Third World
A Jamaican band that stretched reggae through funk, soul, pop and virtuoso musicianship without cutting the bassline loose. Third World made crossover sound like expansion rather than surrender.
Third World formed in Kingston in 1973 around guitarist and cellist Stephen “Cat” Coore and keyboardist Ibo Cooper. The band developed as a self-contained unit in a Jamaican industry often organized around producers and session players, giving them room to pull funk, soul and rock into reggae arrangements. “96° in the Shade” placed Jamaican history inside a dramatic roots anthem, while their 1978 cover of “Now That We Found Love” became a major international hit. Later collaborations with Stevie Wonder and a long run of albums reinforced their “reggae ambassadors” identity. Third World’s crossover never meant leaving reggae behind; it meant making a band flexible enough to carry it into different rooms.