KINGSTON, Jamaica — During a 2017 interview with the Observer Online, Freddie McGregor recalled the day he knew his big break had come. He was listening to the final cut of Bobby Babylon, a song he recorded for producer, Clement Dodd, at Studio One.

“Missa Dodd sey, ‘Jackson, a it dis, yuh nuh. Is a hit dis’,” said McGregor, who celebrates his 70th birthday on June 27.

Bobby Babylon hit reggae charts in 1979. It came after years of toil at Studio One for the Clarendon-born singer, who had recorded songs like I Don’t Know, which were popular in the dancehalls.

He had a dramatic change in fortune throughout the 1980s, with a series of hit singles including Big Ship, All in The Same Boat, Prophecy, Stop Loving You, Just Don’t Want to be Lonely, And So I Will Wait For You and Push Come to Shove.

Drummer Cleveland “Clevie” Browne, along with his guitarist brothers Dalton and Danny, played on many of those songs. He said, “Freddie had the perfect vibes” for those recording sessions.

“He was a drummer and could play guitar, so he knew how to relate to musicians. Freddie spoke the musician’s language,” Browne added.

His cover of Just Don’t Want to be Lonely (originally done by American soul singer Ronnie Dyson) entered the British national chart in 1987. It peaked at number nine.

McGregor is recovering from a stroke he suffered in October 2022.

In a June 2025 interview with Observer Online, he said, “My health is the best it has been for a long time, thanks to everyone.”

A recipient of the Order of Distinction from the Jamaican government, Freddie McGregor was presented with a Living Legend Award in 2023 at Reggae Sumfest in Montego Bay.

— Howard Campbell