Reggae Producer Lloyd Charmers Dies at 74

Reggae artist artist Lloyd Charmers has died. He was 74.

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The singer and producer of British chart toppers died of a heart attack Dec. 27 in London, The Jamaican Observer reports. A friend of the musician, whose real name was Lloyd Terell, said Charmers sufferred the heart attack while driving and died before reaching the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

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Charmers was born in Trench Town, Jamaica and began making a name in the music industry during the early 1960s. He joined the Uniques, a trio also including Keith 'Slim' Smith and Jimmy Riley. The group’s hits for producer Bunny Lee included “Let Me Go Girl” and “Everybody Needs Love.” He also sang backup on the 1971 Winston 'Niney' Holness song “Blood and Fire,” which reached the British pop chart.

Charmers developed closer ties with the British music scene during the 1970s and began living there permanently in the latter part of the decade. In the early 1970s, he rose to prominence in the country by producing Ken Boothe's hit “Everything I Own."

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Boothe described Charmers as "one of the best in the business" and said he was "very businesslike, very sophisticated.”

Charmers’ other notable producing credits include the well-received Dadawah Peace and Love Wadadasow album by Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus.