I loved this guy. He was so damn cool it was absurd, and without him, there would not have been a Bob Marley as we know him -- hell, reggae music itself would not exist as we know it. Me and a college buddy had a tradition. Whenever we left a concert, as our car slowly crawled through the traffic exiting the show, we would play "The Israelites" at maximum volume; just roll down the windows, crank the stereo to the point of serious permanent hearing loss and wail. No matter what music came from any parked car or anywhere else in the traffic, "The Israelites" always trumped it. People turned their shit down to hear ours. There will never be another Desmond Dekker. Hell, we're lucky we had one in the first place.

Desmond Dekker at his final concert, May 11, 2006