What do Bob Marley, Bono, and Blackwell Jamaican Rum have in common? Chris Blackwell founded Island Records in 1959 in Jamaica. Island Records went on to become arguably THE most successful independent record company in history, introducing Reggae legend Bob Marley to the world and signing a young Irish band—U2—long before they were known to anyone, along with many, many others.
Once the record business was sold, Chris Blackwell returned to Jamaica where his family had been traders and Rum distillers for generations. In fact, his mother’s family owned famous Rum producers J. Wray and Nephew and Appleton Estate. So it seems natural that he founded his eponymous Blackwell Jamaican Rum in 2006 with the same sense of savvy independence he brought to his record company.