Musician loses cancel battle at 61
Jamaican singer Jimmy Riley lost his battle to cancer last night,at the age of 61.
Riley was the father to popular Jamaican singer Tarrus Riley, who following his death posted a “F*** cancer” image to his Instagram page.
Riley is best known as a solo act but had carved out a great reputation as a member of the Sensations and The Uniques.
He had several hits in the 1970s, including Tell The Youths The Truth, Nyah Bingi, and Clean up the Streets, and continued to be successful in the 1980s, working with Sly & Robbie’s Taxi productions. In 1983, Riley topped the UK reggae chart with his version of Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing. In the late 1980s, Riley moved to Miami, and put his career on hold, but returned to Jamaica in the early 1990s.
In the late 80s Riley moved to Miami and opened a record store, but after two years away from recording, he returned to Jamaica. There, in addition to producing his own songs, he also undertook producer duties for several artists, some of which were also released on his label.
In 1996 Riley received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Bob Marley Reggae Festival in Los Angeles, California and up to a few years ago continued to perform in Jamaica and to tour such countries as Brazil, Bermuda, The Bahamas and USA, giving concerts also in New York, Florida and California.
In Jamaica, Riley has been regarded as a reggae icon, a beloved and respected symbol of reggae’s roots origins, and the heights to which those roots have ascended.
