Beat Street is the popular name for Orange St, running north from the corner of Parade. It's one of the great wellsprings of Jamaican music and was home to Sir Coxsone Dodd's legendary Studio One Records, as well as the original studios of Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Prince Buster's famous Record Shack.
Sadly, the musical caravan has moved on, but the sites are commemorated in a series of colorful murals celebrating those who recorded here, including of local boy Dennis Brown. Only one recording studio still operates here, the brightly painted Small World on the corner of Charles St, with Rockers International the sole surviving record store. With little outside support, locals are trying to restore some of the area's history and local pride – it's not hard to find a local guide who can wax lyrical to visiting reggae enthusiasts about the glory days when this was the center of Jamaica's musical universe.
