The Dragonaires are a Jamaican ska, calypso and soca band. The band played a crucial pioneering role in bringing Caribbean music to the world. The band was originally formed around 1950 by Byron Lee and his friend Carl Brady, taking its name from the St. George's College football team for which they played. The band originally played mento, and performed their first shows in the college common room to celebrate the team's victories.
After a few years of playing at parties, birthdays and weddings, Lee decided to turn professional. By 1956, the Dragonaires had become a fixture on Jamaica's hotel circuit, playing under their own name and also providing backing to visiting American stars including Harry Belafonte, Chuck Berry, The Drifters, Sam Cooke, and Fats Domino. The Dragonaires prided themselves on being able to play any style of music, their repertoire including covers of American pop and R&B hits, and they soon adapted to include ska when that became popular [more] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Lee_and_the_Dragonaires
AllMusic Guide - Byron Lee and his manager, Ronnie Nasralla, first put together the Dragonaires in 1956 and worked as a support act for touring singers including Harry Belafonte, and their debut single ‘Dumplins’ in 1960 was the first release on the UK’s Blue Beat Records (although it originally came out on his own Dragons Breath label in Jamaica). The 14-piece Dragonaires featured an ever fluctuating line-up and are often cited as one of Jamaica’s first ska bands, although they were firmly an ‘establishment’ band and their success was largely due to Lee’s business and political connections [more] - https://www.allmusic.com/artist/byron-lee-the-dragonaires-mn0000527698
