Gregory Isaacs, the Jamaican reggae singer whose smooth style earned him the nickname “Cool Ruler,” has died. He was 59.
Isaacs had been diagnosed with lung cancer a year ago, but continued performing until weeks before his death.

His wife Linda said Isaacs was “well-loved by everyone, his fans and his family, and he worked really hard to make sure he delivered the
music they loved and enjoyed.

Born in a Kingston, Jamaica slum in 1951, Isaacs began recording in his teens, and went on to produce scores of albums .

With his sinuous baritone and romantic songs, Isaacs became a leading proponent of the mellow “Lovers Rock” style of reggae. He hit his
stride in the mid-1970s with ballads like “Love is Overdue” and “All I
Have Is Love.”

Later that decade he teamed up with the Jamaican production duo of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare for several hit songs including “Soon
Forward” and “What A Feeling.”

“Gregory’s voice and writing ability was wicked. He was one of those soulful singers you could sit and listen to for hours,” Dunbar said in a
story carried by The Associated Press.

Isaacs was best known internationally for the title song from his 1982 album “Night Nurse,” a club favourite which later became a hit for
Simply Red.

His career was stalled by a cocaine habit that landed him in jail on several occasions. Isaacs said ruefully in 2007 that he’d gone to
“Cocaine High School … the greatest college ever, but the most expensive
school fee ever paid.”

Drug abuse took a toll on his voice but he kept making music, releasing a well-received final album, “Brand New Me,” in 2008.

Suggs, lead singer of reggae-influenced British band Madness, said the dapper, fedora-sporting Isaacs was “a great reggae artist and also
one of the most sartorially elegant stars on the world stage.”