Count Lasher

Count Lasher was most likely mento's greatest single talent. He was one of mento's very best vocalists (along with Harold Richardson (2)) and one of its very best writers (along with Everard Williams). Lasher was equally at home recording in the rural and urban mento styles, just as he was recording original compositions as well as old Jamaican mento/folk songs. He was Jamaica's biggest golden age mento star, full of talent and charisma. His popularity was only rivaled by the cross-over fame of Lord Flea. Lasher was also one of mento's most prolific artists, recording at least 50 tracks right through the first part of the 1970s, by which time he had moved from various mento sounds to a brief dalliance with ska and then into reggae. For all the many singles he recorded, Lasher has never released a CD or LP. And although a handful of his tracks are available today considering his stature, Count Lasher may be the single most neglected artist in the history of Jamaican recorded music. Count Lasher died in 1977 at the age of 51.