King Stitt succumbs to long illness

On January 10, people breathed a sigh of relief after it was announced that veteran deejay Winston 'King Stitt' Sparkes was not dead.

Today, those persons will instead sigh in sadness as the legend passed away at his home in Nannyville, St Andrew, yesterday. Stitt had been ailing for some time, which brought about the rumours that he was dead.

Stitt, one of the pioneers of Jamaican popular music, began his career in 1956 when he started deejaying on Clement 'Sir Coxson' Dodd's Downbeat sound system.

It was not until 1969 that the king first recorded for producer Clancy Eccles with tracks like Fire Corner and Lee Van Cleef.

After that there were other hits redone by Dodd like Be a Man.

Last night, Lisa Hanna, minister of youth and culture, said: "I am truly saddened to learn that King Stitt has left us. It is not a rumour anymore. Here was a man who overcame the speech impediment, which gained him the nickname Stitt to become a deejay of renown."