"[3] According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to which Blackwell was inducted in 2001, he is "the single person most responsible for turning the world on to reggae music.

"[7] Backed by Stanley Borden from RKO, Blackwell's business and reach grew substantially, and he went on to forge the careers of Bob Marley, Grace Jones and U2 among many other diverse high-profile acts.

After Foot was transferred to Cyprus, Blackwell left King's House to pursue a career in real estate and other businesses, including managing jukeboxes across the country, which brought him into contact with the Jamaican music community.

Collapsing on the beach, Blackwell was rescued by Rasta fishermen who tended his wounds and restored him to health with traditional Ital food.

[8] Blackwell received an allowance of £2,000 per year from his mother, which enabled him to have his own apartment at a young age and build on the low revenue that the business was bringing in.

[16] Blackwell began recording Jamaican popular music in 1959, achieving a number one hit there with Laurel Aitken's "Boogie in my Bones/Little Sheila.

He began having success with the niche market of Jamaican music, and progressed to bringing in licensed master tapes.

[3]After discovering The Spencer Davis Group, featuring Steve Winwood, at a performance in Birmingham, Blackwell focused on the rock acts that Island had signed.

Island became one of the most successful independent labels of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with an eclectic range of artists, including Traffic, King Crimson; Emerson, Lake & Palmer; Jethro Tull, Cat Stevens, John Cale, Free, Fairport Convention, Nico; Heads, Hands and Feet; John Martyn, Sparks, Spooky Tooth, Nick Drake, Roxy Music, Grace Jones, Ultravox, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Robert Palmer, Jess Roden, Marianne Faithfull, The Buggles, Etta James, Melissa Etheridge, Julian Cope, The Cranberries, Womack and Womack, U2, and others.

[2] Blackwell also signed artists in non-English speaking countries such as French singer Charlélie Couture[17] whose album, Poèmes rock, was released on Island.

"[4] Yet Blackwell has admitted to turning down some major names, most notably Elton John, whom he considered too shy to become a successful performer.

In November 2016, Jackie Jackson described the formation of the group in a radio interview for Kool 97 FM Jamaica.

[21] Accompanied by Paul Douglas and Radcliffe "Dougie" Bryan in studio, Jackson explained, We were talking about reggae is going international now.

Music critic Lester Bangs described the album in Stereo Review as "perfection, the most exciting and diversified set of reggae tunes by a single artist yet released.

"[23] Blackwell had a strong commitment to the band, describing Toots Hibbert as "one of the purest human beings I've met in my life, pure almost to a fault.

[4][2] Without a signed contract, Blackwell advanced money to The Wailers for their first Island album, displaying the trust which stemmed from his 1958 beach rescue by Rastas.

[3]Blackwell also pioneered reggae to wider audiences the UK and the US beginning in the mid 1970s with releases from Burning Spear, Augustus Pablo, Inner Circle, Dillinger, Black Uhuru, Third World, Aswad, Max Romeo, Justin Hines, Sly and Robbie and Lee Perry.

Mango introduced Salif Keita, Baaba Maal, Gibson Brothers, Angélique Kidjo, King Sunny Adé and many others.

[3] Each of Blackwell's companies was eventually sold to PolyGram and, in 1999, were part of the Universal Music Group conglomerate, but Blackwell left with a reputation for looking after artists as diverse as Bob Marley, U2, Cat Stevens, Grace Jones, Steve Winwood, Melissa Etheridge, Tom Waits, The Cranberries, Richard Thompson and PJ Harvey.

During his acceptance speech he made a point of thanking Steve Winwood and acknowledged his importance in the development of Island Records.

"[28] Blackwell has long owned Goldeneye in Oracabessa, the previous home of Ian Fleming, where the author wrote all the James Bond books.

[29] Blackwell developed the property into a community of villas and beach cottages, each with its own private access to the sea, and Goldeneye is considered the most exclusive of the Island Outpost resorts.