Ernest Wilson, whose booming voice made him one of the great Jamaican singers, died in Kingston on November 2 at age 69.
His son, Michael Wilson, said he passed away at the Kingston Public Hospital where he had been taken after his health deteriorated.
The burly Wilson is best known for songs like Undying Love, Money Worries, Let True Love Be and I Know Myself.
A former member of The Clarendonians, Wilson endured health challenges for many years and even sought financial assistance from the Jamaican public.
He first came to prominence in the early 1960’s with The Clarendonians, a ska duo that also included Peter Austin. They shone at Studio One with songs like Rudie Gone A Jail, Shu Be-Do, Rudie Bam Bam and a cover of The Beatles’ You Won’t See Me. As a solo act, one of his biggest hits is Let True Love Be, a soul ballad written and produced by Harold Butler.
Freddie McGregor, his lifelong friend, described Wilson as “one of the most gifted singers to come out of Jamaica.” Like Austin and Wilson, McGregor is from Clarendon parish in central Jamaica. They went to Studio One in the early 1960’s and began their careers there for producer Clement “Coxson” Dodd.
In recent years, Wilson performed intermittently on oldies shows in Jamaica. He is survived by five children.
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