John Kenneth Holt (11 July 1947 – 19 October 2014)

One of the giants of popular music died. John Holt the master of reggae, soul and ballads died in a London hospital after taken ill during the One Love concert in memory of Nelson Mandela on the 16th August 2014. 

John Holt has been singing since he was 12. Starring in talent shows and theater shows. He first made his name in the group The Paragons and had hits such as ‘The Tide Is High’, ‘Wear You to the Ball’ and ‘I See Your Face’ to name just three.

He then left and went solo creating a whole genre of ballad flavoured reggae which influenced a large number of musicians from Massive Attack to UB40. His albums 1000, 2000 and 3000 Volts of Holt are standard main stay of any decent record collection. 

Although he sang a lot of cover versions he wrote some of the biggest reggae record ever recorded. 

As of yet there is no indication of the cause of death.

John Holt – Ali Baba

John Holt – Girl From Ipanema

The Paragons – “The Tide Is High”