Black Uhuru won the first Grammy Award for Best Reggae Recording in 1985.
The Jamaican group received the award for its album Anthem, which had been released internationally after earlier Jamaican and British editions. The album was produced by the celebrated rhythm section Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare.
The category was originally called Best Reggae Recording because the Grammys initially recognized a single recording rather than an entire album. Beginning with the 1992 ceremony, the category became Best Reggae Album.
Black Uhuru formed in Kingston in 1972 and became one of Jamaica’s most internationally recognized reggae groups. Their 1980s work helped bring roots reggae and dub-influenced production to a wider audience. The inaugural award is sometimes confused with later Best Reggae Album winners such as Ziggy Marley, Shaggy, or Steel Pulse, but Black Uhuru received the category’s first Grammy.