended these deals to Graeme Goodall's Pyramid and, by the late 1960s, to Trojan Records, ensuring that Beverley's catalog found international audiences. This distribution network was crucial: it meant that singles cut in a small Kingston shop could end up on shelves across the UK and beyond, amplifying the label's cultural reach without Kong ever needing to build his own overseas infrastructure. The label's story, however, ended abruptly. Leslie Kong died in 1971, and with his passing the Beverley's imprint ceased operations, closing a decade-long chapter (1961–1971) that had been instrumental in shaping the trajectory of Jamaican popular music.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Beverley's?
Beverley's was a Jamaican record label based in Kingston that operated from 1961 to 1971. It grew directly out of the Kong family's ice-cream parlor and record shop on Orange Street.
Who founded Beverley's?
Leslie Kong, a Chinese Jamaican businessman, established the label in 1961 out of the family's shop at 135 Orange Street in Kingston. He was the driving force behind its releases and operations.
Which famous artists got their start on Beverley's?
The label put out Jimmy Cliff's very first recording, 'Dearest Beverley,' in 1961, and released Bob Marley's early singles 'Judge Not' and 'One Cup of Coffee' in 1962. Both artists went on to become global icons of Jamaican music.
Why is Beverley's important to reggae history?
It served as a critical bridge during the genre's shift from ska into rocksteady and then into reggae in the early 1960s. Many of the foundational recordings of those transitional styles were issued on Beverley's releases.
How long was Beverley's active?
The label ran for roughly a decade, from its founding in 1961 until it ceased operations in 1971. Despite its short lifespan, its catalog remains a cornerstone of early Jamaican popular music.
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