Leonard Dillon, Leader of Reggae Pioneers the Ethiopians, Dead at 68
- Posted on Sep 29th 2011 3:00PM by Theo Spielberg
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Leonard Dillon, leader of the pioneering reggae group the Ethiopians, passed away in Jamaica from lung and prostate cancer at his daughter Patrice Dillon's Kingston home, the AP reports. He was 68.
Dillon began his career in the in the early 1960s recording songs under the moniker Jack Sparrow. One song, 'Bull Whip,' featured a young Bob Marley as a backing vocalist. He rose to prominence as the frontman of the Ethiopians in 1966 with 'Train to Skaville,' their first successful single. The trio achieved even more popularity with their 1968 political anthem 'Everything Crash.'
Dillon's Rastafarian-influenced and politicized lyrics helped pave the way for the more socially conscious reggae music that took hold in Jamaica in the late '60s. Daughter Patrice Dillon says her father had been diagnosed with cancer and had undergone surgery earlier this year to remove a brain tumor.
Dillon is survived by seven children.
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Dillon began his career in the in the early 1960s recording songs under the moniker Jack Sparrow. One song, 'Bull Whip,' featured a young Bob Marley as a backing vocalist. He rose to prominence as the frontman of the Ethiopians in 1966 with 'Train to Skaville,' their first successful single. The trio achieved even more popularity with their 1968 political anthem 'Everything Crash.'
Dillon's Rastafarian-influenced and politicized lyrics helped pave the way for the more socially conscious reggae music that took hold in Jamaica in the late '60s. Daughter Patrice Dillon says her father had been diagnosed with cancer and had undergone surgery earlier this year to remove a brain tumor.
Dillon is survived by seven children.
Listen to the Ethiopians' 'The Whip'
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