Ska pioneer Prince Buster dies aged 78

Just very bad news! Prince Buster, the legendary Jamaican ska pioneer of the 1960s, has died at the age of 78 in Miami, Fl, according to reports.

His use of a syncopated beat on tracks including Little Honey and Thirty Pieces of Silver is credited as pivotal in ska music development.

He met Muhammad Ali in 1965 and converted Islam, changing his name in Muhammed Yusef Ali. He essentially retired in 1973, but watched as his influence took over a new wave of ska musicians in the U.K. (Madness named themselves after Campbell’s hit and their first single, “The Prince”, became a Top 20 hit.) He returned to the stage in the late 1980s, touring with the Skatalites as his backing group, and began recording new music in the early 1990s.

A prolific musician, he recorded thousands of records, including such hits as “Al Capone”, and “Judge Dread”.

“The term legend can truly be applied to the name Prince Buster”, Rodigan told the Guardian.

Music Label Rough Trade simply tweeted: “Prince Buster RIP x”.

“Like his lyrics says – “They pick him up/They Lick him Down/ Him bounce right back/ What a hard man fi dead” – the memory of Prince Buster and his legacy through his vast and diverse catalogue, will never die”.

Born Cecil Eustace Campbell on May 24, 1938, Buster died leaving his widow, Mola Ali, sister and children. “With love from @NevilleStaple & @SugaryStaple”.

He continued: “Prince Buster wasn’t just a Ska pioneer he also produced one of Jamaica’s first ever Dub albums “The Message”. “Ska Reggae Pioneer. Bless you and Jamaican music”.

David Hinds, of the legendary reggae band Steel Pulse, said that there was no home in the black community that was without the music of Prince Buster in post-war Britain.