Dennis Brown

DENNIS BROWN d1999. Influential Jamaican raggae singer whose prolific career began in the late 1960s when he was aged just eleven. He recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lovers rock, a subgenre of reggae. Bob Marley cited Brown his favourite singer, dubbing him "The Crown Prince of Reggae". He was responsible for countless reggae classics, but remains best known in the UK for "Money in My Pocket" which reached the Top 10 in 1977. During the early 1980s he signed for A&M Records and lived for a while in London.During the late 1990s, his health began to deteriorate, probably exacerbated by longstanding problems with cocaine drug addiction. He was taken ill in May 1999 after touring in Brazil where he was diagnosed with pneumonia. After returning to Kingston Jamaica on the evening of 30th June 1999, he suffered a cardiac arrest and died the following day aged just 42.