LONDON (AP) — Gregory Isaacs, the Jamaican reggae singer whose smooth style earned him the nickname “Cool Ruler,” has died. He was 59.

Isaacs’ manager, Copeland Forbes, said the singer died Monday at his London home. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer a year ago but continued performing until weeks before his death.


His wife Linda said Isaacs was “well-loved by everyone, his fans and his family, and he worked really hard to make sure he delivered the music they loved and enjoyed.”

Born in a Kingston  slum in 1951, Isaacs began recording in his teens and went on to produce scores of albums.

With his sinuous baritone and romantic songs, he became a leading proponent of the mellow “Lovers Rock” style of reggae. He hit his stride in the mid-1970s with ballads such as Love is Overdue and All I Have Is Love.

Later that decade, he teamed up with the Jamaican production duo  Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare for several hit songs, including Soon Forward and What A Feeling.

“Gregory’s voice and writing ability was wicked. He was one of those soulful singers you could sit and listen to for hours,” Dunbar said Monday.

Isaacs was best known internationally for the title song from his 1982 album Night Nurse, a club favorite which later became a hit for Simply Red.

His career was stalled by a cocaine habit that landed him in jail on several occasions. He said ruefully in 2007 that he’d gone to “Cocaine High School … the greatest college ever, but the most expensive school fee ever paid.”

Drug abuse took a toll on his voice but he kept making music, releasing a well-received final album, Brand New Me, in 2008.

Suggs, lead singer of reggae-influenced British band Madness, said the dapper, fedora-sporting Isaacs was “a great reggae artist and also one of the most sartorially elegant stars on the world stage.”

Associated Press writer Howard Campbell in Kingston contributed to this report.