Influential Reggae Musician Lloyd Charmers Dies

Jamaican reggae pioneer Lloyd Charmers suffered a heart attack and died in London on Thursday.

A singer, keyboard player and producer, Charmers was a leading ska protagonist in the '60s and has left behind such a rich back catalogue of recordings that it is believed to be no complete discography of his in existence.

Born Lloyd Tyrell in Kingston in, according to most sources, 1938, he began his outfit The Charmers in 1962. When that band broke up, Charmers joined The Uniques. Before leaving, Charmers scored a string of rocksteady hits (including Watch This Sound and My Conversation) with the band - mostly recorded with legendary producer Bunny Lee.

Going solo in the '70s, Charmers earnt a reputation for creating both sexually explicit tracks (Yum Yum Pussy) and scat-centric novelty songs (My Baby Keeps Farting In My Face a reworking of Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head).

He also set up the Splash label, which catered to Jamaica's massive demand for rocksteady covers of rock, R&B, pop and soul hits from the US and Britain (releasing Ken Boothe's cover of David Gates' Everything I Own and BB Seaton's take on The Persuaders' Thin Line Between Love And Hate).

Dangerous Minds' Charmers obituary points out that Charmers' Birth Control hit (recorded under his 'dirty' guise Lloydie & The Lowbites) was the blueprint for The Specials ska revival anthem Too Much Too Young in 1980.