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Soca pioneer Byron Lee passes on
– said the Guyana show must go on
Bandleader of the world renowned ‘Byron Lee & the Dragonaires’, Byron Aloysius St. Elmo Lee, died at the age of 73 on Thursday night, after a two-year battle with cancer.
He died at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Jamaica.
Dead: Byron Lee
Lee, who had been fighting transitional cell cancer, was being treated in Miami, Florida, for a few weeks.
He was also diagnosed with bladder cancer two years ago, and returned to Jamaica last weekend because he said he preferred to die in his homeland.
His band, however, went ahead with their planned event at the Thirst Park last evening, playing to a packed audience.
At a press conference held earlier in the week, event organizer Michael Fung had indicated that despite Byron Lee being critically ill, he had insisted that the show ‘must go on,’ since he has his roots firmly grounded on the local shores. According to Fung, the band leader has related that since he was given tremendous support in Guyana during the early years of his musical career, he is bent on having the band perform here at all cost.
A few days before his passing, the Jamaican Government had bestowed on him the Order of Jamaica (OJ).
The Jamaica Gleaner reported that the Governor General, Sir Kenneth Hall, went to the hospital to make the presentation in the presence of Prime Minister Bruce Golding and Minister of Information, Culture Youth and Sports, Olivia Grange, relatives and friends.
Prime Minister Golding had said at the presentation of his OJ award, “Byron Lee and the Dragonaires was an institution that made such an impact on the lives of so many people, and his contribution must be boldly recorded when the history of Jamaican music is being written.”
Golding added: “Byron Lee and the Dragonaires had taken their music to Jamaica and the rest of the world.”
Noting that the band, only two years ago, celebrated its 50th anniversary, Golding said Byron Lee and the Dragonaires entertained, inspired and mesmerised three generations of Jamaicans.
Byron Lee was born on 27 June 1935 in Christiana, Manchester, Jamaica.
His career spans over 50 years, and he has entertained thousands of fans around the globe during that time. Known for mainly producing cover albums, Lee also produced original hits like ‘Tiney Winey’, ‘Give Me Soca’, and ‘Jamaican Ska’. He founded the band ‘Byron Lee & The Dragonaires’ when he was a student at St. George’s College in the 1950’s.
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