Peter Austin, who recorded a number of hit songs as a member of The Clarendonians, died at his St Andrew home on July 21.

He was 78 years-old.

His daughter, Georgia, confirmed his passing.

Austin formed The Clarendonians in the early 1960s with Ernest Wilson, who was six years younger.

Although they initially recorded for producers Leslie Kong and Duke Reid, the duo’s most fruitful period came with Clement “Coxson” Dodd at Studio One.

Their ska hits included a cover of The Beatles’ You Won’t See Me, Shoo Be Do Be, and You Can’t be Happy.

The Clarendonians were from Hayes, Clarendon, which was also the hometown of noted solo act Freddie McGregor, who at one stage was a member of the group.

Wilson went solo in the late 1960s and enjoyed a successful career with hit songs like Undying Love and Money Worries.

He died in 2021 at age 69.

While with The Clarendonians, Austin recorded a handful of songs with Rita Anderson (later Marley), which were produced by Dodd.

Austin worked for many years as a aviation supervisor with Shell at Norman Manley International Airport. He recorded solo songs intermittently such as Night Owl, and reunited with Wilson during the 1990s when there was a ska/rock steady revival in Jamaica.

They performed multiple times on Heineken Startime and Startime, oldies shows promoted by Michael Barnett, who first met Austin during the mid-1980s.

“He was very friendly, easy to deal with. Peter was very knowledgeable about the music business and could speak on any issue dealing with it,” Barnett told the Jamaica Observer.

Georgia Austin said her father had recently performed on shows in California and Mexico.

Peter Austin is survived by six children and several grandchildren.

Howard Campbell