Lester Sterling, born January 31, 1936, in Kingston, Jamaica, was a Jamaican saxophonist and trumpeter. He attended the Alpha Boys School before joining the Jamaica Military Band in the 1950s and playing trumpet in Val Bennett's band in 1957. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Sterling worked as a studio musician with bands such as Clue J & His Blues Blasters alongside future Skatalites members. He became a founding member and alto saxophonist of the Skatalites in 1964. Following the group's disbandment in 1965, Sterling performed with Byron Lee & the Dragonaires and recorded solo singles, culminating in his debut solo album Bangarang on Pama Records in 1969. Sterling rejoined the Skatalites when they reformed in 1975, remaining the sole founding member active in the group through subsequent lineup changes. He received Jamaica's Order of Distinction in 1998 and a pioneers award from JAVAA USA in April 2013. Sterling died on May 16, 2023, at age 87, as the second-to-last surviving founding member of the Skatalites.
