forgot to post this earlier....

Desmond Dekker, the Jamaican singer whose 1969 hit, "The Israelites," opened up a worldwide audience for reggae, died on Wednesday. He was 64.

Mr. Dekker was named Desmond Adolphus Dacres when he was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1941. As a teenager he worked in a welding shop alongside Bob Marley and auditioned unsuccessfully for various producers until Mr. Marley encouraged him to try out for his own first producer, Leslie Kong.

Mr. Kong produced Mr. Dekker's first single, "Honour Thy Father and Mother," in 1963, and it reached No. 1 in Jamaica. Like many of Mr. Dekker's songs, it carried a message. A string of Jamaican hits followed, including "It Pays," "Sinners Come Home" and "Labour for Learning." Mr. Dekker had a total of 20 No. 1 hits in Jamaica.

A series of songs including "Rude Boy Train" and "Rudie Got Soul" made Mr. Dekker a hero of Jamaica's rough urban "rude boy" culture.