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Cathy Wurzer
St. Paul, Minn.

Reggae innovator Lee Scratch Perry turns 78

2013 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival - We
Lee Scratch Perry at the 2013 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif.
Zach Cordner/Associated Press

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Musician Lee "Scratch" Perry, a native of Jamaica, turns 78 today.

He has produced many reggae records including the early Bob Marley albums. Perry was one of the pioneers of dub music, a form of recycling and remixing songs that laid the groundwork for hip hop. Keith Richards called him "the Salvador Dali of music."

The song "Police and Thieves" was very popular in England where the Clash heard it and recorded a version on their first album.

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