Easton Howard, better known as Barry Ace of the legendary ska, rocksteady and reggae group, Desmond Dekker & The Aces, has started a GoFundMe account to assist with the burial costs for group member, James Samuels.
The GoFundMe bio states, “James Samuels, one of the two Aces in legendary act ‘Desmond Dekker & The Aces’, sadly died in hospital in Jamaica on the 29th January 2022. James was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia and contracted COVID while receiving treatment there. This campaign is seeking to fund burial costs for James as he died in poverty, and his remaining family cannot afford the costs to bury him with dignity and respect. James suffered a stroke five years ago and had been cared for since that time by his brother Edward Bradshaw.”
Barry Ace, who resides in England, initiated the campaign on behalf of Edward Bradshaw (James’ brother), who has requested assistance to raise funds for his burial. Bradshaw spoke to The Gleaner about Ace’s generosity to his brother during his lifetime and reiterated the statement in the GoFund Me bio that “Barry Ace sent a portion of his monthly pension to James for years”. He also shared that the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport had reached out to him to offer assistance.
“Barry Ace and me correspond; he’s a good friend. Him come out here [Jamaica] after my brother had the stroke and tek him to Runaway Bay at a hotel for two weeks. The stroke just mek my brother talk heavy, but he could still walk around and understand everything. So, him and Barry talk about Barry sending him some money from him pension … not every month, but regular. And the money from the GoFundMe coming to me to so that I can pay for the other expenses that come with the funeral. Miss Babsy Grange office called and say that she is going to take care of the funeral parlour expenses,” Bradshaw told The Gleaner.
A date has not yet been set for the service, but Bradshaw shared that the final resting place for James Samuels will be Gibraltar in St Ann, which is the family’s original home.
ISRAELITES
The GoFundMe information states that “Despite being a featured performer on the world-famous work of Desmond Dekker & The Aces, including Israelites (one of the most famous Reggae songs of all time – a #1 hit in the UK, #9 in the American Billboard charts, amassing sales of over two million – James never received his rightful royalties.”
Desmond Dekker and the Aces, a ska, rocksteady and reggae group, had one of the earliest international reggae hits in 1968 with Israelites, a song written by Desmond Dekker and producer Leslie Kong. It topped the UK Singles Chart in April 1969 and peaked in the Top Ten of the US Billboard Hot 100 in June 1969. Dekker was the first Jamaican artiste to have a hit record in the US with Jamaican-style music.
According to Wikipedia, “Although few could understand all the lyrics, the single was the first UK reggae #1 and among the first to reach the US top ten (peaking at #9). It combined the Rastafarian religion with rude boy concerns to make what has been described as a timeless masterpiece that knew no boundaries.”
James Samuels was born on September 1, 1943.
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