Slim Smith

Widely regarded as one of the finest tenors to have graced Jamaica’s music scene, Keith ‘Slim’ Smith fronted two of the island’s most revered vocal groups during his early career before tasting success as a solo artiste on a scale that few others have equalled.

His initial breakthrough came in 1964, when he cut a series of excellent ska sides with the Techniques, but despite the popularity of this work, within two years he had moved on to form another group, the Uniques. The latter proved short-lived and a brief spell as a solo artist with Prince Buster and Coxson Dodd, Smith formed a new Uniques group that ultimately essentially comprised the singer, backed by Lloyd Charmers and Jimmy Riley.

The trio’s output over the next year or so was prolific with many of their works topping the Jamaican charts, but in 1969, the group had run its course, with its three members each forging successful solo careers.

Over the next few years, Smith recorded a profusion of material, primarily for Bunny Lee, with the popularity of his work leading to him regularly being heralded the finest Jamaican vocalist of the period.

Tragically, on 10th October 1972, while still at the height of his popularity, his lifeless body was discovered, the singer having bled to death after severing an artery on broken glass. The precise circumstances that led to his sad and premature death remain a mystery to this day.