Stanley Beckford

Jamaicans will remember Stanley Beckford as a genial singer whose passion for mento helped keep interest in that beat alive.

The performer died on March 30 at his home in Riversdale, St. Catherine. He was 65. Wife Thelma said the diminutive performer lost his long battle with throat cancer and passed away at 3:00 p.m.

Song contest winner

Beckford is best known for his appearances in the annual Popular Song Contest, winning the competition four times, twice as front-man of The Turbines Come Sing With Me in 1980 and Dem Afi Squirm in 1986, once with The Astronauts Dem A Pollute in 1994 and as a solo act in 2000 with Fi Wi Island A Boom.

But he also had mainstream success, particularly in the 1970s with Alvin 'G.G.' Ranglin who produced 1975's suggestive Soldering, which remains one of Beckford's biggest hit songs.

Other hits included Leave Mi Kisiloo for Dynamic Records in 1978 and Brown Gal, which was cut about the same time for Tuff Gong Records. The latter was also the name of an album which featured an all-star cast of musicians such as drummer Sly Dunbar and bass player Robbie Shakespeare.

Most of the entertainer's songs were recorded to the mento, a calypso-type sound Beckford grew up listening to in his native Portland. In the 1970s when roots-reggae was the rage, Beckford revived interest in a beat that had been relegated to the verandahs of north coast hotels.

Leave Mi Kisiloo, Brown Gal and Broom Weed all entered the national charts and made Beckford and The Turbines formidable opponents come Festival time. His last album, Reggaemento, was recorded with the Blue Glaze Mento Band in 2004. It included interpretations of reggae staples such as Desmond Dekker's Israelites and (007) Shantytown.

Beckford is survived by Thelma, 10 children and several grandchildren. No funeral arrangements have been announced.