“Leonard Dillon, the leader of the pioneering reggae group, The Ethiopians, has died in Jamaica at the age of 68.

Dillon began his career using the stage name, Jack Sparrow, in the early 1960s.

He recorded a series of ska songs, including Bull Whip, which featured a young Bob Marley on backing vocals.

Dillon later formed The Ethiopians, a trio whose best known hits were Train to Skaville and Everything Crash.

His daughter, Patrice Dillon, says her father died on Wednesday at her home of lung and prostate cancer.

She says Dillon had been diagnosed with cancer in June and underwent surgery to remove a brain tumour earlier this year.

Dillon is survived by seven children.”

– Boston Globe