Desmond Dekker Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Desmond Dekker
OCCUPATION: Musician
BIRTH DATE: July 16, 1941
DEATH DATE: May 25, 2006
EDUCATION: Alpha Boys' School
PLACE OF BIRTH: St. Andrew, Kingston, Jamaica
PLACE OF DEATH: Surrey, England , United Kingdom
Full Name: Desmond Dekker
Full Name: Desmond Adolphus Dacres

Best Known For

Jamaican born singer Desmond Dekker was best known for creating several musical hits in the ska and reggae genres.

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Desmond Dekker

APA Style

Desmond Dekker. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 04:34, Jun 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/desmond-dekker-20903699.

Harvard Style

Desmond Dekker. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/desmond-dekker-20903699 [Accessed 19 Jun 2013].

MLA Style

"Desmond Dekker." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 19 2013, 04:34 http://www.biography.com/people/desmond-dekker-20903699.

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"Desmond Dekker," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/desmond-dekker-20903699 [accessed Jun 19, 2013].

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"Desmond Dekker," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/desmond-dekker-20903699 (accessed Jun 19, 2013).

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Desmond Dekker [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/desmond-dekker-20903699.

Bluebook Style

Desmond Dekker, http://www.biography.com/people/desmond-dekker-20903699 (last visited Jun 19, 2013).

AMA Style

Desmond Dekker. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/desmond-dekker-20903699. Accessed Jun 19, 2013.

Dekker moved to England in the early 1970s and signed with Staff Records, an influential new-wave label. Throughout the 1970s, Dekker toured regularly and continue to produce hits. Among them was his version of Jamaica reggae star Jimmy Cliff's "You can Get It If You Really Want It.?"

As the public's music tastes changed, interest in Dekker faded and he declared bankruptcy in 1984. Still, he continued to tour regularly, re-recorded old singles,

participated in several collaborations and worked with a ska revival band, The Specials, on an album. Dekker died of a heart attack on May 25, 2006, at his home in Surrey, England, one week before he was set to begin a European tour. He was 64 years old at the time. Dekker was divorced and survived by two children, a son and daughter.

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