Vic Taylor's picture as it appears on the cover of his album Your Precious Love.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Vic Taylor, a singer who performed with the Jamaican bands Tommy McCook and the Skatalites and Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, died Monday at age 56, his daughter Vanessa Taylor said.

Taylor, who lived in Uniondale, NY, died of cardiac arrest at Mercy Medical Centre in Rockville Centre, NY, his daughter said.

According to information received by the Observer, Taylor had been ailing for the last two weeks or so and had complained of chest pains.

A Kingstonian by birth, Taylor was a lead singer with Byron Lee and the Dragonaires in the 1970s and '80s, performing songs like My Way and You'll Never Walk Alone, said Errol Gayle, a guitarist with the band. Beforejoining the Byron Lee-led group, he performed with the pioneering ska and reggae group The Skatalites, Gayle said.

Long-time Dragonaires bass player, Courtney Robb, remembered Taylor, who had a superb baritone, as the consummate balladeer of the three lead singers the band had at the time, the other two being Keith Lyn and Barry Biggs. He also spoke of Taylor's jovial spirit.

"They used to call him Vic "The Jerk" Taylor...because he used to love to wear his pants pretty short," Robb recalls. "But, put it this way, Vic was the ladies man because everywhere he went, everywhere we went on tour, Vic Taylor was the man who stole the show. Vic used to do quite a good job as a lead singer for the band."

In terms of his personality, Robb described Taylor as "very jovial, very friendl".

"As a matter of fact I can't remember seeing Vic Taylor vex yet. Never seen him mad at anybody. He's always jovial, love to play his football, love his sports. He's good at organising things, like cook-outs. Since he left Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, every time we performed in New York, Vic has always come to the dances. Always coming around, always saying 'hi' to the fellows, always talking to everybody."

Robb told the Observer that after moving to New York, Taylor had been active on the cabaret/club scene for some time. In the last few years, Taylor, he said, had switched to singing gospel music and had in fact been actively preparing to record a gospel album.

"It came as a shock to me to hear that Vic Taylor had passed on," Robb said.

Taylor's solo hits included Heartaches and For Your Precious Love, his daughter said.

In addition to Vanessa Taylor, survivors include two other daughters, a son and two grandchildren.

Additional reporting by the Jamaica Observer.

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