Pluto Shervington, reggae icon, dead at 73
Pluto Shervington, the reggae artist best known for his humorous tales of Jamaican culture, has died at aged 73.
Born in 1950 as Leighton Keith Shervington, the noted reggae singer passed away at a hospital in Florida on January 19th. At this stage, the exact cause of his death is unknown. Shervington had been living in Miami, Florida, since the early 1980s.
With a career spanning five decades, Pluto was one of the few remaining artists left from the initial ska and reggae boom of the late ’60s. After bouncing around a few groups, such as The Hurricanes, Pluto went solo in the ’70s, burgeoning an incredibly successful career.
Like many Jamaican artists of that time, Pluto’s talents extended past singing into producing and recording, things which he undertook independently for the majority of his material.
Although not receiving the same level of popularity in the UK as his contemporaries, due to its inherently Jamaican content, Pluto’s music remains popular among reggae and ska fans to this day. Releases such as the classic ‘Ram Goat Liver’ witnessed a rise in popularity thanks to the Trojan Records and the blossoming skinhead subculture during the ’70s.
Testament to his talents, and the strength of reggae in the UK, Pluto had a hit single with ‘DAT’ in 1976. Focused on the story of a Rastafarian attempting to buy pork, so that he can eventually get his hands on some marijuana, the track was an unlikely hit. Nevertheless, Pluto made an appearance on Top of the Pops performing the incredibly endearing track.
Tributes from reggae fanatics have been pouring in since his unfortunate passing. Trojan Records, the label responsible for exposing Pluto to a UK audience shared a tribute on social media, posted, “He penned, recorded and produced some of the biggest reggae hits of the 70s and early 80s […] He will be hugely missed.”
Listen to ‘Dat’ by Pluto below.
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