Chris Blackwell is what record executives dream of being: an innovator, a barrier breaker and an international man of mystery.

Mention Blackwell’s name and the first association many people make is with Bob Marley. Fair enough: Blackwell’s role in bringing Marley’s music to the world assures him a place in pop history.

Mention Island Records, the label Blackwell founded and personified for thirty-years-plus, and most people will think of U2. Fair enough: Island and Blackwell nurtured U2 from the beginning. But as enormous as Marley and U2 are, they are only the tip of the story.