Stranger Cole

Jamaican singer Stranger Cole was a pioneer on the ska and rocksteady scene, carrying reggae from Trench Town to Canada in a career that spanned decades. He began his recording career with producer Duke Reid, scoring a hit with his 1962 debut, "Rough & Tough." "Run Joe" was a hit in 1965. Cole later cut sides with several producers, including Sonia Pottinger, Lee "Scratch" Perry (on the wonderful single "Run Up Your Mouth"), and Bunny "Striker" Lee (on the landmark "Bangarang"), before relocating to England in 1971, and then Toronto, Canada, in 1973, where he issued his first full-length albums. In 2003, Trojan Records released the Bangarang retrospective. 2006's Morning Train and 2008's Fabulous Songs of Miss Sonia Pottinger, Vol.1 followed. In 2009, he was featured on the documentary Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae. Cole died in Kingston on June 11, 2026, at the age of 83.