THE body of veteran singer John Holt, accompanied by close relatives, arrived at Norman Manley International in Kingston from England on Wednesday evening.

Holt, 69, died in England on October 20.

Tex Gallimore, nephew and road manager of Holt, said the funeral date is tentatively set for November 15 and interment would follow in the Dovecot Memorial Park in St Catherine.

Gallimore said his uncle wanted to come back to Jamaica before his death.

“But he never made it in time,” he said.

According to Gallimore, the singer’s last moments were pleasant.

“He was happy. He was making everybody feel happy… saying ‘he was alright’, even though he was in the hospital. He said he wasn’t in pain,” Gallimore said.

Born in Greenwich Town, Kingston in 1945, Holt has left a massive catalogue of hit songs such as Stick By Me, Stealing Stealing, Ali Baba, The Tide Is High and If I Were A Carpenter.

Some of those songs were done with The Paragons, one of the rocksteady era’s great acts.

He is survived by his wife Merl, three sisters, three brothers and 23 children.

— Brian Bonitto