Bob Marley was the established reggae king, not through lineage or decree but popular acclaim, long before Dennis Brown died in 1999, but there is room in the kingdom of rockers for more than one royalty.

So Dennis Emmanuel Brown, whose version of How Could I Live is by far the most popular, became the Crown Prince of Reggae, the title being bestowed before his untimely death.

Long before he was the man whose 1979 showing at Montreaux, Switzerland, is a cherished part of Jamaican music history which was released as a live album, and whose 1990s 'Inseparable' concert series were a must-go event, Dennis Brown was one of the early boy wonders of Jamaican music, along with Delroy Wilson. He was born on February 1, 1957.

He grew to become the standard closing singer for Reggae Sunsplash, with many a story of him comingon stage in daylight to ignite a tired audience being passed down by reggae fans.

Like many Jamaican singers, his first recorded song was not his first release, the former being Lips of Wine (done for Derrick Harriott) and the latter being No Man Is an Island (done for Clement 'Sir Coxsone' Dodd) when he was 11 years old. It was Dodd's Studio One label that had its imprint on Brown's first two albums, No Man Is an Island and If I Follow My Heart.

Before his early 1980s spell with major label A&M, Dennis Brown racked up an impressive number of quality full-length sets in a career that eventually included at least 75 full-length projects, with some estimates putting the figure as high as 100. It is a staggering figure which only deejay Sizzla seems determined to challenge.

Among the 1970s albums were Just Dennis and Wolf & Leopards for Winston 'Niney' Holness and Super Reggae and Soul Hits. With Joe Gibbs he produced Visions, Joseph's Coat Of Many Colours, Spellbound and Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow.

Then came the A&M years, after Money in My Pocket cracked the U.K. charts.

The arrival of the digital reggae era with the Sleng Teng rhythm of 1985 signalled the dusk of many a reggae singer, but Brown went to the source of the rhythm and made The Exit for King Jammys in the late 1980s. He headed over to Gussie Clarke's Anchor studios, where roots reggae was getting digital treatment, to team up with Gregory Isaacs, Big All Around being one of the outstanding results.

In the 1990s Dennis Brown embraced the next generation by recording Poison with Brian and Tony Gold, then teaming up with Beenie Man and Tristan Palmer for Three Against War in 1995. But, as the turn of the millennium loomed, Dennis Brown fell ill while touring in Brazil and died at 7:00 a.m. on July 1, 1999. He was 42 years old.

- M.C.