The global music community is mourning the loss of one of ska and rocksteady’s founding trailblazers, Stranger Cole, who passed away at 83 on Thursday at the University Hospital of the West Indies. His death was confirmed by his son Wilburn “Squiddly” Cole, a professional drummer, in an exclusive conversation with Jamaica’s Observer Online. According to Cole’s son, the iconic singer had been in poor health for an extended period before being admitted to the medical facility two weeks prior; no official cause of death has been released to the public.
A beloved figure across international music scenes, Cole maintained an active performance schedule well into his later life. As recently as December 2023, he completed a run of six sold-out shows in Australia, where he retained a fiercely loyal fan base built on his decades-old catalog of 1960s hits. He also commanded a large, dedicated following across Europe for decades.
Born in the rural parish of Portland, Jamaica, Cole relocated to the capital city of Kingston during his childhood, eventually settling in the iconic neighborhood of Trench Town. In the early 1960s, Trench Town emerged as the creative heartbeat of Jamaica’s burgeoning music movement, as ska began to capture the attention of clubgoers and dance attendees across Kingston. It was in this fertile creative environment that Cole launched his professional recording career.
His first breakout charting singles, *Rough And Tough* and *When You Call My Name* (a collaborative track with vocalist Patsy Todd), were produced by legendary Jamaican producer Duke Reid. He followed this early success with a string of enduring hits that remain staples of the ska and rocksteady genres, including *Just Like A River* recorded with keyboardist Gladstone Anderson, and *Bangarang*, which he cut with Lester Sterling of the iconic Skatalites collective.
Beyond his own celebrated recording career, Cole played a pivotal, often underrecognized role in nurturing the next generation of Jamaican reggae and rocksteady talent. He supported the early careers of legendary artists Ken Boothe and The Mighty Diamonds, even writing and producing the group’s very first commercial release, *Oh My Baby*.
In the early 1970s, Cole immigrated to Toronto, Canada, where he quickly became a core member of the city’s fast-growing Jamaican expatriate reggae community. His decades of contributions to Toronto’s cultural landscape were chronicled in the 2018 documentary *Ruff and Tuff — Stranger Cole’s Toronto Roots*, directed by filmmakers Chris Flanagan and Graeme Mathieson.
Cole is survived by seven children, as well as multiple grandchildren and great-grandchildren.