Tommy McCook, Rolando Alphonso, Johnny Moore, Lester Sterling, Don Drummond, Lloyd Knibb, Lloyd Brevett, Jerry Haynes, and Jackie Mittoo began working together in 1963 and formed The Ska-talites in May 1964. McCook, Drummond, Moore and Sterling were all students at the famed [l528229] in Kingston.
In August 1965 The Skatalites played their last show after Don Drummond's confinement to Bellvue Hospital for the murder of his girlfriend, Margarita. The break-up resulted in the formation of two studio bands, The Soul Brothers and Tommy McCook & The Supersonics. In reality it is hard to be precise about group members and band names as it was very much a fluid membership centred around a collective of musicians, however Jackie Mittoo and Rolando Alphanso seemed to be ever present.
The band reformed in 1983 and is still active nowadays, despite the death of many original members.