They are the classic one-hit wonder: In 1982, Musical Youth achieved a worldwide hit with the reggae song "Pass the Dutchie". Some of the band members are still active today, but they will never reach the level of success they had back then. Now the ex-drummer of the group, Frederick "Junior" Waite, dies.
It's 1982. The summer is actually already over when the song "Pass the Dutchie" by Musical Youth is released in September. Nevertheless, the group landed a worldwide hit with their sunny reggae sound. The song also climbed to number two in the charts in Germany.
In fact, Musical Youth is the first black act to have their music video looped on MTV. The group does not have its roots in Jamaica, the homeland of reggae, but in Birmingham, England.
Here the father of Patrick and Frederick "Junior" Waite first got together with his sons and their school friends Michael and Kelvin Grant to make music together. As the band's popularity grew, he retired, leaving the position of lead singer to Dennis Seaton - the quintet Musical Youth, whose members were now truly all youth, was born.
In a way, "Pass the Dutchie" was just a cover song. With "Rule the Nation" by reggae DJ U Roy and "Pass the Kouchie" by the formation Mighty Diamonds, it combined two existing songs into one. The fact that all drug references were removed from his text probably also ensured its commercial success. So "Kouchie", which stands for a cannabis pipe, became "Dutchie" - a synonym for a heavy pot. Instead of smoking weed, the song was primarily about food.
The album "The Youth of Today", which included "Pass the Dutchie", also sold quite well. After that, however, their success declined and the band broke up in 1985. Plans for a reunion were dashed when Patrick Waite died in 1993 at the age of 24. He had previously suffered from heart problems. After the turn of the millennium, Musical Youth made a comeback. However, since then only Dennis Seaton and Michael Grant have performed under the group's name.
Now Frederick Waite, better known by his nickname "Junior", is the second of the Waite brothers to die. This was announced on the formation's official Twitter account. "We regret to announce the passing of musical youth drummer Frederick Waite Jr. Our thoughts are with him and his family at this sad time. We have lost a music legend who has inspired many young musicians over the past 40 years inspired," the tweet said.
According to the Daily Mail, Frederick "Junior" Waite died on July 20. Details of the circumstances of death are not known. The musician was 55 years old.
