King Sounds

January 1, 1948

Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica

Roy Livingstone Plummer (born c. 1948), better known as King Sounds, is a Jamaican reggae musician who released several albums from late 1970s onwards. Born Roy Livingstone Plummer, c.1948 in Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica, King Sounds emigrated to the UK in 1964, having already made some recordings in Jamaica. Known simply as 'Sounds', he acted as an MC for reggae shows, and impressed Alton Ellis so much that Ellis gave him the name 'King Sounds'. His debut single was "Rock and Roll Lullaby", released in 1975. He formed the Grove Music collective in Ladbroke Grove with Mikey Campbell. He performed regularly with artists such as Aswad and at the Notting Hill Carnival, his band the Israelites featuring Clifton "Bigga" Morrison, Eddie "Tan Tan" Thornton, and Michael "Bammi" Rose. After two albums on Grove Music and his own KSI label, he was signed by Island Records for the 1981 album Forward. He released further albums into the 1990s on his own King & I label.