The Jamaican born songwriter, who’s best known for penning The Tide is High and Ali Baba, passed away in the early hours of Sunday morning, his manager Copeland Forbes has confirmed.
John first rose to prominence as a member of sixties’ rocksteady outfit The Paragons, co-writing a number of hits including Tonight and Wear You to the Ball.
He left the group in 1970 to pursue a solo career, working with legendary producer Bunny Lee on Stick By Me, which became the biggest selling Jamaican record of 1972.
John’s solo style is credited with spawning the Lovers Rock offshoot genre, which gave rise to a wave of early eighties reggae stars from south London including Janet K, Caron Wheeler and Caroll Thompson.
As well as being covered by Blondie and Atomic Kitten (The Tide is High) John’s songs have also been reworked by Dennis Brown, UB40 and Horace Andy, with the latter’s version of Man Next Door appearing on Massive Attack’s acclaimed Mezzanine LP.
John’s last solo album, Peacemaker, was released in 1993.
John first rose to prominence as a member of sixties’ rocksteady outfit The Paragons, co-writing a number of hits including Tonight and Wear You to the Ball.
He left the group in 1970 to pursue a solo career, working with legendary producer Bunny Lee on Stick By Me, which became the biggest selling Jamaican record of 1972.
John’s solo style is credited with spawning the Lovers Rock offshoot genre, which gave rise to a wave of early eighties reggae stars from south London including Janet K, Caron Wheeler and Caroll Thompson.
As well as being covered by Blondie and Atomic Kitten (The Tide is High) John’s songs have also been reworked by Dennis Brown, UB40 and Horace Andy, with the latter’s version of Man Next Door appearing on Massive Attack’s acclaimed Mezzanine LP.
John’s last solo album, Peacemaker, was released in 1993.
