Hopeton Lewis (30 October 1947 – 4 September 2014) was a Jamaican singer whose work in the mid-1960s placed him among the formative voices of rocksteady and early reggae. Noted for a relaxed, clear tenor and an easy delivery, Lewis is widely remembered for the 1966 hit "Take It Easy", a recording frequently cited as one of the records that ushered in the rocksteady sound that followed ska in Jamaica.

Lewis began performing as a youth and formed a vocal group called The Regals. He moved from local shows into the studio during a particularly fertile period in Jamaican popular music, when producers and singers were experimenting with slower rhythms and tighter vocal arrangements. His records combined melodic phrasing with a laid-back rhythmic sensibility that matched the new style emerging on the island.

Career highlights and recordings

In the late 1960s and into the early 1970s Lewis scored several Jamaican hits and became known for topical and lifestyle songs as well as love tunes. He is often associated with one of the earliest Jamaican recordings to reference cannabis culture, the track "Cool Collie," which has been described as a pioneering example of what later became a recurring theme in reggae. Lewis also worked as an arranger and backing vocalist for the influential producer Duke Reid, contributing to studio sessions and the wider Treasure Isle sound that shaped popular music in Jamaica during that era.

  • Notable song: "Take It Easy" — important early rocksteady recording
  • Notable song: "Cool Collie" — early example of cannabis-themed lyrics in Jamaican music
  • Award: Winner of Jamaica's Festival Song Contest in 1970 with "Boom Shaka Lacka"

His 1970 Festival Song Contest victory brought wider recognition on the island. Throughout his career he recorded singles and participated in studio sessions that featured the close harmonies and rhythmic restraint associated with rocksteady, while later participating in the broader reggae scene as the genre evolved in the 1970s.

Later life and legacy

Lewis spent part of his later life outside Jamaica and continued to perform for audiences interested in classic Jamaican popular music. He lived in the United States and died on 4 September 2014 at his home in Brooklyn, New York, of kidney failure at the age of 66. Obituaries and retrospectives following his death emphasized his role in the transitional period between ska and reggae and his influence on singers who prized smooth, expressive lead vocals.

Today Hopeton Lewis is remembered for helping to define a stylistic shift in Jamaican popular music. His recordings are cited by historians and fans studying the origins of rocksteady and early reggae, and tracks like "Take It Easy" remain reference points when tracing the development of Jamaican vocal style and rhythm in the 1960s and beyond. For a concise biography and discography overview see more detailed artist pages and archives linked below.

Read a short biography • Listen to "Take It Easy" • Brooklyn music connections • New York reggae scene