Sad news -- I did not know that he was ill. Peace and comfort to his family and friends, and to everyone who paid attention to this man's cry.
Gregory Isaacs — one of the most popular and versatile reggae singers of the late-1970s, and the smooth-voiced dancehall crooner behind the genre's landmark 1982 LP Night Nurse — passed away this morning at his London home following a year-long battle with lung cancer, the BBC reports. Isaacs was 59. "Gregory was well loved by everyone, his fans and his family, and he worked really hard to make sure he delivered the music they loved and enjoyed," Isaacs' wife Linda said. "He will be greatly missed by his family and friends."
Over the course of his prolific career — in which he released an estimated 500 albums within Jamaica, the UK and the U.S. — Isaacs collaborated with reggae, dub and dancehall icons like Lee "Scratch" Perry, King Tubby, Sugar Minott, Freddie McGregor, Dennis Brown and Errol Holt. After spending the 1970s building a reputation as both a top-notch roots reggae singer and a soulful "lovers rock"-style crooner, Isaacs recorded his masterpiece Night Nurse at Bob Marley's Tuff Gong Studios in 1982, the year after Marley's death.
In the olden days I would've fired one up for Mr. Isaacs.
Now, I will meditate and send loving friendship to his traveling soul....
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