Twenty years ago today, Dennis Emmanuel Brown, Crown Prince of Reggae, died at age 42. Doctors at the University Hospital of the West Indies say he succumbed to respiratory failure.

Many people found it hard to believe he was that young. Two generations of Jamaicans had heard him do hit songs since the late 1960s’ he amassed a catalogue unmatched in reggae.

Mikey Bennett, who produced Brown’s 1990 album Overproof, gave maybe the best summary of the prolific singer’s career when he said, “He was the best thing that happened to a reggae song.”

Just weeks before his death, Brown had returned from Brazil where he did shows with Lloyd Parks and We The People, his longtime backing band. Those are believed to his last live performances.

An official tally puts Brown’s studio albums at 75; he recorded countless hit songs, starting with Lips of Wine for producer Derrick Harriott in 1968. He was still churning out the rare hit in the early 1990s and despite rampant rumours of drug abuse, remained a popular concert draw.

Many of Dennis Brown’s songs are considered classics: No Man is An Island, If I Follow my Heart, Cassandra, No More Shall I Roam, Westbound Train, Money In my Pocket, Wolf and Leopards, Whip Them Jah , Sitting and Watching, Revolution, Love Has Found Its Way, The Promised Land and Here I Come.

They inspired many youth from different sectors of Jamaican society. For singer Michael Palmer, who grew up in the gritty Kingston community of Whitfield Town, ‘D Brown’ or ‘DEB’ is incomparable.

“My favourite singer is Dennis Brown, even before I did have a clue that I would eventually be a singer. My reason is, I grew up listening to No Man is an Island when DEB was very young, so I gravitate to that melodious voice. Until this day, there’s nobody like DEB to me,” Palmer told the Jamaica Observer recently.

Bob Marley was also a great admirer of Brown’s artistry. So too his son, Damian “Junior Gong” Marley, who spent his formative years in upscale St Andrew.

“He was one of those persons who made it cool to smile in reggae music. When I listen to his music, I can hear that he really loved singing. It almost sounds like he smiles while he’s singing,” Junior Gong said in a 2010 interview with NPR Radio.

However, Jamaica’s Internet generation has not logged onto Brown’s expansive catalogue. In February, when the 62nd anniversary of his birth was celebrated, several youth with whom the Observer spoke, said they were unaware of his legacy.

In March, Travis John “Habibi” Bailey, initiated Levels, a forum seeking to expose the work of icons like Brown to a new generation of Jamaicans. He said it was inspired by the Observer article in which some UWI students admitted their knowledge of the Crown Prince was limited.

Bailey, a member of the UWI’s Humanities and Education Department committee, said then:

“Most persons under 25 have no genuine reason to know who Dennis Brown is, they are unfortunately disconnected because what plays on the radio is 60 per cent import music, meaning music that is not native to our space.”

Others, like producer Lloyd “King Jammy” James, are doing their part to ensure Brown’s music finds new fans. Last September, he released King Jammy Presents: Dennis Brown Tracks of Life, on VP/Greensleeves Records.

The set hears Brown ‘working’ on updates of some of his famous songs with Jr.Gong, Alborosie, Busy Signal, Protoje, Romain Virgo, Agent Sasco, Dre Island and Jesse Royal.

Dennis Brown is buried at National Heroes Park in Kingston. He was awarded the Order of Distinction in 2011 by the Jamaican government.