Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd, 72; Record Producer for Bob Marley

Music producer Clement “Sir Coxsone” Dodd, a pioneer of reggae credited with launching the career of Bob Marley and the Wailers, has died. He was 72.

Dodd suffered an apparent heart attack Tuesday, friends said. He was pronounced dead at Medical Associates Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica.

Four days before his death, he had attended a ceremony to rename a Kingston street after his famous recording business, Studio One.

A native of Kingston, Dodd started in music in the 1950s, operating a popular “sound system,” or portable disco, and releasing records on his own label. His early recordings helped launch the birth of ska, a forerunner of reggae.

In 1963, he opened the Jamaica Recording & Publishing Studio, Jamaica’s first black-owned music studio. Later that year, he was introduced to Marley, who auditioned with his band, the Wailers.

Dodd signed the group to a contract, launching a musical career that would span three decades and make Marley an international star.

In addition to Marley, Dodd is credited with launching the careers of dozens of reggae legends.

An accomplished cricket player, Dodd was nicknamed “Coxsone” after a famous player from the 1940s. As a young man, he left Jamaica to cut sugar cane in the American South, where he was exposed to the outdoor R&B; parties popular among rural blacks.

In 1991, he was awarded the Order of Distinction, Jamaica’s third-highest honor, for his contribution to the island’s musical heritage.

Dodd in recent years had divided his time between Jamaica and New York City, where his family lived.

Details on survivors were not immediately available.