Desmond Decker - RIP

[Chuck Nessa]

Just heard it on the radio. They said he was 64.

[Dave James]

Didn't he do a song called "The Israelites"? That was a catchy tune.

Up over and out.

[Steve Gray]

He also had an LP called 'Black and Decker'

[JSngry]

Don't know nearly as much about Dekker as I should, but I do know that he was a pioneer, and that "The Israelites" was just the tip of the iceberg.

[Indestructible!]

Hi All,

This is terrible news!

I've had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Desmond Dekker in the past, and he was a great guy. An amazing performer, but a better human being.

Dave, he did indeed do a song called "The Israelites", among many many other classic tracks (e.g., "007 Shanty Town", "It Mek", "Honour Your Mother and Father", and many others). His pioneering work in reggae (and to a lesser extent ska and rocksteady) will be remembered forever.

When I lived in New York, I used to have a weekly radio show that focused (mostly) on Jamaican music, especially from the dawn of ska through the rocksteady era and into the rise of reggae (thus most of the music I played was recorded from 1957-1982). You can bet that Desmond Dekker featured prominently on my shows!

R.I.P. Mr. Dekker, and know that your music made this world a better place! May your spirit continue to soar!

Shane

[7/4]

Desmond Dekker, Reggae Pioneer, Dies at 64

by REUTERS

Published: May 26, 2006

LONDON (Reuters) - Jamaican legend Desmond Dekker, who launched reggae onto the international music scene with his ''Israelites'' anthem to the downtrodden, died suddenly from a heart attack at his home in Britain. He was 64.

Dekker, who in the 1960s became Jamaica's best known musician outside his country before the ascent of Bob Marley, died early on Thursday, said Delroy Williams, his manager and close friend.

``He was the first reggae superstar ... When Desmond had his first hit 'Israelites', nobody had ever heard of Bob Marley,'' Williams told Reuters. ``He was one of the nicest, gentlest persons on earth,'' he said.

Although his recording career had been on the wane for decades, Dekker remained a popular concert draw in Europe. He gave his last performance at Leeds University in England on May 11 and was due to play in Prague next Friday.

Dekker, born Desmond Dacres in the Jamaican capital of Kingston on July 16, 1941, was raised on a diet of such 1950s crooners as Nat ``King'' Cole and Jackie Wilson.

After working as a welder, Dekker began composing songs. He signed with Chinese-Jamaican music label owner Leslie Kong, and scored a hit in 1963 with ``Honor Your Mother and Father.''first taste of success in Britain with ``007 (Shanty Town),'' which was inspired by student riots in Jamaica. It eventually peaked at No. 14 in the British charts, and was featured on the soundtrack of the 1972 film ``The Harder They Come.''

In 1969, he enjoyed his biggest success with the compelling reggae classic ``Israelites,'' four years before Marley truly brought reggae into the mainstream.

VOICE OF THE DOWNTRODDEN

The song's hard-luck lyrics -- ``Get up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir'' -- delivered in Dekker's mellifluous voice, resonated around the world. It topped the charts in Britain and many other countries, and reached the top 10 in the United States.

``It's about how hard things were for a lot of people in Jamaica -- downtrodden, like the Israelites that led Moses to the Promised Land,'' Dekker said in the notes for the 2005 career retrospective ``You Can Get It If You Really Want.''

``I was really saying, don't give up, things will get better if you just hold out long enough.''

Many of Dekker's hits, including ``Rude Boy Train,'' were about rude culture, which grew out of the Jamaica slums in the early 1960s. The term ``rude,'' as in ``rude boy,'' referred to someone who was cool or hip.

Dekker also enjoyed a hit in Britain in 1970 with a cover of Jimmy Cliff's ``You Can Get It If You Really Want,'' which he recorded only at the behest of Kong. He settled in Britain about this time, but his chart success was largely over.

He recorded sporadically, and mounted a short-lived comeback attempt in 1980 on the heels of a major ska revival. Four years later, he was declared bankrupt.

Dekker was divorced with a son and a daughter.