Syracuse Ska Forum

Jamaican Singer Clancy Eccles Dies at 64
By Associated Press
July 1, 2005, 7:45 AM EDT
KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Clancy Eccles, a pioneering Jamaican reggae singer and
producer, died Thursday. He was 64.
Eccles died at a hospital in Spanish Town, outside the capital of Kingston,
five days after suffering a stroke, said his son, Clancy Eccles Jr.
Eccles started his career as a singer in the 1950s and rose to prominence
with the 1961 hit song "River Jordan."
In 1967, he turned to music production, producing "Kingston Town" by the
Trinidadian singer Lloyd Creator and many other records in the 1970s.
Eccles actively supported the campaign of socialist Michael Manley in
Jamaica's 1972 elections, organizing a bandwagon with reggae stars who went
around the island on Manley's behalf.
Four years later, he produced the nationalistic song "My Leader Born Yah,"
which paid homage to Manley's socialist program.

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