Author: Mark Gorney

Spanish Town, Jamaica - Jamaican producer and singer Clancy Eccles died June 30th in Spanish Town at the age of 64. He had been comatose following his third stroke. Hailing from the parish of St. Mary, Eccles started singing professionally for producer Coxson Dodd in 1959 ("Freedom", "River Jordan") but was most famous for his popular late sixties and early seventies productions featuring himself, King Stitt, the Dynamites (house) band, Eric "Monty" Morris, Joe Higgs, Tito Simon, Lord Creator and even former Prime Minister Michael Manley. Eccles, along with Lee Perry and West Indies/Dynamics engineer Lynford "Andy Capp" Anderson, was one of the figures behind the creation of reggae in 1968.

In 1971, at the behest of the People's National Party (PNP), the socially-minded Eccles organized the "PNP Bandwagon" stage-show/revue featuring the Wailers, Dennis Brown, Max Romeo, Delroy Wilson and others. Eccles helped the PNP again in 1976 with Neville Martin's popular "The Message,” touting the PNP's achievements with social programs.

Eccles continued to record and produce throughout the eighties and nineties and is survived by eleven children.