Obit: Desmond Dekker @ 64..."Israelites ", "Desmond" in "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"
(From the N-Y Times)Desmond Dekker, the Jamaican singer whose 1969 hit, "The Israelites," opened up a worldwide audience for reggae, died on Wednesday. He was 64.The song was his only United States hit, but it was a turning point for Jamaican music among international listeners. Paul McCarney slipped Mr. Dekker's first name into the lyrics to the Beatles' ska song, "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," on "The Beatles" (also known as the White Album) in 1968, the year Mr. Dekker moved to England. As a teenager he worked in a welding shop alongside Bob Marley...http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/27/arts/music/27dekker.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
(From the N-Y Times)Desmond Dekker, the Jamaican singer whose 1969 hit, "The Israelites," opened up a worldwide audience for reggae, died on Wednesday. He was 64.The song was his only United States hit, but it was a turning point for Jamaican music among international listeners. Paul McCarney slipped Mr. Dekker's first name into the lyrics to the Beatles' ska song, "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," on "The Beatles" (also known as the White Album) in 1968, the year Mr. Dekker moved to England. As a teenager he worked in a welding shop alongside Bob Marley...http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/27/arts/music/27dekker.html?_r=1&oref=slogin