Garth Dennis, a former member of The Wailing Souls and Black Uhuru, died in Ontario, California, on December 9 at age 72.

His manager, Marjel McFaddin, confirmed his death on Friday. She told the Jamaica Observer that Dennis died at Kaiser Hospital, where he was admitted two weeks ago.

She said he died from complications of pneumonia.

Lloyd “Bread” McDonald, a founding member of Wailing Souls, told the Observer that he and Dennis were lifelong friends, having grown up in Trench Town.

“A very humble bredrin, Garthie was never easily rattled,” said McDonald.

The diminutive Dennis was an original member of Black Uhuru along with Duckie Simpson and Don Carlos, which formed in Waterhouse in 1972. 

Two years later, he joined The Wailing Souls which at the time included original members Lloyd “Bread” McDonald and Winston “Pipe” Matthews, and Buddy Haye. That lineup had a number of hit songs at Channel One in the mid and late 1970s including Things And Time and War.

He left The Wailing Souls in the early 1980s for a contentious stint with Black Uhuru that ended in 1994. It resulted in a long-running court battle between Dennis, Don Carlos and Duckie Simpson over who founded Black Uhuru and who owned rights to the group’s name.

That case ended in 1997 with a ruling in favour of Simpson in a California court.

The youngest of six children, Dennis was a brother of former Boys’ Town and Melbourne batsman Franklin Dennis, who represented Canada at the 1979 Cricket World Cup.

Another brother, Trevor Dennis, played football for Vere and Boys’ Town. His sister, Joanna “Joey” Dennis, sang the 1964 ska hit You’re Wondering Now.

Garth Dennis is survived by his wife Jenje, six children, 20 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.