On May 25, 2006, Desmond Dekker died of a heart attack at age 64. Known for his songs “The Isreaelites” and “007 (Shanty Town)”, Dekker was a pioneer of the Jamaican sound, paving the way for artists like Bob Marley to achieve international recognition.

According to most news reports, Dekker was not ill and in top physical form in preparation for his tour Europe this summer. This makes Dekker’s death somewhat of a surprise. Unfortunately, I had never taken the opportunity to see Dekker live always assuming that “there would be another chance”.

If anyone is interested in checking out Dekker, here are my top picks of his songs. This isn’t a comprehensive list by any means, but these are some of my favorites.

• Get Up Edina
• 007 (Shanty Town)
• Israelites
• It Mek
• Pickney Gal
• You Can Get It If You Really Want
• Hippopotamus
• Young Generation
• Carry Go Bring Come
• Rudie Got Soul